University of Swat

On 29 May, 2010, the prime minister of Pakistan, during his visit to the Swat valley, announced to establish the University of Swat. 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. Muhammad Farooq Khan (Shaheed) was appointed as its first Vice Chancellor 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 the main campus under the supervision of Muhammad Jamal, the Vice Chancellor.

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

• Hassan Sher - 07 October 2022, till date
• Hassan Sher (Acting) - from 18 December, 2021 till 07 October 2022.
• Muhammad Jamal Khan – from 20 Dec 2017 till 18 December 2022
• Jehan Bakht (acting) – from 7 Dec 2015 t0 Jun 9, 2017
• Muhammad Jahanzeb Khan Yosafzai – from 3 Dec 2011 to 2 Dec 2015
• Muhammad Farooq Swati (acting)
• Muhammad Farooq Khan

Swat university entrance gate under construction 2015

Allama Iqbal declamation contests are held at the University of Swat annually. It fosters debate culture among the students and declamations. Most raging debtors of the 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's and master's degree programs and communicated. The ten students were interviewed by the directorate of sports and youth affairs of 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 the University of Swat during Inter Provincial Youth Exchange program (IPYEP) 2016. They were part of the delegation that 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

The Chancellor Muhammad Jahanzeb Khan established the Institute of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Hospitality Management.[6]

• Center for Biotechnology & Microbiology(CBM)[7]

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 the university was ranked 70th according to the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan in 2023.[8]

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.