Category Archives: News & Events

The Link Road Campus of Ziauddin University re-opened on 19^th October 2020, ending a seven-month long closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. The students assembled in the front lawn of the campus to show unanimity towards maintaining the social distance and ensuring SOPs. According to the SOPs issued by competent authority, wearing masks is mandatory for all students and faculty within the premises of university followed by other essential precautionary measures.

On 8th October, 2020, a faculty meeting was organized by Engr. Syed Faraz Jafri, Chairperson, Department of Civil Engineering. The main agendas of meeting were submission of complete OBE based results for Fall 2019 Examinations, SAR completion and running academic activities of Spring 2020 semester. Furthermore, matter of university reopening was also discussed by him. In addition to that, Chairperson appreciated faculty members on completion of respective earlier tasks assigned to them. The faculty members include Associate Professor, Dr. Samia Tariq, Assistant Professor, Engr. Khawaja Sheeraz and Lab Supervisor, Mr. Syed Mehfooz.

In order to maintain and follow designated SOPs for visitors, students and employees, a team of faculty members has been deputed as prescribed by Chairperson of the Department. Engr. Wajahat Ali and Engr. Aysha Ahmed are nominated to constitute this departmental team. They will ensure the adoption of SOPs within the department as derived and communicated by regulatory bodies after reopening of University.

Amongst number of research projects from University, a proposal by Associate Professor, Dr. Samia Tariq was forwarded under the umbrella of LCF followed by ORIC department. LCF is supported by World Bank and it is being implemented by HEC. The key objectives include support cross disciplinary research projects addressing sustainable development goals, strengthening local university research capacity and contributions towards solving local issues however the project has submitted by candidate for further processing.

Recently on 31^st August, 2020, an online CPD Webinar entitled “Design and Assessment of Complex Engineering Problem (CEP)” was organized by ZUFESTM for faculty members of different departments. The resource person of this seminar was Dr. Muhammad Faisal Khan, Associate Professor/ Program Coordinator/ Advisor to FEST OBE Coordinator, Department of Electrical Engineering, Hamdard University, Karachi. The purpose to execute this webinar is to provide sufficient information in context to OBE requirements ensuring the appropriate database for running programs. Faculty members appreciated the knowledge gained form this intellectual and informative webinar however all faculty members of Civil Engineering Department were participated in it.

Online Webinar series has started by DED, Ziauddin University on the topic; Development of learning objectives during this month. From Department of Civil Engineering, ZUFESTM, Associate Professor, Dr. Samia Tariq and Lecturer, Engr. Muhammad Kamran is nominated for said training. The sessions shall be helpful in terms of synchronizing subject course files on OBE pattern with more precision and quality oriented. During online training, faculty members are frequently asked to submit short assignments followed by interactive discussions.

On 5^th August, 2020, a faculty meeting was organized by Engr. Syed Faraz Jafri, Chairperson, Civil Engineering Department. The main agenda of meeting was preparation of Self-Assessment Report, SAR for next PEC visit. In this connection, number of tasks was discussed in detail amongst entire faculty of department in order to furnish it on time. Furthermore, several other academic activities of running semester were also discussed by him.

With the consent of Chairperson; Engr. Syed Faraz Jafri and responsibility of OBE team, Departmental Coordinator; Engr. Khawaja Sheeraz has executed an OBE discussion with faculty members who are engaged in teaching lab courses and Evening program of current semester. The points discussed during meeting in order to effectively implement improved OBE mechanism were PLO selection from stream available for lab related courses, consultation for CLOs selection with theory instructor, and creating or imposing balanced PLOs in Civil Technology (Evening) Program as well.

During the existing pandemic situation, Civil Engineering Faculty had played vital role and actively participated in online courses through the forums of Coursera, edX and CPD activities. This was a good initiative by university officials to enhance the technical and research skills of faculty members from different departments. Apart from that, following are the core areas of online courses in which Civil Engineering Faculty has engaged and completed further with online certifications from renowned universities of the world.

1. Technical Writing
2. Planning, Writing, Defending and Publishing your Research
3. Mastering Bitumen for Better Roads and Innovative Applications
4. Creative Problem Solving
5. Introduction to Research for Essay Writing
6. Data Science Ethics
7. Municipal Solid Waste Management
8. Circular Economy for a Sustainable Built Environment
9. EIA for Projects of Civil Engineering
10. Budgeting and Scheduling Projects
11. Learning to Teach Online
12. Spreadsheets for Beginners using Google Sheets
13. Understanding Research Methods
14. Managing Project Risks and Changes
15. Initiating and Planning Projects
16. Power BI Desktop
17. Create Customer Support Data with Google Sheets
18. Web 2.0 Tools for Teaching and Learning