MS in Computer Science

2012

- Chief Minister Punjab

Information Technology University

Design:

Abdus Salam

Arfa Software Technology Park, 346-B, Ferozepur Road, Lahore

Email: admission@itu.edu.pk | queries@itu.edu.pk | Contact: 92-42-35880062

www.itu.edu.pk

Content:

Zainab Siraj

Samia Razzaq

Habiya Beg

Alina Din

Sara Azeem

Table of Contents

Introduction

Background

Need for Technology in Punjab

Mission & Objectives

The MIT Model

The ITU Model

International Collaboration

Admissions

Eligibility Criteria

How to Apply

Admissions Test

Deadlines

Selection Criteria

Funding

Curriculum

Degree Requirements

Concentrations

Entrepreneurship

Strategic Systems

University Facilities

Building: Administration, academic, library, laboratories, and other facilities

Equipment and laboratories

Digitally Linked Community

Preparation for the Future

11

1212

7

Introduction

Needfor technologyin Punjab

The Information Technology University (ITU) - Punjab strives to educate the next generation of innovative

and technically sound engineers interested in expanding their base of engineering knowledge. Through

this knowledge and original research ITU aims to develop technology for driving the country’s economic

growth and to best serve the needs of the society.

Pakistan’s IT industry is facing an acute shortage of trained manpower. As a point of

comparison, the largest software house in Pakistan employs 300 people while the

largest software house in India employs 350,000 programmers – more than the total

number of skilled IT workers in Pakistan.

Keeping this reality in mind, ITU is modeled along the lines of the world's leading

technology universities, specifically Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Encapsulating a project-oriented and design-centered approach to education, this

new university is expected to produce a new generation of IT engineers and

entrepreneurs who will help transform the economic and technical landscape of

Pakistan.

Background

1

The mission of ITU is to advance scholarship and innovation in the areas of science,

technology, and engineering. ITU aims to implement a unique teaching methodology and

cross-disciplinary research that is grounded in real-world problem solving to educate the

next generation of innovative and entrepreneurial engineers.

teaching approaches as employed by MIT and aims to serve as a center of excellence in

engineering in Pakistan.

Mission & Objectives

The key to MIT’s success is its focus on cross-disciplinary applied research, an

entrepreneurial culture in teaching and research, close collaboration with

high-tech industry, and strong ties with government funding agencies.

MIT was established as a private university, run by the MIT Corporation, with a

land grant by the US government. Since its inception, the government has

maintained close ties with the university by sponsoring its teaching programs

and research labs without interfering in the autonomy of the university. The US

federal government is the largest source of sponsored research at MIT. For

2009, the Department of Health and Human Services granted $255.9 million,

Department of Defense $97.5 million, Department of Energy $65.8 million,

National Science Foundation $61.4 million, and NASA $27.4 million.

MIT has played a vital role in helping shape the US

high-tech economy. MIT alumni have formed 25,800

companies, employing more than three million people.

These firms generate global revenues of more than $1.9

trillion a year. If MIT was a country, it would have the 11th

highest GDP of any nation in the world.

The MIT Model

3

Much of the radar development during World War II took place at the ‘MIT Rad Lab’ which initially operated under the National

Defense Research Committee (NDRC) and was privately funded by Alfred Loomis until it was allocated federal money. The Rad

Lab made stunning contributions to the development of microwave radar technology employing scientists from multiple fields

and played a decisive role in the Allied victory. This later came to be known as the “greatest cooperative research establishment

in the history of the world.”

MIT Radiation Laboratory

4

As an entirely new institution, ITU has a unique opportunity to start with a clean slate, to introduce cross-disciplinary

applied research and teaching that has been the key to MIT’s success. ITU aspires to be the first institution of its kind

in Pakistan that will bring people from diverse fields to solve real-world problems, with continuous improvement

and innovation at the heart of its culture.

The university fosters a culture of high-tech research and entrepreneurship, establishing international linkages,

houses a startup incubator within the university, collaborates with the industry, and works closely with the

government.

ITU plans to collaborate with the Middle-East Technical University in Turkey. Founded in 1956, Middle-East Technical

University (METU) is a top-tier public-sector technical university located in Ankara, Turkey.

undergraduate programs within 5 faculties, and 97 masters and 62 doctorate programs within 5 graduate schools.

ITU will involve METU in its academic and scientific councils, academic advisory board and will setup faculty and

student exchange programs, as well as joint-degree programs. An MoU with METU to build an academic

collaboration has already been signed.

International Collaboration

The ITU ModelR

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The basic criteria that each applicant must fulfill to be considered for admission to

ITU includes holding an undergraduate degree in computer science or engineering,

earned from an HEC-recognized university after 16 years of education with at least

60% marks or having CGPA of at least 2.4

Applicants are required to take the ITU Graduate Admission Test to be considered for

admission into the Masters of Computer Science Programme.

Eligibility Criteria

The online application is available at http://apply.itu.edu.pk

The application deadline is September 24, 2012. All applications and

supporting material must be submitted online by this date. The

Admission's Committee will not evaluate an incomplete or late

application.

How to Apply

Admissions

7

o A completed online Graduate Application for Admission,

available at apply.itu.edu.pk

o Two letters of recommendation from teachers, professionals, and/or

others who know your academic, professional, and volunteer work.

o Registration for the ITU admission test available at www.nts.org.pk

He/She must appear for the test to be held at Arfa Software Technology

Park, on September 29, 2012. Reporting time is 08:30 am and the test time

is 10:00 am to 01:00 pm.

For an applicant to be considered for admission, the following must

be submitted:

Please send each evaluator the Paper Evaluation Form and ask

him/her to send it in a signed, sealed envelope to you or have them

mail it directly to the department at the address listed. We will not

accept unsigned letters.

8

They will be required to engage in extensive fieldwork, suggest

solutions, and work on the creation and implementation their ideas

into sustainable solutions.

Rural Networks Disease Monitoring System

Low Cost immunosensors

D-Lab

D-Lab, also known as Development Lab, is a practical

implementation of the vision of ITU-Punjab – the vision of

project oriented courses that provide students with hands on

research experience. Inspired from a similar concept

implemented at MIT and Stanford, D-Lab aims to allow

students to work on projects that have an impact on the local

community.

Courses

9

The Entrepreneurship course at ITU-Punjab is not just another

business plan making course. Typically such courses take on

entrepreneurship from an academic perspective. At ITU-Punjab we

emphasize experience over study. It’s not about how to come up with

ideas, make calculations or take risks but rather how to reduce them

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship does not require an IQ. You just

need to be able to fail, learn, compost, and move

forward.

10

ITU Graduate

Admission Placement Test

Oct 06, 2012

Oct 01ITU will enroll a small group of graduate students this fall in its Masters

of Computer Science program. In addition to fulfilling the basic

eligibility criteria, the type of students we seek will have taken

challenging coursework and succeeded in them; have high scores on

their admission placement test, and shown remarkable achievement

in their academic history. Additionally, the admission committee at

ITU places equal importance on the applicant’s personal character,

sense of creativity and out-of-the-box thinking, thirst for risk-taking

and challenges, as well as any unusual life experiences. We encourage

their application, as well as mentioning any experiences or ideas they

have on the intersections between technology and entrepreneurship

for the greater good in society.

The ITU Admisions Test is scheduled to take place on

September 29, 2012 at Arfa Software Technology Park from

10:00 am – 1:00 pm. The reporting time is 8:30 am. To

register for the test visit www.nts.org.pk

NTS Test Registration Deadline

The ITU is dedicated to attaining a gender balance in its student

body, and allowing it to be multidimensional, and representative of

a broad range of cultural, economic and geographic backgrounds

from across Pakistan. We do not discriminate in our admissions

procedure with regards to race, ethnicity, gender, religion, status,

wealth, or any other type of identifying orientation.

Selection Criteria

Oct 03Online Application Submission Deadline

11

Minimum credit hours shall be 30.

The following is the distribution of total credit hours:

500 Scholarships are available for exceptional students with an outstanding academic record and who will perform well on the

admissions test.

The programme shall comprise 4 semesters spread over 2

years with two semesters a year.

The major area of specialization shall be incorporated in the

structure. Each major area shall comprise of 4-6 courses. Category Area Credit Hours

Core

Min electives in area of specialization

Electives

Thesis

Total Credit Hours

12

6

6

6

30

Funding

Curriculum

12

Degree

Requirements(MS-CS Course Requirements)

Every student MUST take 5 Core courses, which will be 3 credits

each. The core courses add 12 credits towards your degree.

They are:

Course Title Credit Hours

Theory of Computation

Advanced Algorithm Analysis

Advanced Operating Systems

Advanced Computer Architecture

3

3

3

3

Every student, to complete a degree in the MS-CS Program, is

required to complete 30 credits minimum. However, students

who want to take more courses are also allowed to do so.

Besides the compulsory core courses, students are required to

complete 18 remaining credit via course work and/or research.

ITU-Punjab being a premier research based institute encourages

its students to engage in research. MS-CS students will be required

to work on research projects in the last semester of their degree.

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Entrepreneurship

Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Technology is an academic concentration for individuals formulating, developing,

and commercializing ideas. This innovative program provides exposure to both the fundamentals of technology and the

practical aspects of identifying, evaluating, and building technology ideas into businesses. The program uniquely and

strategically combines Masters in Computer Science students with Silicon Valley innovators, scientists, and engineers

through the Incubator Program at Arfa Software Technology Park. Each student under this academic concentration will

work with a startup housed at this Incubator under the mentorship of international entrepreneurs.

As part of the program, diverse teams of students will develop a plan for commercializing a new product or service for

an existing organization or a new venture. Teams will receive guidance from guest speakers, expert panels, business

mentors, and experienced entrepreneurs.

Concentrations

14

Strategic Systems

This academic concentration combines technological intellect with

strategy to create products that aim at providing solutions in areas such

technology as one with the potential for significant impact in the world

over the next decade, in terms of solving current problems through

technology. Students work on devising strategic technologies that may

leverage existing technology and/or become suitable for a wider range

opportunity for strategic advantages for a long lasting impact.

After completion of the required courses, students, under this concentration, take up electives where they

work in teams on exploratory projects under training and guidance from experts. Promising candidate

technology projects are developed into practically usable and scalable products.

15

ITU is currently housed on the 6th floor of the Arfa Software Technology Park

(ASTP), located at 346-B Ferozepur Road, Lahore. It covers a total area of 42,873

square feet, 20,401 square feet of which is being used as campus space. The

technology education programs.

the technology park with luxurious state-of-the-art telecommunications,

networks, auditoriums and seminar rooms equipped with latest multimedia

systems which provide an ideal environment for the students to work in.

In future, the university will be located in the “Knowledge City” in Defence

Phase-7, Dera Rakhchand, Lahore where world-class facilities will be built for the

campus as outlined below.

University Facilities

16

Equipment and Laboratories

The campus will be well-equipped with the latest audiovisual equipment, computer operating

systems, and web and media access. The academic spaces will feature fully networked

classrooms that will allow professors and students to collaborate interactively by using the

latest instructional technologies as part of the mutual learning process.

space, labs, and lecture halls, as well as administrative

workers.

Building: administration, academic, library, laboratories, and other facilities

17

Digitally Linked Community

Hardware and software facilities will be available to create videos, write and store data.

Simulation models featuring computer-based training for the programs will also be

and all related photographic equipment, and reprographic machines. The computing

services will be linked with the centralized server to provide wide scale internet access

and make it a digitally linked community.

The computers will operate under Windows XP and Mac OSX, and Linux Red Hat, which

learning center will also be linked to the central server.

ITU being a center of excellence providing not just education but technological expertise to the students, wishes to emerge

as a strategic arm of the Government of Pakistan to use IT in public and private sectors in order to create innovative and

to the society. We assist students in conducting meaningful research, and identifying internships, scholarships, fellowships,

professional and higher education opportunities.

Preparation for the Future

Notes