Dr. Aftab Maroof

academic, former FAST campus director

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Dr. Aftab Maroof is a rector at FAST-NUCES (National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences). Maroof returned to Zakariya University in 1986 and taught there for about four years. He says he started the university's computer science department in 1989.

Early life and background

Maroof was born in a small village about five miles from Daska city, into a business family. Before Partition, the family had been doing business in Jammu city, and at Partition they had to move back. After the move, the family did business in Daska city, including a hardware and mill store. Maroof says he spent his childhood in that business. [1]

Education

Maroof completed his matriculation at Daska Government College and his FSc at Government College, Gujranwala. He studied for a BSc at Jinnah Islamia College, Sialkot, from 1971 to 1973. He says he got a first division in double mathematics and statistics. He completed an MSc in Statistics from Punjab University in 1979. [1]

Family business

Maroof set up a rice husking mill in his grandfather's rice business. He says his family was given bonds that were encashable after 25 years. He left the family rice business because he was uncomfortable with corruption in it. He then started a building materials store in the same town. [1]

Early career

Maroof returned to Zakariya University in 1986 and taught there for about four years. He says he started the university's computer science department in 1989. [1]

Studies in the United Kingdom

Maroof describes COTS as a federal government overseas training scholarship. He left for the UK in September 1990 to study for an MS leading to a PhD, and he was 37 when he arrived. His scholarship was funded by the Government of Pakistan, and he supported himself with occasional tutoring on top of it. [1]

Move to FAST

Maroof says he resigned from Zakariya University because of the intense politics there. He says the atmosphere was not good and that he was troubled so much that he had to resign. After a few months at home, he joined the College of EME at NUST. He stayed there for about two and a half years before moving to FAST. He joined FAST in January 1999, as a professor. [1]

Director of FAST's Islamabad campus

Maroof was appointed director of FAST's Islamabad campus on 1 January 2001 and served until 31 December 2010. He says he helped build the Islamabad campus. He says nine people from the Islamabad campus had completed PhDs in computer science by about 2010. [1]

Maroof says that in early 2011 he was asked to set up a new campus. He also says an earth-breaking ceremony was held on 4 February 2012. [1]

FAST

Maroof says FAST received its independent university charter on 1 July 2000. He says FAST's Karachi campus opened in 1985 and its Peshawar campus in 2001, and that FAST was given 10 crore rupees, in two instalments, in about 1986. He says FAST has five campuses, about 1,300 to 1,500 staff and 12,000 to 14,000 students, and that 20 acres of land have been purchased in Multan. [1]

Maroof says FAST's federal charter lets it open a campus anywhere in Pakistan, and that at its current capacity it can add a campus about every 10 to 15 years. He says the board has 15 members, and that each member is elected for three years. He says the board does not interfere, monitors finances and approves budgets. He says FAST follows the American model, not the British model. [1]

Financial assistance and outreach

Maroof says 224 million rupees in financial assistance have been given at FAST, and that about 1,500 to 1,600 students received that assistance. He says FAST targets middle and lower-middle class students. He says its motto states that no one is denied education for lack of money, and that its annual fee is a little under 300,000 rupees. [1]

Maroof says a programme was called the Prime Minister ICT Scholarship Program. He says the programme ran in Southern Punjab, in Chakwal and Attock. He says about 2,600 candidates completed the training and the top 200 were selected, that FAST set up English language learning labs for these students, and that the funding came from the IT ministry and FAST did the rest. He says he urged the ministry to restart programmes of this kind. [1]

Views

Maroof describes FAST as a small fish in a very big pond and calls running it a huge management and business challenge. He says FAST has kept politics out of the university. He says FAST does not want to create an army of unemployed graduates. He says that society in Pakistan generally lacks an environment that gives talent opportunity and polish. He says that if someone is trained for two months in a company's environment and then recruited, that person will become productive within a month. [1]

Maroof says Pakistan's top students do not usually go to FAST, and that Pakistan's top students go to the UETs. He says institutions are built by dedicated people who work on a mission. He says Pakistan has created too much hatred and division, and that hatred solves no problem, while love and goodwill are the answer. He tells his students that education is a value-addition process. He says a few teachers in his life inspired him, and he adopted their qualities. [1]

Timeline

1971
Began studying for a BSc at Jinnah Islamia College, Sialkot, a course that ran to 1973.[1]
1979
Completed an MSc in Statistics at Punjab University.[1]
1984
Joined Zakariya University in Multan as a statistics lecturer.[1]
1986
Returned to Zakariya University.[1]
1989
Says he started Zakariya University's computer science department.[1]
1990
Left for the UK to study for an MS leading to a PhD.[1]
1992
Started his PhD.[1]
1999
Joined FAST as a professor.[1]
2001
Appointed director of FAST's Islamabad campus on 1 January.[1]
2010
Finished his term as director of the Islamabad campus on 31 December.[1]
2011
Says he was asked to set up a new campus.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2022-06-22 How FAST-NUCES built a university on 10 crore rupees Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Dr. Aftab Maroof?

Dr. Aftab Maroof is an academic with a PhD in computer science who is associated with FAST. He joined FAST as a professor in 1999. He was director of its Islamabad campus from 2001 to 2010.[1]

What does Dr. Aftab Maroof do?

Dr. Aftab Maroof is an academic who joined FAST as a professor in 1999. He served as director of its Islamabad campus until 31 December 2010. He says that in early 2011 he was asked to set up a new campus.[1]

Where did Dr. Aftab Maroof study?

Dr. Aftab Maroof completed an MSc in Statistics at Punjab University in 1979. He left for the UK in September 1990 to study for an MS leading to a PhD. His PhD was in computer science.[1]

Where is Dr. Aftab Maroof from?

Dr. Aftab Maroof was born in a small village about five miles from Daska city, into a business family. He completed his matriculation at Daska Government College.[1]

What is Dr. Aftab Maroof known for?

Dr. Aftab Maroof is known as the director of FAST's Islamabad campus from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2010. He says he helped build that campus.[1]

What did Dr. Aftab Maroof do before joining FAST?

Before joining FAST, Dr. Aftab Maroof worked as a statistics lecturer at a college in Islamabad for about six months. In May 1984 he joined Zakariya University in Multan as a statistics lecturer. He later joined the College of EME at NUST and stayed there for about two and a half years before moving to FAST.[1]

What is Dr. Aftab Maroof's PhD in?

Dr. Aftab Maroof's PhD was in computer science. He started it in 1992 and took four and a half years to finish it. He says he built a framework for the integration of sensing.[1]

References

  1. How FAST-NUCES built a university on 10 crore rupees . Thought Behind Things , 2022-06-22.
Show the source passages (86 statements)
  1. He was born in a small village about five miles from Daska city. I was born in a small village called Tianikot, which is about 5 miles away from Daska city.
  2. He was born into a business family. Which is part of district Sialkot. To a business family.
  3. Before Partition, the family had been doing business in Jammu city, and at Partition they had to move back. Before partition, they were doing business in Jammu city, but at the partition, they have to move back.
  4. After the move, the family did business in Daska city, including a hardware and mill store. To unho ne Daska shehar mein karobar kiya, jis mein ke ek wo hardware mill store
  5. He says he spent his childhood in that business. Hamara bachpan us mein guzra hai.
  6. He completed his matriculation at Daska Government College. I did my matric from Daska Government College, Daska.
  7. He completed his FSc at Government College, Gujranwala. Did my FSc from Government College, Gujranwala.
  8. He studied for a BSc at Jinnah Islamia College, Sialkot, from 1971 to 1973. Aur phir then BSc karne ke liye Sialkot, Jinnah Islamia College, Sialkot. It was year again '71, '72 and '73.
  9. He says he got a first division in double mathematics and statistics. Luckily got the first division. Wo tha double math aur statistics maine kiya.
  10. He set up a rice husking mill in his grandfather's rice business. wo dada ji ka business rice ka business tha, chawal ka. To maine ek sheller lagaya, rice husking mill jo hoti hai.
  11. He says his family was given bonds that were encashable after 25 years. Unho ne hamein bonds diye thay jo ke encashable thay after 25 years.
  12. He left the family rice business because he was uncomfortable with corruption in it. I did not feel comfortable kyunke us waqt us karobar mein kuch na kuch mali corruption aa chuki thi.
  13. He then started a building materials store in the same town. maine phir wo shehar mein wahi abaji wala kaam building material aur is tarah ke ek aur store shuru kiya.
  14. He completed an MSc in Statistics from Punjab University in 1979. mera Punjab University mein dakhla ho gaya. To main gaya to MBA karne tha, us mein to dakhla na hua, lekin phir maine MSc Statistics wahan se ki in year '79 mein, 1979.
  15. After his MSc he began applying for jobs and going to interviews. Us ke baad maine job jo hai wo interview dene shuru kiye, apply karna shuru kiya.
  16. His first job was as a statistics lecturer at a college in Islamabad, for about six months. So, I landed here in Islamabad. At least college mein mera pehla job hua aur as a lecturer in statistics, which I did for about 6 months.
  17. In May 1984 he joined Zakariya University in Multan as a statistics lecturer. Aur then '84 ke shuru mein mera Zakariya University Multan mein interview hua to I was selected. I joined there in May 1984.
  18. Zakariya University nominated him for an association that lasted one year. mujhe Zakariya University ne nominate kiya. It was one year long association.
  19. He says that he changed from a statistician into a computer scientist. hum statistician se computer scientist ban gaye.
  20. He returned to Zakariya University in 1986 and taught there for about four years. 86 mein main wapas gaya hoon Zakariya University. Us ke baad main char saal takreeban wahan raha hoon as a teacher
  21. He says he started Zakariya University's computer science department in 1989. balkay wahan jo computer science ka department hai '89 mein wo maine hi shuru kiya tha wahan.
  22. He describes COTS as a federal government overseas training scholarship. Central Overseas Scholarship, Training Scholarship hoti thi, COTS, federal government diya karti thi.
  23. He left for the UK in September 1990 to study for an MS leading to a PhD. ultimately I was selected aur main September '90 mein I went to UK for my MS leading to PhD.
  24. He was 37 when he arrived in the UK. it was my 37th birthday I landed in UK.
  25. He lived in Aberystwyth, which he calls a beautiful university town. To I lived, it is a beautiful university town jo Aberystwyth.
  26. He stayed there from 1990 to 1996. It was '90 se le kar '96 tak main wahan raha hoon.
  27. He started his PhD in 1992 and took four and a half years to finish it. phir PhD agle saal '92 mein shuru ki. It took me four and a half years to complete my PhD.
  28. His PhD was in computer science. Wo bhi computer science mein.
  29. He says he built a framework for the integration of sensing. To sensing ki jo integration thi us ka maine ek framework banaya tha
  30. He says a second computer science degree was needed to confirm his switch from statistics. ab doosri computer science ki degree lena zaroori thi ke aap ne jo conversion kiya hai us pe mohar lag jaye.
  31. He lived alone in the UK for about six months before bringing his family over. Pehle che mah to main akela raha, phir maine family ko bula liya.
  32. He supported himself with occasional tutoring on top of his scholarship. mujhe chota mota wo koi tutorship waghera mil jati thi, guzara ho jata tha.
  33. His scholarship was funded by the Government of Pakistan. Yes, it was funded by the Government of Pakistan.
  34. He says he resigned from Zakariya University because of the intense politics there. Main Zakariya University Multan mein tha, wahan jitni shadeed politics thi maine sirf us wajah se resign kiya tha.
  35. He says the atmosphere was not good and that he was troubled so much that he had to resign. fiza koi bohat achi nahi thi, then ultimately mujhe itna pareshan kiya gaya ke I have to resign. I resigned and left.
  36. After a few months at home, he joined the College of EME at NUST. Went to home, for after few months I joined College of EME here in NUST.
  37. He stayed at the College of EME for about two and a half years before moving to FAST. Stayed there for about two and a half years. From there I was picked up by FAST.
  38. He joined FAST in January 1999. do saal baad January '99 mein I joined.
  39. He joined as a professor in 1999. Haan, as a professor in '99.
  40. He was appointed director of FAST's Islamabad campus on 1 January 2001. 1st January year 2001, I was appointed director of Islamabad campus.
  41. He served as director of the Islamabad campus until 31 December 2010. Toh wahan se lekar 31st December year 2010, 10 saal
  42. He says he helped build FAST's Islamabad campus. matlab maine Islamabad ka campus jo hai wo banaya hai.
  43. He says that in early 2011 he was asked to set up a new campus. Toh unhone janaab mujhe phir yeh choose kiya ke aap jayein, wahan campus naya banayein. Toh in early 2011, I was asked to do this.
  44. He says an earth-breaking ceremony was held on 4 February 2012. Aur February, 4th February year 2012, we had the earth breaking ceremony over there
  45. He says FAST received its independent university charter on 1 July 2000. 1st July year 2000, we got the charter for the independent university.
  46. He says FAST's Karachi campus opened in 1985 and its Peshawar campus in 2001. pehla campus bana '85 mein Karachi mein, doosra bana '90 mein, teesra bana '97 mein, chautha bana Peshawar mein 2001 mein.
  47. He says FAST was given 10 crore rupees, in two instalments, in about 1986. Yeh taqreeban '86 mein Agha sahab ne do injection mein FAST ko 10 crore rupya diya.
  48. He says FAST has five campuses, about 1,300 to 1,500 staff and 12,000 to 14,000 students. aaj FAST ke paanch campuses hain, apni zameen par hain, buildings hain, 13-1400, 1500 mulazim hai, 12-13-14000 student hain
  49. He says 20 acres of land have been purchased in Multan. Abhi humne yeh kiya hai ke we have purchased 20 acres of land in Multan.
  50. He says FAST's federal charter lets it open a campus anywhere in Pakistan. hamara federal charter hai which gives us the power to start a campus anywhere in Pakistan.
  51. He says FAST can add a campus about every 10 to 15 years at its current capacity. Hamare paas jo capacity hai woh yahi hai hum 10-12 saal, 15 saal baad ek campus add kar lein, isse zyada nahi hai.
  52. He describes FAST as a small fish in a very big pond. FAST is a small fish in a very big pond.
  53. He calls running FAST a huge management and business challenge. If you see in terms of a management and a business terms, it's a huge challenge, not that easy.
  54. He says the board has 15 members. 15 afraad par mushtamil board hai.
  55. He says each member is elected for three years. Lekin us ke baad ye hai ke har ek member teen saal ke liye elect hota hai.
  56. He says the board does not interfere, monitors finances and approves budgets. Aur jo board hai, wo interfere nahi karta. Wo humein humari financial monitoring karta hai, humare budget approve karta hai
  57. He says FAST follows the American model, not the British model. generally what we are following over here, FAST, it is the American model, not the British model.
  58. He says FAST has kept politics out of the university. Humne kabhi FAST mein politics ghusne nahi di.
  59. He says about 40 research projects were running across FAST's campuses. taqreeban 40 ke qareeb mukhtalif research projects chal rahe hain mukhtalif campuses mein.
  60. He says FAST produced 380 research publications in the year ending in June. ye jo saal khatam ho raha hai June mein, 380 research publications hain jo ke impact factor hain is chhoti si university se.
  61. He says nine people from the Islamabad campus had completed PhDs in computer science by about 2010. Taqreeban 2010 mein jab main ne charge chhoda hai, to Islamabad campus se nau afraad Computer Science mein PhD kar chuke the
  62. He says that society in Pakistan generally lacks an environment that gives talent opportunity and polish. Masla ye hai ke yahan par jo mahool hai na, jo ek environment hai, talent ko opportunity dene ke liye, polish karne liye, generally humari society mein wo us tarah se nahi hai.
  63. He says that if someone is trained for two months in a company's environment and then recruited, that person will become productive within a month. Agar wo abhi aap ke paas do mahine lagata hai aur wo trained ho jata hai aap ke mahol, baad mein aap us ko recruit karte hain, within a month he will become productive.
  64. He says FAST does not want to create an army of unemployed graduates. hum berozgaron ki fauj hum create nahi karna chahte.
  65. He says FAST designed a web programming certificate programme that launches this summer on all campuses. Abhi ek recently ek web programming ka humne ek diploma design kiya, diploma nahi certificate program hai jo design kiya hai jo ke abhi is summer mein woh launch hoga, sab campuses mein hoga.
  66. He says FAST started new BS programmes in AI, Data Science and Cyber Security. Abhi humne teen degrees program naye shuru kiye the BS in AI, Data Science aur Cyber Security.
  67. He says FAST is launching a BS in FinTech this year. Abhi is saal hum FinTech ki degree shuru kar rahe hain.
  68. He says FAST has a strong AI and data science group. humare paas bada strong group hai AI ka aur data science ka.
  69. He says Pakistan's top students do not usually go to FAST. Ab dekhein Pakistan ki cream FAST mein nahi aati.
  70. He says institutions are built by dedicated people who work on a mission. Dedicated log honge jo mission ke taur par kaam karenge unse idare bante hain.
  71. He says 224 million rupees in financial assistance have been given at FAST. 224 million rupees ki financial assistance di gayi hai FAST mein.
  72. He says about 1,500 to 1,600 students received that assistance. Aur takreeban 1500-1600 bacche hain.
  73. He says FAST targets middle and lower-middle class students. Hum middle aur lower middle class ko target karte hain.
  74. He says FAST's motto states that no one is denied education for lack of money. humne apne motto mein likha hua hai ke paison ki wajah se kisi ko taleem se deny nahi kiya jayega.
  75. He says FAST's annual fee is a little under 300,000 rupees. jo FAST ki fees hai saal ki, wo teen lakh se thodi si kam hai
  76. He says Pakistan's top students go to the UETs. Pakistan ki cream UET mein jaati hai.
  77. He says Pakistan has created too much hatred and division. Masla jo hai Pakistan mein jo hai na woh humne nafratein aur divisions bahut zyada create kar li hain.
  78. He says hatred solves no problem, and love and goodwill are the answer. Nafrat kisi masle ka hal nahi hai. Masla ka jo hal hai woh mohabbat hai, khair-khwahi hai.
  79. He tells his students that education is a value-addition process. main to apne sab students ko kehta hoon ke ye value addition hai ke aap, you are becoming valuable day by day.
  80. He says a few teachers in his life inspired him, and he adopted their qualities. when I look back, there were few teachers in my life jin se main inspire hua aur main ab bhi jab dekhta hoon ke unko mere liye role model the, maine unse wo cheezin adopt ki hain.
  81. He says a programme was called the Prime Minister ICT Scholarship Program. It was called Prime Minister ICT Scholarship Program.
  82. He says the programme ran in Southern Punjab, in Chakwal and Attock. Aur humne woh program chalaya Southern Punjab mein aur do district yahan the, ek Chakwal aur ek Attock.
  83. He says about 2,600 candidates completed the training and the top 200 were selected. 2600 ne woh training haasil ki aur unka test hua aur usme se humne top ke 200 bacche select kiye.
  84. He says FAST set up English language learning labs for these students. Humne unke liye yeh English Language Learning Lab jo hai na, yeh unke liye banayi thi.
  85. He says the funding came from the IT ministry and FAST did the rest. Paison ka bandobast uske usse ho gaya, IT ministry se ho gaya aur saara kuch baaki humne kiya.
  86. He says he urged the ministry to restart programmes of this kind. maine unko bhi tawajjo dilayi ke is tarah ke program dobara shuru karein.