RAWALPINDI, Jan 26: Fatima Jinnah Woman University (FJWU) will start 26 new programmes that have been approved by Governor of the Punjab Lt-Gen (retired) Khalid Maqbool, who is also the university’s chancellor.

This was stated by Vice-Chancellor Dr Najma Najam at the third meeting of 35-member FJWU academic council held here on Friday.

The meeting discussed the ways to reorganise and regularise the institutes, faculties and schools according to the potential and expertise of the university.

For this purpose, a sub-committee headed by the university’s pro-vice chancellor Dr Iftikharun Nisa Hassan was constituted that would help bifurcate the already strengthened programmes into full fledged departments, and also give suggestions on the formulation of institutes, faculties and schools at the FJWU.

The sub-committee would submit the report within one month.

An extensive discussion for establishing a Centre for Applied Research in Economics (Care) also took place at the meeting and it was decided that the same committee would work on the project.

The 26 programmes that have been approved are: MSc in clinical psychology, and counselling, game designing, digital advanced video production, fashion design, industrial and product design, architecture design, puppet design and use in education, interior design, software engineering, macro economic management, international development studies, international political economy, information and communication technology, school technology, science education, industrial chemistry, design (jewellry, textile, fashion, graphics, and ceramic), gender, sociology and anthropology, comparative religions, Islamic history and culture, Islamic calligraphy, and art of illumination, bachelors and masters in mathematics, bachelors in telecommunication and engineering, architecture and MBA in hotel and tourism management.

The PhD programme of the university was also approved by the academic council as per approved criteria of the HEC. The council members also reviewed the formulation of a layout for conducting the courses under semester system.

On the occasion, Dr Najma Najam said that existing and anticipated programmes of the university showed that it was on the way to becoming one of the largest university in the region.