New liberal arts and sciences’ university to begin in fall of 2014

Habib University will be spread over seven acres in Gulistan-e-Jauhar.

KARACHI: A new liberal arts and sciences’ university has been set up in the city and it will begin classes from the fall semester of 2014.

Established by the Habib University Foundation, the university has been formed in collaboration with Texas A&M University at Qatar and Carnegie Mellon University, USA. According to a statement, the university has a merit-based and need-blind admissions policy and it will offer 20 per cent full and 20 per cent partial scholarships to its students.

The faculty, hired from Harvard University, University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Pennsylvania, will be offering four undergraduate degree programmes in electrical engineering, computer science, social development and policy, and communication studies and design, through its two schools.

The project, spread over seven acres in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, will be completed at a total cost of $60 million.

At a board meeting held in Dubai recently, Habib University chancellor and board chairperson, Rafiq M. Habib shared his hopes to make the university into a global institution. “We are well on our way to achieve our goal of building a world-class university that will educate promising students irrespective of their backgrounds. We hope that in time Habib University will be the institution of choice in Pakistan.”



Habib University also plans to offer more disciplines in the future and build a residential campus as well, hoping to attract a large number of students from across the region.

Sidra Iqbal on board as ambassador

Sidra Iqbal, the celebrated TV anchorperson, has joined the Habib University as its ambassador. “I am excited to be personally involved in this initiative of excellence in higher education in Pakistan,” she told the media in Dubai. “When I interact with the youth, I often see them reducing the role and scope of higher education to career choices and employability. Yes these are important considerations, yet education is much more than just that. We need a paradigm shift in our approach.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 13^th, 2013.