MUZAFFARABAD, (Parliament Times) : The University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (UAJK) is set to launch six new departments and some diploma programmes from the new academic session. The Vice-Chancellor, Dr Muhammad Kaleem Abbasi gave the go-ahead for the implementation of the projects.
The New disciplines include Artificial Intelligence, Tourism and Hospitality, Political Science, Environmental Sciences, and Arabic. The decision to launch new programs was taken at the Academic Council meeting chaired by Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Muhammad Kaleem Abbasi and held at the City Campus of the University.
Addressing the Academic Council meeting Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Muhammad Kaleem Abbasi has said that with the completion of Chattar Kalass Campus of University and shifting of some of the departments in the new campus, the biggest problem of the space has been solved and we will now focus on the quality of education and learning outcomes of students to transform the university into an ideal institution of higher learning.
He said that the management of the university is determined to make the King Abdullah Campus of the University not only a model campus but also to achieve the goal of raising the standard of university education by utilizing the potential of the highly experienced faculty brought in the University in the last few years.
The VC asserted that the promotion of a culture of innovation and research at the university is one of our top priorities and significant progress will be made in achieving this goal in the years to come.
Describing the increase of the impact factor of the UAJK from 250 to 575 as a significant achievement, the Vice-Chancellor said that the journey of accomplishment will continue and in the coming years and the University of AJK will be counted among the top universities of the country.
Praising the performance of the Institute of Economics, Dr Kaleem Abbasi said that faculty members of this oldest department are performing their duties with utmost diligence by organizing seminars and other programs on regular basis and their efforts are highly commendable.
Terming the Department of Art and Design of the University as the cultural face of Kashmir, the Vice-Chancellor said that keeping in view the importance of this department; we have significantly increased its budget so that this important department of the University could be strengthened to promote the state’s cultural identity and heritage.
Commenting on the new departments and programs, he said that the new programs are being launched keeping in view the demands, needs of the region, and the requirements of the time.
The Vice-Chancellor further said that he would approach the Pakistan Science Foundation for funding to establish the biotechnology department on a solid footing.
The Academic Council meeting was attended by the Registrar of the University, Ayesha Sohail, Dean Faculty of Engineering Prof. Dr. Muhammad Qayyum Khan, Dean Faculty of Health Sciences Dr. Bashir-ur-Rehman Kanth, Dean Faculty of Sciences Prof. Dr. Ghulam Murtaza, Prof. Dr. Nadeem Haider Bukhari, Dean Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Prof Dr Haroon Al-Rasheed and Chairmen and heads of the departments.