Government College University, Lahore

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Template:Short description {{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} Template:Third-party Template:Use dmy dates Template:EngvarB {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Main other{{#if:|Template:Main other }}{{#if:|Template:Main other }}{{#if:|Template:Main other }}{{#invoke:check for unknown parameters|check |unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox university with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y|mapframe_args=y | academic_affiliation | academic_affiliations | academic_staff | accreditation | address | administrative_staff | affiliation | affiliations | athletics_affiliations | athletics_nickname | athletics_nicknames | budget | campus | campus_type | campus_size | canton | caption | chair | chairman | chairperson | chancellor | city | closed | colors | colours | coor | coordinates | country | dean | director | doctoral | embedded | endowment | enrollment | established | faculty | footnotes | former_name | former_names | founder | founders | free | free1 | free2 | free_label | free_label1 | free_label2 | head | head_label | image | image_alt | image_name | image_size | image_upright | language | latin_name | location | logo | logo_alt | logo_size | logo_upright | map_size | mascot | mascots | module | motto | mottoeng | motto_lang | mottoeng | name | native_name | native_name_lang | nickname | nrhp | officer_in_charge | other | other_name | other_names | other_students | parent | postalcode | postcode | postgrad | prefecture | president | principal | province | provost | pushpin_label_position | pushpin_map | pushpin_map_caption | rector | region | religious_affiliation | sporting_affiliations | sports_free | sports_free1 | sports_free2 | sports_free3 | sports_free_label | sports_free_label1 | sports_free_label2 | sports_free_label3 | sports_nickname | sports_nicknames | state | students | superintendent | top_free | top_free1 | top_free2 | top_free_label | top_free_label1 | top_free_label2 | total_staff | type | undergrad | vice_chancellor | vice-president | vice_president | visitor | website | zipcode }}{{#invoke:Check for clobbered parameters|check | template = Infobox university | cat = Template:Main other | image; image_name | other_names; other_name | former_names; former_name | founders; founder | academic_affiliations; academic_affiliation | academic_staff; faculty | campus_type; campus | other_students; other | location; address | location; city | location; address | location; canton | location; prefecture | location; province | location; region | location; state | location; country | location; postalcode | location; postcode | location; zipcode | postalcode; postcode; zipcode | coordinates; coor | colors; colours | free_label; free_label1 | free; free1 | athletics_nicknames; sports_nicknames; athletics_nickname; sports_nickname; nickname | athletics_affiliations; sporting_affiliations | affiliation; affiliations | mascots; mascot | nrhp; embedded; module }} The Government College University (colloquially known as GCU; Punjabi, Urdu: Template:Nq) is a public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded as Government College, Lahore, in 1864 under British administration, it became a university in 2002.

Overview

In 1864, Government College was established by the British government in India.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> After being elevated to university status in 2002, it has become one the ten largest educational institutions in Pakistan,Template:Citation needed with a student body of over 12,000. It has 32 academic departments, segregated into five faculties. There are five research centers, focused on academic and industrial research and development projects. The university secured the second place in the general category by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) in 2013.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It has the highest graduation rate in the country, with an average of 94.6% annually.<ref name="Graduation at GCU">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In Government College University, the medium of instruction is English.

Government College University is noted for its historical roots and produced notable scholars such as poet-philosopher Allama Muhammad Iqbal, Nobel laureates Har Gobind Khorana and Abdus Salam, former president of both the United Nations General Assembly and the International Court of Justice Muhammad Zafarullah Khan, scholar and novelist couple Bano Qudsia and Ashfaq Ahmed. Among its graduates are also four prime ministers and one caretaker prime minister of Pakistan.

History

File:Government college lahore1880b.jpg
Government College, Lahore circa 1880

Originally, the establishment of a central college in Lahore was sanctioned in 1856 by the British Raj, given that the teachers were from University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Dublin University HC or Durham University. Under the leadership of Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner, a professor of Arabic and Islamic Law at King's College London, the college was established on 1 January 1864, located in the Palace of Raja Dhyan Singh Haveli (Dogra prime minister of Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Lahore) inside Walled City of Lahore, as an affiliated college of Calcutta University.

In April 1871, the college moved to a large Bungalow near Anarkali Bazaar. In 1873, its location was again changed to another house called Rahim Khan's Kothi due to rapidly increasing student strength. It moved to its present building in 1876.

The first principal was Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner, whose name is closely attached to the college. In 1882, Leitner was very instrumental in laying the foundation of Punjab University, Lahore. Thereafter, the college would remain affiliated with Punjab University for 115 years. In 1997, government of the Punjab gave Government College autonomy in all affairs and granted degree awarding status.<ref name=":0" />

In 2002, it was promoted to university status by the government of Punjab; the word college was retained in its title for preserving its historical roots.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Government College University, Lahore2.jpg
Main Building, GCU

Campus

File:Government College University Tower in Lahore.jpg
GCU's iconic tower

Old Campus

Positioned in Downtown Lahore, it is located at the junction of The Mall, Lahore and the Lower Mall, surrounded by main business and administrative areas, schools, colleges and Punjab University old Campus. The main building was designed by W. Purdon and completed in 1877 at a cost of Rs. 320,000. In the centre of the main building stands a 176' tall clock tower. Built during the colonial era, the main building reflects the neo-Gothic tradition, with broad verandahs and elevated ceilings. A large ground accompanies the main building, alluded to as the "Oval Ground". In 2019, the ground was renamed "The Leitner Oval", in honour of Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner, the first principal of the institute.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> To meet the needs of an increasing number of students, several buildings and blocks have been commissioned which include a postgraduate block, a new block for intermediate students and a bachelors' block which is accessible by an overhead bridge. The main campus is spread over 56 acres along the Anarkali Bazaar, one of the oldest surviving markets in Lahore.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Kala Shah Kaku Campus

On 24 August 2019, the Kala Shah Kaku campus of the university was inaugurated which is known as GCU KSK campus. The campus is spread over 370 acres, able to house 25,000 students, 1,250 teachers and 650 staff members. 2 hostels are available for accommodation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 24 September 2020, the new campus was formally opened to students. A bus shuttle service will operate between both campuses.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Emblem

File:Night view of Government College University, Lahore.jpg
Annual Dinner at GCU

The torch, as the crest of the university emblem, represents the light of knowledge. The motto "Courage to Know" represents the guiding principle of the student community.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Academics

Programs

The university offers degrees in Higher Secondary School Certificate (locally referred to as Intermediate), undergraduate and post-graduate studies. In the higher education level, it offers 28 bachelor's degrees, 28 MS/MPhil Degrees and 19 PhD degrees. These degrees are offered under the following faculties:

Research

The university has always been a research-led university, however, in recent times, it has shifted its focus towards quality output projects, which the university believes to be beneficial academically and industrially. Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC) has been set up to manage all research issues. The objective of the office is to advance, diversify and manage all research programs and to uphold international standards of research.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

It receives research grants mostly from foreign universities like Strathclyde University, Cranfield University, World Bank Researchers Alliance for Development and British Council and from national institutes and organizations like Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF), Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), PTCL, Higher Education Commission and Ministry of Science and Technology.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Institutes

The university has five autonomous/semi-autonomous, research-oriented institutes, focused on academic and industrial research and development projects. These institutes are:

Abdus Salam School for Mathematical Sciences

Template:Main The Abdus Salam School of Mathematical Sciences (ASSMS) is one of the largest mathematical research institutes in Pakistan.<ref name="Profile of ASSMS">Template:Cite web</ref> The school was established in 2003 by Government of Punjab under the aegis of Government College University.<ref name="About ASSMS">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2011, it was labeled as the first "Emerging Regional Center of Excellence" by the European Mathematical Society (EMS) for the period 2011 to 2015.<ref name="European Mathematical Society Website ">Template:Cite web</ref>

It has taken steps to provide encouragement to Pakistani students in schools and colleges. These include:

  • Hiring Foreign Faculty to teach or supervise ASSMS students in advanced level mathematics.<ref name="Success Story of Higher Education Committee of Pakistan: ASSMS">Template:Cite web</ref> This step was initiated by the founding Director General of ASSMS, A.D.R. Choudary. Jürgen Herzog, Josip Pečarić,<ref name="Josip Pecaric's activities in Pakistan">Template:Cite web</ref> Amer Iqbal, Alexandru Dimca, and Hannah Markwig are among Foreign Faculty that have supervised/co-supervised Ph.D. students at ASSMS.
  • Hosted international conferences and workshops in mathematics.<ref name="Success Story of Higher Education Committee of Pakistan: ASSMS"/> The most important conferences of AS-SMS were “World Conferences of Mathematics in the 21st Century” series, held during the tenure of A.D.R. Choudary. Some notable mathematicians that have visited and given talks in this conference series are Ari Laptev (president of the EMS 2007–2010),<ref name="The 4th World Conference in 21st Century Mathematics">Template:Cite web</ref> Marta Sanz-Solé (president of the EMS 2011–2014),<ref name="The 5th World Conference in 21st Century Mathematics">Template:Cite web</ref> Pierre Cartier (an associate of the Bourbaki Group),<ref name="The 6th World Conference in 21st Century Mathematics">Template:Cite web</ref> Arnfinn Laudal,<ref name="The 5th World Conference in 21st Century Mathematics"/> Michel Waldschmidt,<ref name="The 6th World Conference in 21st Century Mathematics"/> János Pach,<ref name="The 5th World Conference in 21st Century Mathematics"/> Alan Huckleberry,<ref name="The 5th World Conference in 21st Century Mathematics"/> Aline Bonami,<ref name="The 6th World Conference in 21st Century Mathematics"/> and Ragni Piene (Chair of the Abel Prize Committee 2010-2014 and the first-ever woman in the International Mathematical Union Executive Committee).<ref name="The 6th World Conference in 21st Century Mathematics"/>
  • Up until 2014, during the tenure of A.D.R. Choudary, the faculty at the Abdus Salam School of Mathematical Sciences hosted training camps for students from schools and colleges. The participants of the camps are prepared for the national team of Pakistan to compete at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). In 2005, the national team of Pakistan took part for the first time in IMO. Trained in ASSMS, the Pakistan team won its first medal at IMO in 2007 and its first silver medal in 2012.
  • ASSMS initiated the Mathematical Kangaroo contests at the national level.

Chairs

Abdus Salam Chair in Physics

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The Abdus Salam Chair in Physics, named after the Pakistani theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate Abdus Salam is an honorary chair in physics at the university. Starting out as a semi-autonomous institute, it became operational in March 2000 with the efforts of Ishfaq Ahmad, a lifelong friend of Salam. In 2009, the International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) donated Salam's original Nobel certificate to the Salam Chair in Physics. The former director of ICTP, Katepalli R. Sreenivasan, visited Lahore where he gifted the original Nobel certificate to the university's alma mater. The certificate reads: "for their contributions to the theory of the unified weak and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles, including, inter-alia, the prediction of the weak neutral current".<ref>GCU houses Dr. Abdus Salam’s Nobel prize Template:Webarchive</ref>

It has been integrated into Department of Physics, where MPhil and PhD students carry out their research work.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Some of its achievements include: getting 52 research publications in international journals;<ref name="gcu.edu.pk">Template:Cite web</ref> producing 6 PhD and 25 MPhil theses; setting up a Plasma Technology Lab; and contracting research grants from funding agencies and research centers such as the International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL),<ref name="Research Fellowships">Template:Cite web</ref> Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF)<ref name="Research Grants">Template:Cite web</ref> and Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR).<ref name="gcu.edu.pk" />

Rafi Muhammad Chaudhry Chair in Experimental Physics

The Rafi Muhammad Chaudhry Chair in Experimental Physics was named after Rafi Muhammad Chaudhry, a renowned Pakistani nuclear physicist and a professor of particle physics at the university. He is widely regarded as having been the pioneer of experimental nuclear physics research in Pakistan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During his tenure as a professor at the university, he set up High Tension Laboratory there in 1952 (now amalgamated into Center for Advanced Studies in Physics CASP) where research anent to gaseous discharges, ion, and electron impact phenomena, nuclear physics, radioactivity, and cosmic rays is carried out.

The university set up the chair in recognition of his services to Pakistan and to Physics. Currently, post-graduate research work in Applied Physics is carried out here.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Mahboob-ul-Haq Chair in Economics

The Mahboob-ul-Haq Chair in Economics is the latest addition to honorary chairs at the university, named after Mahbub ul Haq, a Pakistani economist, politician and international development theorist who served as the 13th Finance Minister of Pakistan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> While serving as the Special Advisor to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), he led the establishment of the Human Development Report (HDI) and the widely respected Human Development Index (HDI).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Economist called him "one of the visionaries of international development."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The university established the chair to recognize his services to Pakistan, its people, and above all to the discipline of Economics.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Apart from post-graduate research in Economics, the chair is also in charge of publishing GCU Economics Journal an annual scholarly and peer-audited publication. Its intent is to act as a platform for researchers, professionals, and students to share their achievements, perspectives, and practical experiences.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Accommodation

The university has four hostels – three for boys and one for girls. Iqbal Hostel (built in 1891) and Quaid-e-Azam Hostel (built in 1993) accommodate about 150 and 200 Intermediate students, respectively. The New Hostel (built in 1937) houses about 400 Degree students. Girls Hostel (built in 1975) accommodates about 50 girl students. A Faculty Mess has been built for visiting family members, faculty and officers of the other universities. Lodging and messing facilities are available here.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable alumni

Template:MainAlumni of the institute are called Ravians, which is a derived word from the name of the student magazine "Ravi", published by the administration of the college; the magazine name itself is inspired by the Ravi River that passes through Lahore.<ref name="Old Ravian Union">Template:Cite news</ref>

"The Last Follower and The Resurrection of Voldemort" is Pakistan'Ramon Magsaysay Awardmovie, and it was filmed at GCU, which served as Hogwarts in the film. The film is produced by a group of young Ravians which laid the foundation of the annual Harry Potter Festival at GCU.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

References

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