Introduction to BNU
In this immensely
competitive and dynamic world, qualitatively superior education is an
imperative for success. Over the years, higher education has assumed a
pivotal role in the development of the required acumen of the students
to better equip them to meet the emerging challenges. Universities and
higher education institutions are thriving social and cultural centres
with much to offer students of any age, nationality or social
background. A modern university aims to provide its students with a wide
array of courses and degrees to choose from, according to their embedded
career interests and aptitudes. At BNU, we offer our students
broad-based education in which a student studies a variety of different
subjects in order to gain a better working knowledge of the world around
him or herself, thus preparing them for a lifetime of opportunities and
challenges. BNU is the first Liberal Arts University of Pakistan.
Chartered by the Government of Punjab, the Beaconhouse National
University (BNU), was established in 2003 for the purpose of imparting
education with a modern, rational, course content while ensuring that
the history and culture of Pakistani society are respected. BNU is
planned as a non‑profit, private university disseminating learning and
encouraging research in diverse areas where the essential focus of the
programs offered has been determined by the type of the work force
identified for the future economic, business, academic, cultural and
technological advancement of the country. As such, BNU offers students a
range of subject areas which are of immense relevance to the country’s
economy.
Over the years, Liberal
Arts education has assumed a vital role. One armchair philosopher once
said, "When the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every
problem as a nail." All knowledge is one, a unified wholeness, and every
field of study is but a piece or an angle or a way of partitioning this
knowledge. Thus, to see how one's chosen area fits into the whole, to
see the context of one's study, we at BNU believe, liberal education is
not merely desirable, but necessary.
The diverse body of
knowledge that a student gains at BNU, together with the tools of
examination and analysis that one learns to use, will enable him or her
to develop opinions, attitudes, values, and beliefs, based not upon
authority or ignorance, whim, or prejudice, but upon ones own worthy
evaluation of argument and evidence. We foster the development of an
active engagement with knowledge, and not just the passive reception of
facts.
At BNU, the knowledge
disseminated will help you learn new subjects by one of the most common
methods of learning--analogy. As George Herbert noted, people are best
taught by using something they are familiar with, something they already
understand, to explain something new and unfamiliar. The more you know
and are familiar with, the more you can know, faster and more easily.
Many times the mind will create its own analogies, almost unconsciously,
to teach itself about the unfamiliar by means of the familiar. The
education at BNU creates an improvement of perception and understanding.
This is done by a number of unique, innovative practices at BNU:
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An academic format
which encourages the student to read across the curriculum
allowing for cross registration in courses offered
at Schools other than the one the student is registered
in. These courses may be taken as minors or electives. |
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The University underscores the
importance of the creative and performing arts which
form an integral part of any liberal arts education.
Open workshops and seminars are offered where students
interact with scholars and practitioners of international
repute. |
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Each student works with an academic
advisor who helps design a program of study most suited
to the individual student’s talent and is also
available for personal guidance throughout the student’s
stay at the University. |
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A system of education in which
students learn in small, interactive class sessions. |
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A system of student evaluation
based on frequent written assignments and research
projects rather than a traditional method of examination. |
At Beaconhouse National
University, education is enriched through a free exchange of ideas and
debate which is expertly guided by qualified faculty. Most courses are
intensive and year long in which students are encouraged to question
assumptions, listen to diverse opinions and challenge convention. This
strategy is further developed through disciplined and motivated work on
the student’s part and the evaluation of individual progress through
written reports and ongoing interaction between students and teachers.
The
University is fully cognizant of the fact that the formative years of a
young adult’s life i.e. the years spent at university must be enriched
through a variety of experiences, both within and outside the classroom.
Study tours therefore, form a regular feature of University life and
serve as a means of research and exposure to life in other regions of
the country and varied socio-economic groups.
BNU is a non-profit, apolitical, non-sectarian, equal-opportunity
institution offering undergraduate and graduate programmes in modern
disciplines, many of which are not offered anywhere else in Pakistan.
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