University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore

The University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore (UET Lahore) is a public university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan specializing in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects. It is the oldest and one of the most selective engineering institutions in Pakistan.

History and overview
Founded in 1 January 1921 in Mughalpura, a suburban area of Lahore, as Mughalpura Technical College, it later became the 'MacLagan Engineering College', a name given to it in 1923 after Sir Edward Douglas MacLagan, the then Governor of Punjab, who laid the foundation stone of the main building, now called the Main Block. In 1929, it was affiliated with the University of Punjab for the award of Bachelor's Degrees in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering. In 1939, the name was again changed to Punjab College of Engineering and Technology, and a Civil Engineering degree was also started in the college. At the time of partition, part of the college relocated to India, called East Punjab College of Engineering. In 1954, a bachelor's degree program in mining engineering was started. In 1962, it was granted charter and was named the West Pakistan University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore. During the 1960s, bachelor's degree programs were started in chemical engineering, petroleum and gas engineering, metallurgical engineering, architecture and city and regional planning. In 1972, it was officially renamed the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore. By the 1970s, it had established a score of master's degree programs in engineering, architecture, city and regional planning and allied disciplines. Several Ph.D. degree programs were also started. A second campus of the university was established in 1975 in Sahiwal which was relocated to Taxila in 1978 and became an independent university in 1993 called the University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila.

Today, it is widely considered one of the best and most prestigious engineering universities in Pakistan where more than 50,000 students apply for admission every year.

The university, had a faculty of 881 people of which 257 had doctorates. It has a total of 9,385 undergraduate and 1,708 postgraduate students studying. It has a strong collaboration with the University of South Carolina, University of Manchester and the Queen Mary University of London and has conducted research funded by Huawei, Cavium Networks, Microsoft and MontaVista. It is one of the highest ranked universities in Pakistan with domestic rankings placing it as the third best engineering school in Pakistan while QS World University Ranking put it as 236th in world in the category of Engineering & Technology in the year 2024. It is also ranked 101-150 in the category of Petroleum Engineering, 201-250 in Electrical & Electronics Engineering, 251-300 in Mechanical Engineering, 351-400 in Chemical Engineering and 401-450 in Computer Science & Information Systems in the world by the same publication in 2024. Meanwhile, in Asia the university ranking is currently ranked at No. 165th. Computer Science is the highest-merit and most sought after discipline at UET Lahore (at Undergraduate Level). The government of Punjab commemorated the 100th anniversary of UET by issuing a Commemorative coin and a Postage stamp in January 2022.

Location
The campus is situated on the Grand Trunk Road (GT Road), a few kilometers from the Mughal era Shalimar Gardens.

Research centers
The university consists of the following research centers:


 * Al-Khawarizmi Institute of Computer Science (KICS)
 * Huawei – UET Joint TeleComm and IT Center
 * Center for Language Engineering
 * ZTE – UET Joint TeleComm Center
 * Laser and Optronics Center
 * Energy Research Technologies Development Center
 * Institute of Environmental Engineering and Research
 * DSP and Wireless Communication Center
 * Center of Excellence in Water Resources Engineering
 * Research Center
 * Software Engineering Center
 * Manufacturing Technologies Development Center
 * Automotive Engineering Center
 * Nano Technology Research Center
 * Innovation and Technology Development Center
 * Engineering Services UET Pakistan (Pvt) Limited (ESUPAK)
 * Center for Energy Research and Development
 * BioMedical Engineering Center

More than 870 students are foreign students and more than 1000 are female students.

Teaching faculty
The faculty consists of 741 people including 14 international faculty members; around 122 have doctoral degrees. Its faculty holds one Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, one Sitara-i-Imtiaz, one Izaz-e-Kamal Presidential Award and nine HEC Best Teacher Awards.

The university has established a Directorate of Research, Extension and Advisory Services which strives for the promotion and organization of research activities. The Al-Khwarizmi Institute of Computer Sciences is a notable name in Pakistan's research activity in computer sciences.

Co-curricular, extracurricular activities and student societies
The university has a sports complex, consisting of a swimming pool, tennis court, table tennis court, squash court and a cricket stadium used for athletics. The university has several football grounds. Apart from sports-related facilities, there are societies to promote co-curricular activities and seminars.

The National Library of Engineering Science
The National Library of Engineering Science, inaugurated by Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, is the central library of the university with a seating capacity for 400 readers and more than 125,000 volumes of books, 22,000 volumes of bound serials and 600 issues of scientific and technical serials on diverse fields. The Library has the honor of having recently been chosen by the Higher Education Commission to serve as the primary resource center for engineering and technical education. It is a three-story building in front of Allah Hu Chowk.

Notable alumni

 * Fawad Rana, Owner of Lahore Qalandars
 * Parvez Butt, Former Chairman of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC)
 * Junaid Jamshed, Religious Scholar
 * Jawad Ahmad, Pop Singer
 * Junaid Khan, Rock Singer and Actor
 * Najam Sheraz, Pop Singer
 * Faakhir Mehmood, Pop Singer
 * Sami Khan, Actor
 * Ahsan Iqbal, Politician, Member of Pakistan Muslim League (N)
 * Mir Nooruddin Mengal, slain Leader and Former Acting President of Balochistan National Party (Mengal)
 * Fazal Ahmad Khalid, Former Vice Chancellor of the university
 * Mehreen Faruqi, Australian Politician
 * Peer Zulfiqar Ahmad Naqshbandi, Islamic Scholar
 * Mosharraf Hossain, Bangladeshi Politician
 * Arun Kumar Ahuja, late Hindi film actor
 * Adil Najam, dean Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, former vice chancellor of Lahore University of Management Sciences and former associate professor at the International Institute for Sustainable Development, former associate professor at Tufts University, USA
 * Ahsan Kareem, Robert M. Moran Professor of Engineering and Director of NatHaz Modeling Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame, USA
 * Ishfaq Ahmad, fellow of IEEE, professor at The University of Texas at Arlington, USA
 * Amir Asif, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Vice President Research and Innovation, at York University, Toronto, Canada.