CESCO University is committed to disseminating knowledge: VC

Islamabad
CECOS is a research based university that offers experiences and enables discovery, and promotes creativity and research with focus on quality. We are committed to disseminating knowledge and fostering critical thinking that encourages life-long learning. Our mode of studies creates new knowledge methods, forms a basis for innovative solutions, and makes substantial contributions to society, these views were expressed by Dr. Riaz Ahmad Khattak, Vice Chancellor of CECOS University, Peshawar in an interview with ‘The News’.
He said CECOS providing a friendly environment to its students keeping up with all the needs of this era. The University has state of the art laboratories that encourage progressive research. Our vision is to produce competent and able graduates who can meet the challenges of the 21st century by assuming the leadership role.
Q: What are CECOS’s stances on research and industry linkage?
A: Research based studies today are of vital importance and CECOS fully realises the need of including practical research along with the theoretical knowledge. That is why CECOS established its industrial liaison center (CILC) that encourages industrial linkages programmes. The center is a home to engineers with electronic and mechanical laboratories and to facilitate the incubation center and entrepreneurship. Recently CECOS along with the Directorate of Science and Technology (DOST) successfully completed its ‘’solid waste to energy’’ project, whereby the municipal waste is converted into energy. Our students came up with an innovative model of a rickshaw that is run by using solar power; the solar rickshaw is one of its kind and which is economical and environment friendly. CECOS is not only contributing in the engineering sector but in the biological sciences as well. Degree programmes in Bio technology and Bio informatics are some recently launched courses that supports learning through research and getting to know about the advances in research carried out internationally. In collaboration with our state of art Mechanical Engineering Department, we are aiming to go for bio-engineering and bio-medical engineering disciplines.
Q: What programmes has CECOS recently added and tell us about faculty at CECOS?
A: CECOS is a forward looking and progressive dynamic institution and highly responsive to the fast growing and changing market needs. We have recently started PhD degrees in Civil and Electrical engineering apart from MS level programs in all other disciplines as well as degrees in biosciences and bioinformatics. Our architecture programme is the only leading program in private sector in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK)
CECOS has 160 full time dynamic and energetic faculty. Among these there are more than 20 PhD’s and MS’s including Foreign Graduates from leading universities of the world. In addition to this, we also arrange video conferences with subject experts from around the world to facilitate our students in a better way. A vibrant faculty development program with financial and administrative incentives to the faculty, establishment of fully functional ORIC, Quality Enhancement Cell (QEC), University Alumni and Advancement office, continued professional development program for registered engineers are some of the strongest attributes of CECOS University.
Q: Is CECOS giving any financial support to the deserving students?
A: CECOS has a committee specially designed to process and decide all applications for awarding fee concession to the deserving students. There are merit scholarships up to 40% and besides fee concession to the tune of 20%, 20% and 15% are granted to all females, kinship and children of army personal, respectively. In addition to this, the president and vice chancellor always grant fee concession to really needy students. No student is ever deprived of pursuing education because of financial constraints, said Dr. Khattak.
Q: Why CECOS claims to be a leading university in KP’s private sector, what makes it different from other universities?
A: What makes us different is our practices and beliefs, here at CECOS we believe in learning through an effective class room model that focuses not only on the theoretical aspects of the subject but on the practical side of it as well, framing through real solutions and shaping up the knowledge into action. The value of CECOS is defined by the caliber of the faculty that we have, the intensity of the research conducted, and the whip-smart intelligence of the students.
Also, we never compromise on merit and our students are left with the only option of hard work with right attitude leading to success. CECOS is one of the pioneer universities in the private sector of KPK producing highly competent graduates since the last 29 years, I think the experience itself and the standard and quality of alumni that we have speaks of what we claim of. Equally important is the fact that the CECOS as a University did not emerge overnight rather it travelled through a long (29 years) path of struggle, hard work and herculean efforts of Engineer Muhammad Tanveer Javed with vision for establishing center of excellence in higher education in KP to meet the needs of the province and nation at larger. Under his leadership and guidance, the key to our success is the policy of merit, transparency, team work, values, service to humanity as priority and having zero tolerance for plagiarism and absenteeism.
Vice chancellor’s profile:
Dr Riaz Ahmad Khattak is serving the university as a vice chancellor since 2012. During his tenure, CECOS has made an outstanding progress and has secured a unique place and international reputation through his ability to combine excellence, creativity & intellectual rigor with agility, professionalism & sustainability.
A well known educationist of national and international repute and a versatile personality, He graduated from Peshawar University as a gold medalist and President’s of Pakistan Award and holds a PhD and Post Doctorate in Soil Science and Environment from University of California, USA. He has held numerous academic leadership positions including Chairman and Dean. He retired in 2010 as a Meritorious Professor (Grade 22) from Agriculture University Peshawar, which is a rare honor. He produced 111 MS and 15 PhD students having 160 publications in international journals to his credit.