The Air University (AU) (Urdu: جامعہ فضایہ) is a federally chartered public sector research university in Pakistan. Established in 2002, its main campus is located in the capital city of Islamabad, Pakistan. The university has two other functional campuses, Aerospace and Aviation Campus at Kamra and a campus at Multan.
The university was established in 2001 with the aim to promote science and technology in Pakistan with Air Marshal Qazi Javed Ahmed appointed as its founding chancellor.[6]
In August 2001, a feasibility report regarding the university was submitted to then University Grants Commission (UGC, now HEC) for approval.[6] Later, in November 2001, UGC done a detailed inspection of the proposed premises.[6]
In April 2002, the feasibility report was revised based on the feedback provided by the UGC. Meanwhile, construction of the admin block was started.[6]
In September 2002, the first batch was admitted and classes began.[6]
In June 2003, the prime minister of Pakistan inaugurated the university formally and made a contribution of Rs 20 million for the expansion of the university.[6]
In February 2006, the construction work on the Institute of Avionics and Aeronautics was started.[6]
In November 2008, Air Commodore Ijaz A Malik was appointed as the second vice-chancellor of the university.[6]
In March 2011, a new sub-campus of the university in Multan was established.[6]
In October 2014, Air Vice Marshal Faaiz Amir was appointed as the new vice-chancellor of Air University.[6]
In January 2020, Air Marshal Javaid Ahmed succeeded Air Vice Marshal Faaiz Amir as the new vice-chancellor.[6]
In February 2020, Air University Aviation & Aerospace Campus Kamra, located on a land of 50 acres in PAC Kamra became functional.[7]
Campuses, constituent colleges, and affiliated institutes
There is one main campus in Islamabad, two other functional campuses are located in Kamra Multan and Kharian, and Another new campus is under construction in Islamabad.
Campuses
Main Campus
Air University Main Campus, Islamabad
The main campus is situated close to the Margalla foothills in the southeast of sector E-9 (PAF Complex) of Islamabad.[8] The primary entrance is adjacent to the intersection of Agha Shahi Avenue (9th Avenue) and Khayaban-e-Iqbal (Margalla Road), opposite to E/9 Campus of Bahria University, Islamabad. Different departments have different buildings. Faculty of Electrical Engineering Department is the oldest one. The newest edition to the buildings is the faculty of Computer Science, C block functional since 2022.
Air University Aerospace and Aviation Campus Kamra
Air University Aviation & Aerospace Campus Kamra is a 50-acre campus located in PAC Kamra and aims to further research in aviation. The campus is being built in five phases with phase one being complete and functional since February 2020.[7][9]
The facilities of the campus include a separate hostel for boys and girls hostels, a dining area, medical facilities, and sports arenas.[7]
In the first phase, the campus started its operations in a commercial plaza named "Khan Centre" at Abdali Road, Multan Cantt, with a total covered area of about thirty-three thousand square feet, and about 700 enrolled students.[11]
Now, the Air University Multan Campus (AUMC) has shifted to a proper built campus on 25.5 acres of land located at Bahawalpur Road, Multan. Phase-1 of the project is completed, in which one academic block and one hostel block have been completed, whereas three more academic blocks, two more residential hostels, an auditorium and a student center are planned in the near future.[11] khariyan campus
South Campus
Another campus is in the construction phase in Sector H-11/2 of Islamabad. The campus will comprise seven academic blocks, two residential blocks, a new automated central library, an administration block, an auditorium, and a cafeteria.
In January 2020, then prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, laid the foundation of the new campus. First academic block and hostel will be completed by December 2022.[12] In addition to its own campuses, the university has two constituent colleges and five affiliated institutes.
Air University Kharian Campus
A new Campus in Kharian campus is being established and will be oponed in Spring 2024 for the people of kharian and jhelum.
It has also collaborated with national centers such as the National Institute of Vacuum Science and Technology (NINVAST) and the National Center of Physics (NCP) to further strengthen the students and faculty.[15]
Faculty of Computing and AI
The Faculty of Computing and AI (FCAI) offers bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. programs in computing and artificial intelligence fields.[16]
In 2019, the department was upgraded as the Faculty of Computing & Artificial Intelligence with three separate departments, including the department of computer science, creative technologies, and cyber security.[16]
FCAI faculty members have been included among the world's top two percent researchers.[16]
FCAI also offers certification programs of Huawei, Oracle, Microsoft, and CISCO through its newly established academy named Air University Computing Academy.[16]
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences offers bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. degree programs in linguistics and literature.[17]
The faculty also offers a bachelor's of science in psychology and a master's of science in clinical psychology and education subjects.[17]
The faculty has also established joint ventures with other organizations such as the Social Sciences Research Centre (SSRC), in order to tackle the contemporary challenges of society.[17]
Faculty of Aerospace Sciences and Strategic Studies
The department of Strategic Studies is a department of the Faculty of Aerospace Sciences and Strategic Studies which helps in policy building related to geopolitical, economic, and social areas.[18]
The Department of Aerospace Sciences and Strategic Studies also offers master's degree in strategic studies to civilians and officers of Pakistan Air Force.[18]
Institute of Avionics and Aeronautics
The Institute of Avionics and Aeronautics (IAA) is a research institute that provides research services in emerging fields such as aerospace propulsion systems, active and passive surveillance systems, communication systems, digital signal processing, guidance and control systems, fluid dynamics, microwave circuit design, and navigation systems.[19]
In February 2018, the CPEC Center of Excellence was established at Air University School of Management, Islamabad.[31] The research center was established with an aim to understand the importance and contributions of export-processing zones (EPZs) in human welfare and particularly maximizing its potential in the post-CPEC scenario.[31]
National Center for Cyber Security was established in May 2018 with the headquarters at Air University, Islamabad.[32] The center was inaugurated by then Federal Minister for Interior, Ahsan Iqbal.[32]
Laboratories and research facilities
The university maintains state-of-the-art laboratories for research and training purposes.[33] These labs include:
The Air University Central Library is the main library of the university and houses about 15,844 volumes of the print collection.[34] Additionally, the library also maintains an active subscription with fifty-one publications and seven newspapers.[34]
The library is also a member of the HEC's National Digital Library Program which provides on-campus access to 22,000 electronic journals and about 140,000 e-books.[34]
The library facilities include six discussion rooms, fifty-six study carrels, and seventy computers for research purposes.[34]
Among rankings for the engineering category, the Higher Education Commission has ranked Air University on 8th among engineering universities in Pakistan.[36] Among rankings for specific indicators, the Office of Research Innovation & Commercialization (ORIC) has maintained the "W" category in the HEC ranking since 2013.[37]
Among rankings for world universities, Air University received 740th position in Universitas Indonesia (UI) Green Matric World University Ranking published in 2020.
Corporum: Journal of Corpus Linguistics ISSN2617-2917
Corpus Research Centre
Erevna Journal of Linguistics and Literature ISSN2521-5078
Office of Research, Innovation, and Commercialization
In January 2011, the Office of Research, Innovation, and Commercialization (ORIC) was established at Air University, Islamabad on the directives of the Higher Education Commission, Pakistan. In August 2013, the registration process was completed.[38]
The office has established linkages with stakeholders and has secured research grants from research funding organizations including, the British Council, HEC, Ignite, Pakistan Science Foundation, and Ministry of Science & Technology.[38]
Business Incubator Center
Air University Business Incubation Center (AUBIC) is currently under the developmental phase.[39]
This center will provide various facilities to incubatees including a conference room, meeting room, separate workstations, and halls for seminars.[39] It will provide networking facilities to entrepreneurs with potential investors and venture capital firms.[39]
International Cooperation Office (ICO)
International Cooperation Office is a department of Air University that helps in the internationalization of the university.[40] The office works to form associations and academic linkages with international universities and colleges and signs memorandum of understandings (MOUs) on the behalf of university.[40][41]
AU has more than 80 formal and informal international linkages with international higher education institutes of the world.[40][41]
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