University of Swat

On 29 May 2010 the establishment of the University of Swat was announced by the prime minister of Pakistan during his visit to Swat valley. The university came into formal existence in July 2010 by the order of Honorable Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mr. Awais Ahmad Ghani with the prior approval of the President of Pakistan. Its first Vice Chancellor Dr. Muhammad Farooq Khan (Shaheed) was appointed in August 2010. The Higher Education Department handed over two buildings to the university located at Saidu sharif swat. Land Acquisition for the university's own campus has been carried out and construction on the project is ongoing. Various buildings have been completed and recently the two departments have been shifted to main campus under supervision of Dr. Muhammad Jamal, Vice Chancellor.

In its first academic session (2010–11) the university opened seven departments.[2]

• Dr. Muhammad Farooq Khan
• Prof. Dr. Muhammad Farooq Swati (acting)
• Prof. Dr. Muhammad Jahanzeb Khan Yosafzai – from 3 Dec 2011 to 2 Dec 2015
• Prof. Dr. Jehan Bakht (acting) – from 7 Dec 2015 t0 Jun 9, 2017
• Prof. Dr. Muhammad Jamal Khan – from 20 Dec 2017 till 18 December 2022
• Prof. Dr. Hassan Sher (Acting) - from 18 December 2022 till date

• Mr. Muhammad Riaz
• Mr. Mahboob Ur Rahman
• Mr. ZahidUllah
• Dr. Hassan Sher
• Mr. Sher Alam Khan

• Mr. Arshad Ali Khan

• Mr. Muhammad Riaz

• Mr. Mahboob-ur-Rahman (Director P&D)
• Mr. Shahid Khan (Deputy Director P&D)

• Mr. Hamdullah Younas
• Dr. Muzammil Khan
• Dr. Sana Ullah
• Mr. Fida Hussain

• Mr. Asif Saud

The Inchrage Institute of Agriculture Sciences and Forestry Dr. Fazli Rabbi paid special thanks and persistence support and leadership of the Vice Chancellor and Dean, Faculty of Life Sciences, Prof. Dr. Hassan Sher during the entire process of accreditation program.

The National Agriculture Education Accreditation Council (NAEAC) has granted successful accreditation to the BS (4 year) Forestry degree program of the University of Swat. It is a moment of pleasure for the University of Swat and the forestry graduates whose degrees are accredited now and maybe attested and verified by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan.

The council member visited the institute in its zero visits in 2018 and recommended some conditions for fulfillment for granting accreditation to the forestry degree program. The council members visited the institute on September 20, 2021 for program evaluation and visited different facilities available at the Institute. The member of the council highly appreciated the fulfillment of most of the recommendations of 2018 zero visit. The council members highly appreciated the establishment of the departmental library and newly established laboratory of the institute despite the meager financial resources available at the University of Swat.

Vice Chancellor and Dean, Faculty of Life Sciences, Prof. Dr. Hassan Sher also admired the teamwork and the efforts of all the faculty of the Institute of Agriculture Sciences and Forestry (IAS&F) University of Swat for making the challenge a success.

Swat university entrance gate under construction 2015

The athletics team represented the university at the Higher Education Commission Pakistan Inter varsity Championship 2014 held on 22–24 April 2014 at the Pakistan Sport Complex, Islamabad.

Riaz Ali representing University of Swat in 17th inter-university Declamation Contest for the award of Allama Iqbal Shield.

The University Athletics team consisted of 12 players.

Allama Iqbal declamation contest are yearly held in the University of Swat to promote new talent in regarding Debates, Declamations. Most raging debtors of University are Riaz Ali (Dept. of Law and Sharia), Izhar Ahmad (Dept. of Economics), Fahad Khan (Dept. of commerce and management sciences), Kabir (Dept. of Law and Sharia), Arshad Ali (Dept. of Law and Sharia), Rahseed Ahmad Faizi (Dept. of Law and Sharia).

The university shortlisted top students based on merit from the most senior batches of all Bachelor and master's degree Programs and communicated. The ten students were interviewed by the directorate of sports and youth affairs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and two students (Biotechnology 7th semester student Mr. Ashfaq Ahmad[3][4] and one female student of zoology Department ) were finalized to represent University of Swat during Inter Provincial Youth Exchange program (IPYEP) 2016. They were part of delegation which represented KPK in Karachi and Islamabad/AJK one week trip.[5]

In its first session (2010–11) the university opened the following eight disciplines:

• Department of Business Administration
• Department of Computer Science
• Department of Development Studies
• Department of Mass Communication
• Department of Economics
• Department of Education
• Department of Law and Shari'a
• Department of Statistics
• Department of Environmental Science

In the 2011–12 session, one discipline of Software Engineering and four more departments, of Zoology, Microbiology and Environmental Sciences at BS level, were introduced. There are now the following schools/institutes/departments with 3500+ students:

• Center for Agriculture Sciences and Forestry
• Center for Animal Science and Fisheries
• Center for Biotechnology & Microbiology
• Center for Earth Sciences
• Center for Education and Staff Training
• Center for Management & Commerce
• Center for Plant Science and Biodiversity
• Department of Applied Physical and Material Sciences
• Department of Computer and Software Technologies
• Department of Economics and Development Studies
• Department of English and Foreign Languages
• Department of Environmental and Conservation Sciences
• Department of Forensic Studies
• Department of Health and Physical Education
• Department of Islamic and Arabic Studies
• Department of Law & Shari’a
• Department of Library and Information Studies
• Department of Mathematics & Statistics
• Department of Media & Communication Studies
• Department of Political and International Studies
• Department of Psychological Studies
• Department of Social and Gender Studies
• Institute of Chemical Sciences
• Institute of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Hospitality Management

• Institute of Culture Heritage, Tourism and Hospitality Management (ICHTHM)

The Institute of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Hospitality Management has been established with a view to save the cultural heritage of the Swat region, to establish an archaeological and ethnic profile of the region, to explore the genesis of the cultural activities, to trace the complex and rich historical past of the ancient period of the country, to promote Eco- and cultural tourism of Pakistan in general and the Malakand division and the Northern Areas in particular, and to impart quality education at graduate, undergraduate and postgraduate levels at par with the international standards.

The Chancellor Prof. Dr. Muhammad Jahanzeb Khan established the Institute of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Hospitality Management.

• Center for Biotechnology & Microbiology(CBM)[6]

The Center for Biotechnology & Microbiology is a newly launched discipline at University of Swat.

The focus of the institute is on the applied aspect of Biotechnology, Microbiology and Genetics. The aim of the department is to produce experts in the fields of medicine, agriculture, industry, the environment, genetics and Recombinant DNA technology.

• In Pakistan ranked 124 according to the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan in 2012
• Chartered by Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, on 17 in 2012

Books Related to the University of Swat:

• Kashmir Issue (Urdu & English), by Former Vice Chancellor University of Swat Muhammad Farooq Khan(late).
• Dialogue with the West (English), by Former Vice Chancellor University of Swat Muhammad Farooq Khan(late).
• Hidden Treasures of Swat (2014), by Dildar Ali Khan (Student at Institute of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Hospitality Management University of Swat.

• University of Swat unofficial Facebook Page