NUST Institute of Civil Engineering

The National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) is a Pakistani multi-campus public research university with its main campus in Islamabad and six other campuses in four cities (Rawalpindi, Risalpur, Quetta, and Karachi), covering all provinces, as well as 18 constituent institutions in total. The university offers degrees in multiple disciplines e.g., engineering, computer sciences, natural sciences, business studies, humanities, architecture, law, and health sciences.

The university offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. NUST was established in March 1991 to promote higher education in the country, especially in the fields of science and technology, and its charter was granted in 1993. All of its engineering programmes are accredited under the Washington Accord, as well as by the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC). The main campus in Islamabad also contains Pakistan's first National Science and Technology Park, certified by International Association of Science Parks (IASP). As of 2025, NUST has over 12,000 full-time students enrolled and over 20 departments with over 1,637 academic faculty staff.

History

Pre-Inception

After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the training of military corpsmen became one of the top priorities of the new Government. In 1947, Military College of Signals (MCS) was established as the School of Signals. A year later, in 1948, the School of Military Engineering (SME) was established at Sialkot to train the corps in the field of engineering. In 1951, it was given the status of college as Military College of Engineering (MCE) and was shifted to its present location in Risalpur. On 1 April 1957, EME School was established at Quetta and in 1969, it was given the status of College of Electrical & Mechanical Engineering (CEME) and civilians were admitted. In 1962, Pakistan Navy Engineering College (PNEC) was established in Karachi. To train the members of the Pakistan Air Force, the College of Aeronautical Engineering (CAE) was established at Korangi Creek, Karachi in 1965. In the same year, the School of Signals was upgraded to a college. In 1981 an undergraduate program was launched at CEME giving it the status of a university. A few years later in April 1984, CEME moved to its current location in Rawalpindi from Quetta. In May 1986, CAE was shifted to the PAF Academy in Risalpur.

Inception

In March 1991, the Government of Pakistan established the National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST) for the promotion of higher education in the country, especially in the fields of science and technology. The first college to be affiliated with NUST was MCS in 1992. In 1993, the university was granted a Charter through a Presidential Ordinance, and CEME and MCE became part of the university. In December 1994 and November 1995, College of Aeronautical Engineering and Pakistan Navy Engineering College became constituents of NUST respectively. In 1997, the charter was converted into the National University of Sciences and Technology Act (Act No. XX of 1997) by the Parliament of Pakistan. In 1999, CEME and CAE attained ISO 9001 Certification, the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (SEECS) and NUST Business School (NBS, formerly known as NIMS) were established. In 2003, the Center for Cyber Technology and Spectrum Management was launched in Islamabad. In May 2004, the Center for Advanced Mathematics and Physics was created. The School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME) was established in 2006. In 2007, the Center of Virology and Immunology was developed to increase research in the field of medical sciences in Pakistan.

Establishment of main campus

In 2008, a new campus was developed in Sector H-12, Islamabad. Some old colleges such as SEECS and NBS were shifted to this campus and new schools were established such as School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (SCEE) and the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (SMME). In 2012, NUST renamed the Center of Virology and Immunology as Atta-ur-Rahman School of Applied Biosciences to honor Prof. Atta ur Rehman, a highly distinguished scientist from Pakistan who has received several prestigious awards including Hilal-i-Imtiaz (HI), Tamgha-i-Imtiaz (TI), and Fellow of Royal Society (FRS) for his exceptional contributions in the field. In 2013, School of Social Sciences & Humanities (S3H) was established by combining departments of economics, mass communication, behavioral sciences and public policy. In 2020, Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree was offered at S3H department in Islamabad, which was eventually established into a separate school i.e. NUST Law School. In 2024, NUST School of Health Sciences (NSHS) was launched in its main Islamabad campus, with Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and Bachelor's in Human Nutrition and Dietetics being offered. In the same year, SMME also introduced Bachelor's in Aeronautical Engineering.

Campuses

NUST is a multi-campus university with the main campuses located in Islamabad. Campuses of NUST are located in the following cities:

Islamabad

Sector H-12 Campus

The campus in Sector H-12 Islamabad was initiated in 2008. Besides NUST Headquarters, the schools and institutes that were relocated to this campus include School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, School of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Research Center for Modeling and Simulation, School of Natural Sciences (formerly known as Center for Advanced Mathematics and Physics), Atta-ur-Rehman School of Applied Biosciences, School of Art Design and Architecture, NUST Business School, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Professional Development Center, Technology Incubation Center, Marketing and Industrial Relations Organization, NUST Publishing and NUST Outreach and Talent Hunt Initiative. It also has a department for career counselling named Centre for Counselling and Career Advisory (C3A) that helps provide primary mental health facilities.

The campus is spread over 800 acres (3.2 km2) of land. Sports facilities such as cricket, volleyball courts, basketball, football and squash courts are present while hockey stadium and tennis courts are under construction. Hostels for both male and female students are present inside the campus. Facilities in the hostels include badminton courts, basketball and gymnasiums. Some hostel rooms have attached baths while others have community baths. The campus recently inaugurated a central library next to the Headquarters, along with a race course track and a horse riding club. In 2017, a small hiking trail was also opened up for students in order to promote physical well-being. Various cafeterias are constructed on the campus to facilitate the students, along with a tailor shop, a barber shop and various bakeries and shopping marts. A Separate housing facility for the university staff is also present in the campus. Moreover, the campus also houses the NUST Science and Technology Park (NSTP). It also has a central gymnasium (along with several others in hostels) and a lake.

National Science and Technology Park

The National Science and Technology Park (NSTP) is located in SINES department. It was inaugurated in December 2019.

Rawalpindi

College of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (CEME):

Located on Grand Trunk Road in Rawalpindi, College of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (CEME) is the largest military constituent college of NUST. CEME's journey began in 1957, when it was established as the Electrical and Mechanical Engineers School in Quetta for the training of Pakistan Army's EME Corps. In April 1984, having stayed for 26 years at Quetta, the College moved to its present premises in Rawalpindi. CEME offers different undergraduate and postgraduate programs in mechanical, electrical, mechatronics and computer engineering fields. As of 2025, it has 2400+ enrolled students and 122 faculty members.

Academics

Research

A Research and Development (R&D) Directorate is established at the NUST headquarters which encourages the growth of research in the university. All efforts of R&D Directorate are coordinated through an organizational structure consisting of NUST headquarters, R&D Cells at each constituent college and NUST's commercial arms. The mission of Research Directorate is to facilitate and co-ordinate research activities of NUST constituent institutions and to liaise with other national as well as international academics, research and industrial organizations to facilitate research at NUST. It has collaboration with various International agencies such as, USAID, British Council, UKAID, QNRF, TWAS, BP, NRG Bio-fuel Canada, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and many others.

R&D cells

Each college, institute and center has an R&D Cell headed by a PhD qualified faculty member who co-ordinates, monitors and records all the R&D activities of the college. The head coordinates all the activities among departments, faculty members, researchers, students and industries identifying potential projects and sources of funds. Many innovations from NUST students are finding practical use in Pakistan.

NUST Consulting

NUST Consulting helps researchers undertake consultancy services with external agencies. In this regard, all centers are involved with NC to improve efficiency, reduce of wastage, increase productivity and improve quality.

Technology Incubation Centre

NUST has established a Technology Incubation Centre with an aim to combine industrial development and technological research together and establish the linkages between institutes and the industry. The Incubation Centre has been mentoring and hosting startups since 2005. TIC will also help faculty members in identifying the end users apart from commercializing of R&D output.

University research journals

The university publishes the following journals:

• NUST Journal of Engineering Sciences, ISSN 2070-9900
• NUST Journal of Business and Economics, ISSN 2073-994X
• NUST Journal of Natural Sciences, ISSN 2072-4659
• Pakistan Armed Forces Medical Journal, ISSN 0030-9648
• TECHNOCRAT - Journal of Science and Technology, ISSN 1728-5690

University-industry linkages

The new campus established in Islamabad is co-located with Tech Town in Sector I-12 where IT and electronics related industries and technology parks are planned to be set up, so as to promote university and industry linkages. Apart from this, NUST is providing training and consultancy services to the industry and other business organizations.

NUST has also bought lab equipment needed for doctoral and postdoctoral research work, with financing through Islamic Development Bank (IDB). IDB has provided 26 Million US$ as grant for buying the services of researchers from abroad, over and above the programs of Ministry of Science and Technology, Pakistan.

Student life

The institute offers opportunities for students to participate in technical and professional societies. Study trips to industries and organizations are arranged, guest speakers from institutes and industry are invited and seminars and workshops are held. Sports facilities are available in all campuses.

Student Bodies

Student run organizations, societies and clubs are present in almost all the NUST campuses. These include Computer Society of Pakistan - NUST Chapter, NUST Community services club, a community service student-run body TABA - NUST Chapter, NUST Skill Development Club, NUST Volunteer Club, NUST Science Society, NUST Deep Learning Society, NUST Adventure Club, Literary Circle, Book Club, Fine Arts Club, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Society, Media (Photography) Club, Pakistan, Innovation Society, Debating Society, Aeromodelling Club, NUST Environment Club, Telecom Society, Software Society, IT Club, Automobile Club and Sports Club. Deep Sea Diving and Sailing Club is available for the students of the Pakistan Navy Engineering College in Karachi.

Sports facilities

All the campuses have their own sports facilities. Courts for indoor games and activities such as table tennis, badminton and squash are available in almost all campuses. Tennis, basketball and volleyball courts, hockey, football and cricket grounds are also present in all the main campuses. Some colleges have swimming pools and gymnasiums.

Student residence

Separate hostels for boys and girls are available in most colleges and is at various stages of completion in the rest. Students of College of Aeronautical Engineering (CAE) are provided separate accommodations, while students at Military College of Signals (MCS), College of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (CEME) and Army Medical College (AMC) are placed in the newly constructed dormitories at the campus. Pakistan Navy Engineering College has sufficient hostel facilities for both male and female students. The H-12 campus of NUST also has separate hostels for boys and girls. These include Attar, Ghazali, Razi, Rumi, Zakria and Hajweri hostels for boys and Fatima, Zainab, Khadija and Ayesha hostels for girls. Dining and mess facilities are located in all campuses.

Cafeterias

There are four main cafeterias on the main campus built to accommodate the student's need to refuel themselves namely C-1, C-2, C-3 and C-4. C-1 (Concordia-1) & C-2 (Concordia-2) are properly built round structures that have everything from a cafeteria to a juice shop, a stationery shop, a bakery, a print shop etc. C-3 provides scenic views of the sports complex at NUST. C-4 is mostly limited to students of SNS and SMME who are farthest away from all other cafeterias. Other cafes include 'Margalla Cafe', which is an outdoor space just besides SADA, 'Coffee Lounge', famous for its Chinese food and Arabic-style shawarma, 'Retro Cafe', situated next to the boys' hostels, among various others.

People

Faculty

Notable faculty of NUST is as follows:

Dr. Usman Qamar, a recipient of Tamgha-i-Imtiaz.

Dr. Salman Raza Naqvi, a recipient of Tamgha-i-Imtiaz.

Dr. Usman Akram, a recipient of Tamgha-i-Imtiaz.

Dr. Haider Abbas, a recipient of Tamgha-i-Imtiaz.

Dr. Rafia Mumtaz, a recipient of HEC Best Teacher Award in 2022 and member of Prime Minister's Task Force.

Dr. Yasar Ayaz, a recipient of Pride of Performance award which is the highest literary award of Pakistan.

Dr. Faisal Shafait, a recipient of Pride of Performance award.

Dr. Umar Shahbaz, a recipient of Pride of Performance award.

Notable alumni

NUST has a strong alumni network of more than 41,000 graduates (31,000+ undergraduate, 10,000+ master's and 400+ PhD graduates). Notable alumni are as follows:

Dr. Sarah Qureshi (Graduate of CEME. 2000), recipient of Tamgha-i-Imtiaz and CEO of Aero Engine Craft.

Abdullah Qureshi (Graduate of S3H), Pakistani singer.

Yashal Shahid (Graduate of SCME, 2019), Pakistani singer.

Эх сурвалж: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)