It’s show time: Habib University building to be completed by end of Feb

The Habib University campus in Gulistan-e-Jauhar is scheduled to be completed by the end of February. The campus is designed along the theme of ‘interconnectivity’. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN/EXPRESS

KARACHI: The construction of Habib University, located on the newly renamed University Avenue in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, is nearly complete.

The administration said the building will be fully completed by the end of February. They arranged a visit to the new campus on Tuesday. Speaking on behalf of the university, Sibtain Naqvi said they are committed towards providing quality education at the new educational institute.

“The fee is, admittedly, on the higher side, but that is because there are countless opportunities at Habib University for students, such as the study abroad programme,” he said. The chancellor of the university, Rafiq Habib, has claimed that “as long as students have the ability to get in [to the university] money will not be a problem,” Naqvi quoted Habib. Habib University is offering nearly a hundred scholarships to students, with a variety of financing options so that money will not be a hindrance.

Dr Charles Timothy Spracklen, the dean of research and continuing education at Habib University, spoke of the opportunities available to students. The Habib University Space Technology Centre is a place where students will be actively involved in constructing and managing a satellite. “The finest universities in the world are research universities,” he pointed out as he spoke of “research activity as a catalyst for research in Pakistan”.

Another feature of the university is a centre for commercial production, where students can learn how to market their ideas and obtain funding from the university or other institutions. “We want to reverse the capital outflow from Pakistan and help create employment,” said Naqvi. “Basically, we want to change the impression of Pakistan in the world.”

Spread over more than six acres, the university boasts facilities, such as an amphitheatre, fitness centre, library, auditorium, covered swimming pool and a basketball court. The administration claimed the campus was designed according to international standards and is universally accessible, with large ramps and elevators for disabled students, along with easy access for ambulances to drive into the campus building.

The campus also has a welfare centre where students will be able to hold private sessions with a trained counsellor. The largest area on campus has been allocated to the library, which has two levels, with separate sections for a writing centre, a coffee shop, the information commons and group study rooms.

“The campus will have 14 labs that are as large as the ones at Georgia Tech that are meant to serve 15,000 students,” claimed Naqvi. “The ones at Habib University will serve 1,000 students.”

The architects also designed faculty offices or ‘pods’ across the campus to make it easier for students to reach the faculty members. The concept behind the design is interconnectivity, explained Azhar Abbas, the chief architect of the project. He explained that for each batch of classrooms, there is a connected courtyard and a faculty pod. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 12:1, Habib University is committed towards creating a unique university experience for students, the administration claimed. One of the key elements of the university is that it aims to involve the rest of society by allowing members of the public to utilise some of the university’s facilities, such as the library and the auditorium, Naqvi pointed out. He explained that they were “making this university for society” so they made sure it’s accessible to the general public