University of Karachi has announced plans to digitize its academic, administrative and financial systems in order to improve student services, reduce paperwork and increase transparency. Vice Chancellor Professor Dr. Wasim Qazi has formed a nine member committee to develop a roadmap for the digital transformation of the university. According to a notification issued on October 11, Professor Dr. Nadeem Mahmood from the Department of Computer Science will lead the committee. The announcement sets out the aims of the project at the outset, which are better services for students, less paper in routine work and clearer processes across the academic and financial sides of the institution.
Under the proposed system, students will be able to access university services through their mobile phones, including course materials, assignments, attendance records, examination schedules, results, transcripts, certificates and library resources. The platform will also cover admissions, enrollment, course registration, timetables and academic progress. Students will be able to submit applications and track their status online, which reduces the need to visit university offices for routine matters. Faculty members will also have access to digital tools for managing courses, student assessments, attendance and academic records, so the platform is meant to serve teachers as well as students in their daily work.
The university also plans to digitize administrative and financial operations, including employee records, salaries, budgeting, procurement and official correspondence. These areas are separate from the services that students use, yet they are included in the same plan, which shows that the project covers the internal working of the university in addition to its academic services. Moving records, payments and correspondence into digital systems is expected to support the stated goals of reducing paperwork and increasing transparency, since processes that are handled digitally can be followed and checked more easily than those that depend on physical files.
The committee has been given a defined set of tasks. It will assess the existing information technology infrastructure of the university and recommend a suitable Learning Management System (LMS), digital applications, cybersecurity measures and funding requirements. It has been directed to submit its recommendations and a detailed PC-I project proposal within four working days. The report will include estimated costs, technical requirements and a phased implementation plan, and the recommendations will be submitted to the vice chancellor for further consideration. The short deadline means that the first outline of the project, with its costs and stages, should be ready for review within a week of the committee beginning its work.
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