University of Central Punjab

Infobox_University
name = University of Central Punjab
native_name =


image_size =
caption = Official logo
latin_name =
motto = Relentless pursuit of Professional Excellence
tagline =
established = 10 October, 1999
type = Private
endowment =
staff =
faculty = 150
president =
provost =
principal =
patron = Lt. Gen. Rt. Khalid Maqbool
rector = [http://www.ucp.edu.pk/messages/chairman-message.aspx Mian Amer Mahmood]
pro_rector = Dr. Fehmida Sultana
chancellor =
vice_chancellor =
dean =
head_label =
head =
students = 2500
undergrad =
postgrad =
doctoral =
profess =
city = Lahore
state =
country = Pakistan
campus =
free_label =
free =
colors =
colours =
mascot =
fightsong =
nickname = PICS, UCP
affiliations =
footnotes =
website = http://www.ucp.edu.pk
address = 31-Main Gulberg, Lahore
publictransit =
telephone = [phone]
coor =

University of Central Punjab (UCP), located in Lahore, Pakistan, is a private sector university. Punjab Institute of Computer Science (PICS) and Punjab College of Business Administration (PCBA) are two of the colleges in the university.

History

The history of University of Central Punjab can be traced back to 1985, when the first institution under the auspices of the Islamic Commerce Educational Society was established in Lahore by the name of Punjab College of Commerce. The Punjab Law College was inaugurated three years later in 1988 at Lahore. The Punjab Group of Colleges motivated primarily by a great missionary urge and inspired by the tremendous response from the public at large, branched out into all major cities of Punjab. Pursuant to arrangements with foreign accredited universities, the Punjab College of Business Administration (PCBA) was established in 1991 and the Punjab Institute of Computer Science (PICS) in 1993, at Lahore. In less than five years both institutions emerged as highly specialized educational centres, training individuals as successful professional managers and computer scientists. By the year 1996, the Punjab Group of Colleges had established twelve campuses in various cities of the Punjab and with more than 18,000 students enrolled at that time had emerged as the largest higher educational network in the private sector in Pakistan. The Group also established Mohammad Ali Jinnah University, Karachi, which was granted degree awarding status by the Government of Sindh vide Ordinance No. S.LEGIS:1(7)/98/-, dated 1st July, 1998. Muhammad Ali Jinnah University is maintaining twin campuses at Karachi and Islamabad, both recognized by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, the apex body for higher education in the country.

The Punjab Group of Colleges, realizing that its strategic vision of seeing Pakistan as centre of educational excellence could be better achieved in a highly progressive and vibrant environment of knowledge-flow, through an integrated approach of participatory management and broad based capacity building, petitioned the Government of the Punjab for the establishment of a University in the province on 15th August, 1996. The Government of the Punjab after due diligence issued initially a No Objection Certificate to the establishment of the University vide Notification No. S.O.(Univ.)9-4/99, dated 11th October, 1999 and on fulfillment of the prescribed norms and criteria, awarded charter vide Ordinance No. Legis. 13-80/2000, dated 10th April, 2002. The University of Central Punjab is the first University in the private sector in Punjab which has been awarded a degree granting status by the Government. By then the Group had established 29 campuses and enrolled around twenty five thousand students. This number has now reached to 30 campuses with enrolment of around thirty thousand students.

The University of Central had started operating with effect from 10th October, 1999, the date of issuance of No Objection Certificate and offered courses in the disciplines of Management Studies, Information Technology, Commerce and Law. Its principal constituent institutions i.e., the Punjab College of Business Administration (PCBA), Punjab Institute of Computer Science (PICS), Punjab College of Commerce (PCC), Punjab Law College (PLC) and Punjab College of Information Technology (PCIT), all at Lahore, formed the core of the University at the time of establishment. Following a restructuring in 2004, the PCBA and PICS have been operating under the Faculty of Management Studies and Faculty of Information Technology of the University of Central Punjab respectively. The Punjab Colleges of Commerce and the Punjab Law College respectively function under the Faculties of Commerce and of Law of the University of Central Punjab. The Faculty of Engineering (FOE) has also been introduced in the year 2002.It has also been accredited by the Pakistan Engineering Council and features state of the art educational and lab facilities. The Faculties of Languages & Literature and Arts & Social Sciences on creation will be housed at the main campus of the University, which is to be established by the year 2012.

Mission Statement

“To provide quality education to the youth of the country in the most challenging disciplines of knowledge through competent and proficient faculty, state of the art equipment and highly conducive learning environment”.

Punjab Group of Colleges

The Punjab Group of Colleges came into being as The Islamic Commerce Educational Society (ICES), registered in l985, which established its first facility, the Punjab College of Commerce in Muslim Town on Canal Bank in Lahore, followed a few years later by the Punjab Law College. Since then the Punjab Group (PGC) has successfully branched out into various cities of Punjab. Following arrangements with foreign accredited universities, Punjab College of Business Administration (PCBA) was established in 1991 and Punjab Institute of Computer Science (PICS), in 1993, at Lahore. In less than five years both institutions emerged as highly specialized schools, training individuals as successful professional managers and computer scientists.

With a view to meeting academic needs of students, the Group went ahead and established another network in various cities of the Punjab by the name of ‘Punjab College of Information Technology’ (PCIT), the first having been established in Lahore in 2000 and the latest at Sialkot in 2005. The PGC has within a period of 21 years, not only established as many as thirty five colleges and two universities but has also earned reputation as the largest network of highly vibrant and progressive institutions in the private sector in the country. Mohammed Ali Jinnah University in Sindh and the University of Central Punjab are both chartered universities of the Group and are being rated very high in their respective domains. All these Institutions together have more than 40,000 students on rolls.

The educational institutions of the Punjab Group blend a premium faculty – 79 Foreign and 9 local Ph.Ds; 47 Foreign and 1200 local Masters’ degree holders, with vast experience and high repute to their credit. Such a highly qualified and experienced faculty is duly supported by the best teaching-aids and a students body with the highest potential to pursue studies in the finest possible learning environment.

External links

* [http://www.ucp.edu.pk/ UCP's website]
* [http://ccs.ucp.edu.pk// UCP's Computing and Communication Services]
* [http://www.pgcnet.com// UCP's ISP service]