Punjab Univertisty College of Information Technology Corrigendum Advertisement

Punjab Univertisty College of Information Technology Corrigendum Advertisement by Prof. Dr. Liaqat Ali

Located in the heart of Lahore, neighboring the buzzing Anarkali Bazar and the Mall Road, PUCIT is the largest institution of higher learning in Pakistan in Computer Science, Information Technology, and Software Engineering. The College took a modest start with the Center for Computer Science, established in the Center for Solid State Physics, Quaid-e-Azam (New) Campus, Lahore, in 1988. The first degree program offered by the Center was a one-year Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Computer Science. 24 students were registered in this program during the first year. The Center was upgraded to Department of Computer Science in 1991. The Department started 2-year (4-semesters) PGD leading to MSc in Computer Science under the annual system. In its first batch, the 15 students were admitted to this program. The number doubled the following year.

 The Vice Chancellor, Lt Gen (R) Arshad Mahmood, further upgraded the Department to a constituent College in November 2000. The college was named Punjab University College of Information Technology (PUCIT). The College launched the 4-year (8-semester) BSc (Honors) in Compute Science program in November 2000. The classes of the new BSc (Hons) in Computer Science started in January 2001 with about 180 students. The program was offered on Self-Support basis only.

The PGD leading to MSc in Computer Science was converted to MSc in Computer Science in February 2001. 500 students were admitted to this program during the first (Spring) semester. However, due to the non-availability of sufficient number of classrooms, half of the students were shifted to Fall 2001. About 180 students were admitted in BSc (Hons) Computer Science and 500 in MSc Computer Science for the Fall 2001 semester. The College launched 4-year Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BIT), 2-year Master in Information Technology (MIT), Master in Electronic Commerce (M. E-Com), and 3-year MPhil leading to PhD in Computer Science in Fall 2003. Inter-flooring in the old library building was done in 2003, thereby creating space for the current library. PUCIT established its own Internet Service Provider (ISP) and software house, Agile Technologies, for automating key business processes in the College and bridging the gap between industry and academia. The GIS Center moved to PUCIT in 2004. The Free and Open Source Software Awairness Campaign (FOSSAC) was held at PUCIT in August 2005.