Panjab University - [PU]

About College

Panjab University was established in 1882. It is a public Autonomous university located in Chandigarh Union Territory, India.

• The university has 75 teaching & research departments and 15 centres for teaching and research at the main campus.
• It has 10 affiliated colleges spread over the states of Panjab,  Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and U.T. of Chandigarh, with Regional Centres at Muktsar, Ludhiana and Hoshiarpur cities.
• One of the oldest Universities in India
• There are four museums, a botanical garden and a garden for medicinal plants on the campus. 
• University campus is spread over an area of 550 acres (2.2 km2) in sectors 14 and 25 of the city of Chandigarh.
• University has 75 teaching and research departments and 15 Centers/Chairs for teaching and research at the main campus located at Chandigarh.
• University has 188 affiliated colleges spread over Punjab and having one rural Regional Centre at Kauni, and 3 Regional Centres at Muktsar, Ludhiana and Hoshiarpur.
• University has 4 Constituent Colleges located at Sikhwala (Sri Muktsar Sahib), Balachaur (SBS Nagar), Nihalsingh Wala (Moga) and Guru Harsahai (Ferozepur).
• Panjab University Community Radio Station - Jyotirgamaya: 91.2 MHz

Research:

• The university has been recognised by the UGC as the “University with Potential for Excellence in Bio-Medical Sciences” with facilities for Stem Cell Research and Drug Development.
• The university is one of six centres in the country for super-computing facilities to serve the north-western region in Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC), DST.
• The university has a DST supported Regional Sophisticated Instrumentation Centre along with a Central Instrumentation Laboratory (CIL) and a University Science Instrumentation Centre (USIC) to serve the scientific community on the campus and in the region. The Centre for Industry Institute Partnership Programme (CIIPP) promotes the academic-industry interface.

Energy Research Centre:

• The Energy Research Centre was established in 1983 at Punjab University to promote R&D and Extension activities in Renewable Energy.
• The Energy Research Centre is the only R&D centre in the country designated as a Nodal Agency for the implementation of the programmes of MNES.
• The centre has been designated as a regional centre for testing solar thermal equipment by MNES. The Bureau of Indian Standard has approved the centre for testing wood burning stoves.
• The centre has provided consultancy to countries in the Asia-Pacific region such as the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Kiribati and Tuvalu, in the area of renewable energy sources, energy management and environmental protection.

LHC project:The university has participated in the project called International Collaboration for Research for Elementary Particles and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) CERN, Geneva CMS Experiment with a Govt. of India grant of Rs. 2.49 Crores.

Placements:  Panjab University is one of the first three highest impact factor Educational Institution of India, which aims at providing perfect ambience to budding professionals so as to enable them to carve a unique niche in their upcoming field. Clarity of concept, confidence, discipline, boldness, motivation and a desire to excel are inculcated in them as a part and parcel of the curriculum, besides grooming them to become learned professionals. 

Conferences:-

• National Conference on Mechanical Engineering (NCME2014) organizing by: Swami Sarvanand Giri Regional Centre on 07-11-2014.
• National Conference on “Current Trends in Plant Sciences with Special Reference to Phycology and Mycology” organized by Department of Botany on 28-10-2014
• Harnessing Engineering, Technology, and Innovation for Sustainable Growth (HETIS2014) Organizing by: Dr. S. S. Bhatnagar University Institute of Chemical Engineering & Technology on 19-09-2014
• International Conference on Recent Advances in EngineeringComputational Sciences 2014 Organizing by: Department of Anthropology on 06-03-2014

Centers of Excellence: Acknowledging excellence in teaching and research, the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) have recognized a large number of Departments under various Programmes such as the Special Assistance Programme/Departmental Research Support (SAP/DRS), Centre for Advanced Study (CAS), Funds for Improvement of Science and Technology (FIST) and the Department of Special Assistance (DSA).

Participation in National & International Collaborative Research:- The University is participating in the prestigious International High Energy Research Programmes at Fermilab (USA), KEK (Japan) and CERN (Switzerland). At present the University is involved in a big way in CMS and ALICE Experiments at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) Switzerland and Neutrino Programme at Fermilab, USA.

Panjab University Alumni Association (PUAA): The Senate of Panjab Univesity approved the formation of the Panjab University Alumni Association (PUAA) in 1969. However, the PUAA with the Vice-Chancellor as its President, and the Dean Alumni Relations as its Secretary, was formally inaugurated on 30th September 1972. 

Notable Alumnae:

• Manmohan Singh, former Prime minister of India
• Hargobind Khorana, Nobel Laureate Biotechnologist
• Shankar Dayal Sharma, ninth President of India
• I. K. Gujral, former Prime minister of India
• Kalpana Chawla, NASA Astronaut. Died on 1 February 2003 in Space Shuttle Columbia accident
• Sushma Swaraj, Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Kiran Bedi, first woman IPS Officer
• Sunil Bharti Mittal, founder, chairman and Group CEO of Bharti Enterprises
• Kapil Sibal, Minister of Human Resource Development
• Gul Panag, actress and model
• Romila Thapar, prominent Historian

Cultural Festivals: "Cyanide" the annual festival of DCET/UICET, was from the first student festivals started in Chandigarh and has a long tradition. Tatva is the student magazine of DCET/UICET. There is an annual debate competition called the Polemic. Goonj is the annual cultural fest and Aavishkar is the tech-fest of UIET.

The University, under the European Law Students Association (ELSA), has established a student exchange programme in order to give exposure to students and develop cross-cultural experiences. The exchange programme brings in foreign students of around 15 countries who are looked after by the office of the Dean of Foreign Students. Other activities include:

• Swimming competitions and sports competitions
• Dance and music shows
• Debates
• Talent shows

Facilities:-

A. C. Joshi Library: The Panjab University Library, named as "A. C. Joshi Library", after the name of an Vice-Chancellor of this University, was established in the U.S. Club, Shimla in 1947.

• The Library building is air-conditioned and equipped with computer and communication network houses more than six lakh volumes and has a seating capacity of 500 readers.
• There are two main reading halls, Outer Reading Hall for studying personal books and 24 research carrels for teachers engaged in serious research work and 90 lockers for research scholars.
• The Library has a collection of over 6.4 lakh publications which include books, theses/dissertations, bound volumes of journals, reports, government documents, rare books, back files of newspapers, and a prized collection of 1490 manuscripts.
• The Library subscribes 600 current periodicals. Library subscribes to MathSciNet online comprising of current Mathematical publications & Mathematical Reviews, and has access to 225 online full text journals as part of print journals subscription.

Computer Centre: The Computer Culture at the Panjab University dates back to 1966. Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India has selected PU as a node to be connected to National Knowledge Commission (NKN) with high network bandwidth. The University Computer Center has established 10 Gigabit campus wide Network.

Hostels: A hostel is a home away from home.

There are seventeen Residence Halls, 8 for boys and 9 for girls which accommodate more than 6000 students.

Rankings:

• Panjab University was ranked the #1 university in India in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings list 2013-14.
• 1^st in India and 32^nd in Asia, Times Higher Education Asian University rankings 2014.
• Ranked 141-150 in QS University Ranking: BRICS 2014
• Ranked number one in India and in the bracket 226-250 internationally in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, 2013-2014 powered by Thomson Reuters.
• Ranked number one in India and 13th in the Times Higher Education BRICS & Emerging Economies Rankings 2014.