Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
APR
2012
IQRA CONNECT
Life at IQRA
IN THIS ISSUE
by Bilal Muneer
IQRA University is
ranked as the 2nd best
University in Pakistan in
the field of Business
Education
Understanding
IQBAL The Task
Ahead ..... 2
High Achievers
Honored ......6
Development for
Community....... 6
Fashion Art
Gallery ....... 8
PAST EVENTS
TectIQs 11 21st 22nd Nov 11
Welcome Party Feb 12
CS Department Get Together
Textile Thesis Display -24th Mar 12
BS Software Engineering
program scheduled to
start from Fall 2012
MS in Mobile Computing
and Bachelors in
Computer Engineering
Programs are also in
planning stage
UPCOMING EVENTS
PEC Visit
Resume Writing Workshop
Understanding IQBAL
The Task Ahead
by Muhammad Azam
Allama Iqbal is arguably one of the greatest Muslim thinkers and fittingly attributed by Iqbal academy website as the
best articulated Muslim response to modernity in the 20th century. He is largely famous for his inspiring wisdom poetry
and as a political activist who first coined the idea of a separate state for the Muslims of Indian Sub-continent. But there
is also a third dimension of Iqbals contribution which is slightly less known to the younger generation of Muslims. He
provided through his philosophical prose writings a fresh orientation, in the light of modern human thoughts of some of
the fundamental ideas of Islam. His philosophical insights can be primarily found in the famous compilation of his series of lectures, which he delivered
from 1928 to 1929, called The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam. In this short article I would try to emphasize on the importance of
continued progress for the Muslims of today.
According to Iqbal, during the last five hundred years, no significant progress was made by Muslims in the development of their religious thought. On
the other hand, during the same period, European thinkers, who initially received inspiration from Muslims, were continuously working on the problems in which we were initially interested. There is no doubt that, during the last few centuries, West has made great progress in the domains of human thought and experience. Modern man, as a direct result of this progress, has gradually developed the habits of concrete thought. He has learned
to do free inquiry, suspect all authority and question all assumptions. It is very difficult for a rational mind of today to accept religion as a set of beliefs
without any concrete rational foundations. Because of the five hundred years old static religious thoughts, Muslim scholars of today are unable to convince a modern mind.
Iqbal was very critical of the poor achievements of Muslim scholars in the domains of human knowledge especially in the traditional religious
sciences. He was of the opinion that early schools of Islamic theology were indeed built on rational foundations. They initially served a great purpose in
shaping and directing the progress of religious thoughts but unfortunately they failed to continue it in the right direction. Their decline, according to
him, was not because of faulty scholarship of Muslim scholars but their lack of will and courage to live up to ideals embodied in Islamic teachings. As a
result of their lethargic approach, Muslim scholars were left behind in the race of knowledge and gradually they became incapable of receiving any
insight from the new developments. They are still relying on the same old methods which were created by generations living in a very different culture
from the world of today. He writes in Wings of Gabriel
The forest of learning and research is devoid of lion-hearted men. See that only the blind followers of the Mullahs and Sufis have now been left behind,
O Saqi!
According to Iqbal, the young generation of Muslims are demanding a fresh orientation of their faith. In order to satisfy a rational mind, it is imperative
for us to reconstruct our religious foundations in the light of recent advancements in human knowledge. He himself led the way through his prose
writings in which he tried to lay down the foundations of some of the basic ideas of Islam. The main objective before him was to develop a proper
understanding of Islam as a message to not only Muslims but to all mankind. He urged Muslims to carefully evaluate the progress of the west in the
light of eternal Islamic teachings and see how it can help us in the further development of our religious thoughts. He writes in Reconstruction
The task before the modern Muslim is, therefore, immense. He has to rethink the whole system of Islam without completely breaking with the past .
The only course open to us is to approach modern knowledge with a respectful but independent attitude and to appreciate the teachings of Islam in the
light of that knowledge, even though we may be led to differ from those who have gone before us.
Iqbal saw modern European culture on its intellectual side as a further development of culture that Islam itself promoted in its early stages. He didnt
find anything wrong in learning from west but his only fear was that its glittering exterior might hinder our sight and we might fail to reach the real
target. He says in The Rod of Moses
Islam is the last message of God for mankind and being its torch bearer it is our responsibility to make this message as simple as possible for
understanding. Iqbal started this great work leaving behind a great legacy. It is now the duty of our future generations to continue this work in the
right direction. During this continuous struggle, we must always remember that the development of human thought, according to Iqbal himself, is a
never ending journey. We should never let this idea cross our mind that we have the ultimate knowledge but rather we should approach every new
development with an unbiased attitude. A quote from the preface of Reconstruction
It must, however, be remembered that there is no such thing as finality in philosophical thinking. As knowledge advances and fresh avenues of
thought are opened, other views, and probably sounder views than those set forth in these Lectures, are possible. Our duty is to carefully watch the
progress of human thought and to maintain an independent critical attitude towards it.
IQRA UNIVERSITY ISLAMABAD | DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTING AND TECHNOLOGY
by Bilal Muneer
Dr ZIA UL-QAYYUM
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Computing & Tech
PhD School of Computing University of Leeds UK
Dr ADNAN IQBAL
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Computing & Tech
PhD National University of Sciences &
Technology, Islamabad
by Bilal Muneer
Dr Salman Mahmood
Assistant Professor Engineering Dept. at
IQRA university
PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering
from Petronas University of Technology,
Malaysia
HM/WM: Could you give us a synopsis of the past, present of IQRA University?
Dr Jamil: When I joined Iqra 9 years ago, it was a small university with a negligible academic structure. Around 150 students were enrolled at that
time. It was here that I had my second achievement as I developed a study culture and later evolved it into a research culture. There are two types of
research: Applied research which focuses on local, industrial problems. While pure research focuses on producing PhDs, writing theory, and publishing
research papers in international journals. This is evident from the fact that IQRA University has been ranked number 35 out of 96 universities. In 2010,
27 papers were published in international journals. Currently, the Management Sciences Department is regarded as number 1 in research in Pakistan.
HM/WM: How would you compare education of your time to the one available in Pakistan nowadays?
Dr Jamil: We didnt have access to high technology in our times which is a big difference. Nowadays, you have cell phones, internet and many other
things that have drastically changed since our times. This is known as blended learning. As there are classrooms equipped with the latest technology,
you can communicate with anyone anywhere in the world. However, comparatively speaking, we had one advantage in our times. Students then were
more serious in their approach while this trait is missing among the present day students. Presently, competition is very tough as compared to the past.
Availability of Technology has negatively affected on reading habits. If students change their attitude, the present time would be better than before.
HM/WM: What makes you believe that Iqra is better than the rest?
Dr Jamil: Two entities are important i.e faculty and students. We have a highly qualified faculty here. The CS and Engineering department are leading
in this. We also have highly motivated students. So I believe that because of these two factors Iqra will be No.1 University. LUMS and GIK started with a
team of 4-5 people, we have a bigger and a better team as compared to them at the same stage. We currently have over 3000 students with 150 faculty
members. Hence I believe Iqra is better placed than the rest.
HM/WM: How difficult is it for a fresh graduate to get a job these days? Are courses at Iqra tailored to meet the market needs and I f
any research is done to assess the new trends?
Dr Jamil: There are a lot of issues involved. Students should not sit at home once they have completed their studies. If the university does not do any
thing to facilitate job opportunities for the students then this would create a negative impression of the university in the society, as people would be
hesitant to send their children to such a university which does nothing for the fresh graduates. It should actually be the responsibility of the university
to help fresh graduates to find jobs. There should be a placement unit, which should help students in preparing for interviews, writing CVs, and enabling them to market themselves. No course is available which prepares a student to hunt for a job. Out of 137 credit hours, at least 6-7 credit hours
should be spared for teaching students how to grab jobs.
HM/WM: What interests you the most about artificial intelligence and neural networks?
Dr Jamil: When I did my PhD in 1995, A.I. and Neural networks were extremely famous and the research organizations used to allocate considerable
funds for research in these fields. Hence many students were attracted to this field and it was one the reasons why I chose this field. When I did my
masters from Peshawar University, there was no challenge in conventional programming. An idea kept on teasing my mind: how to make a program
more intelligent, so when I went to UK, my interest built up and during my masters from University of Warwick I took up a couple of courses regarding
AI but I still wanted to learn more and then when I did my masters I finally understood what AI was. I have also published more than 70 research papers
on that subject.
HM/WM: If a student is interested in learning a subject in addition to his/her course can he/she sit in that class?
Dr Jamil: In the first two weeks, students come up to me and ask if they can take 7 subjects. I advise them to come to me after 3 weeks. They
normally disappear then. Students can attend any class if they wish. If I could go back in time, I would take 200 credit hours even if I have to pay. At
this university you dont need to even pay, just request the teachers to sit in the class without causing any disturbance. I highly encourage you all to
attend classes of your interest.
HM/WM: Can you tell us a little about the Joint degree program with Coventry University, UK?
Dr Jamil: We are struggling with it, as the fee is too high. But it is still going on, one batch was recently admitted. It has many advantages, as this is a
high level program. All the exam papers must be sent back to Coventry University for checking and verification. Teachers must justify their results and
this was done through video conferencing and it was quite successful. Both of us have benefited from this program. They developed the fashion
designing department after seeing our setup.
HM/WM: Why are there so few extra curricular events at Iqra University?
Dr Jamil: We do not discourage these events but some factors like tight schedule of studies play a role in it . Recently, IEEE Tectiqs was successfully
organized and there will be more similar events InshAllah, in the future. We are planning to hold our second convocation, on the 27th March which
also marks the 10th anniversary of Iqra University. A music concert featuring Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is also in the pipeline. A fun week for students is
also planned around mid of March 2012.
Favorite Quotation
If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of
the oppressor Desmond Tutu
Best
Teacher:
Lab Engineer:
Teaching Assistant:
Oifficce Boy:
Mr. Kamran
Mr. Wasif Laitiff, Dr. Qasim Mahmood, Mr. Shah Alam and Mr. Mohammad Farooq were also acknowledged for their performance.
Usman Mehboob
(EE)
Fall 08
Iffat Brekhna
(EE)
Fall 10
(EE)
Fall 11
Farhan Babar
(EE)
Spring 09
M. Waseem Afzal
(TN)
Fall 10
Maryam Iftikhar
(TN)
Spring 09
Hammad-ur-Rahman
(EE)
Fall 10
Zoya Siddiqui
(CS)
Fall 11
Mohsin Ahmed
(EE)
Mohammad Hasib
(EE)
Fall 09
Bisma Waseeq
(EE)
Fall 11
Fall 10
Batool Zahra
(CS)
Fall 11
Abrar Ahmad
(CS)
Fall 09
Mehreen Yousaf
Hassaan Mirza
(CS)
Fall 09
M. Taimur Ali
(CS)
Spring 11
M. Shakir Khattak
(TN)
Fall 11
(CS)
Spring 11
Awais Ali
(CS)
Fall 11
Fall 09
Maria Zaheer
(CS)
Spring 11
Sahir Nadeem
(CS)
Fall 11
Assistant Professor
Assistant Professor
Department of
Management Sciences
of MIS, Department
of Management
Sciences at Iqra
University
Department of
Management Sciences
PhD in Economics from
Johannes Kepler
University, Linz, Austria
PhD in Management
Hull University UK
Dr Iffat Chaudhry
Iqra Center for Social Responsibility is the initiative of Mr.Kashif M. Khan, Director Industrial Liaison,
Iqra University, Islamabad Campus. The main purpose of this initiative is to support community through students participation. Over the last five years, students of Iqra University through such projects were able to generate funds of
approximately Rs. 8.0 million. All of these funds have been used for supporting under privileged sectors of the community.
Establishment of Schools
Establishment of Computer labs
Renovation of Schools
Renovation of Mosques
Medical camps
ICSR intends to remind students and faculty members about their responsibilities towards the community. Students participating in ICSR identify
social issues and after consultation with the professor incharge complete these projects within a timeline to bring about a positive change in the community. The ICSR team has been working on different projects for the community.
Recently, ICSR has helped Ahsania Foundation for their fundraising campaign (http://www.ahsaniamission.com.pk).
Similarly, a computer lab was established in Islamabad Model School G-7/4, through the volunteers of ICSR (http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=kvYNVPXpWHE).
This research group is under the supervision of the leading teacher of Iqra University, Mr. Adeel Khalid Siddiqui.
IQRA UNIVERSITY ISLAMABAD | DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTING AND TECHNOLOGY
IQRA Survey
Recently, the Iqra newsletter society conducted a survey to assess more than 500 students opinion about the various facilities and on-going activities available at Iqra
University Campus, Islamabad.
What do you like the most about campus life at this university?
What do you like the least about campus life at this university?
If you want to contribute or have any suggestions for us, write to us at : bgw.iqra@gmail.com