North South University (NSU), the first private university in Bangladesh, was established by a group of philanthropists, industrialists, bureaucrats and academics. The government of Bangladesh approved the establishment of North South University in 1992 under Private University Act (PUA) 1992. The university was formally inaugurated on 10 February 1993 by Begum Khaleda Zia the then Prime Minister of Bangladesh. The honorable President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh is the Chancellor of NSU.
The University is run by a number of statutory bodies as required under the provisions
of the Private Universities Act 1992. At the apex is the Board of Governors (BOG) of
NSU Foundation, which provides policy guidelines and approves the university budget.
The BOG is headed by the Chairman elected by its members. Mr. Iftekharul Alam was the
founder Chairman of the Board of Governors (1992). Mr. MA Awal is the current
chairman, who has previously served the Foundation and the University as the Chairman
for two consecutive terms of two years each during 1995-1997 and 1997-1999. Mr. M.A.
Kashem Mr. Azim Uddin Ahmed, Mr. A B M Kamal Uddin Khan, Mr. Mohammed Shajahan, Mr. M.
A. Hashem, Mr. Iftekharul Alam, Mr. Ragib Ali and Mr. Benajir Ahmed were the
subsequent Chairmen in chronological order. Mrs. Rehana Rahman is the immediate past
Chairman. The Porichalona Porshod (Syndicate) is the second highest body. It runs the
administration of the University within the policy guidelines provided by BOG. The
Porichalona Porshod consists of BOG members, Vice Chancellor, Pro Vice Chancellor,
Treasurer, Deans and representatives of the faculty and university administration.
The Vice Chancellor, as the chief executive and academic officer, runs the university with the help of the following statutory bodies: Academic Council, Finance Committee, Curriculum Committee, , Planning and Development Committee, Dean's Committee, Faculty Selection Committee, Degree Review Committee, Library Committee, Disciplinary Committee and Faculty Search Committee. All statutory bodies operate under the provision of the Statutes prepared within the framework of PUA 1992. The Registrar maintains the university records including admissions and examination results, and keeps liaison with Ministry of Education, University Grants Commission (UGC) and other relevant authorities.
The university follows an American system--semesters, credit hours, letter grades, one examiner syste etc. Its curricula. when first introduced, were reviewed by relevant departments of University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and University of California at Berkeley, USA and duly approved by UGC. The academic programs are continually updated and adapted to meet the local needs.
Since joining NSU in 1993, Dr. Hafiz G. A. Siddiqi, the current Vice Chancellor, provided leadership in improving, expanding and diversifying various academic programs (Summer 2006). NSU now has 146 core (fulltime) faculty and 75 part-time faculty members. Core faculties teach roughly 73% of the courses offered. All faculty members have higher degrees from reputable foreign universities, with over 90% from US and Canadian Universities. Visiting faculty from foreign universities including US, Canadian and Australian universities also teach at NSU. It is very selective in recruiting teachers and admitting students. Its current student enrolment is about 7000
The first freshman classes of January 1993 had 137 students enrolled in three Departments: Business Administration, Computer Science, and Economics. Departments of Environmental Studies (DES), English and General and Continuing Education (GCE) were founded later. The Masters Program in Economics was introduced in 1994. The MBA Program was launched in Summer 1997. Masters in Development Studies and Bachelor in Computer Engineering were introduced in 2002. MS in Computer Science has been introduced from Summer 2003. Bachelor in Architecture was introduced in FaIl 2004. Masters in English was launched in Spring 2005. Pharmacy (Undergraduate) and Executive MBA (EMBA) program launched in Spring 2006 and Masters in Biotechnology and Masters in Public Health program launched in Summer 2006. BS in Biotechnology, BS in Microbiology and BS in Biochemistry programs were introduced in Spring 2007. NSU has three Institutes and one Center (i) Institute of Development, Environment and Strategic Studies (IDESS) (ii) The English Institute (iii) Confucius Institute, and (iv) Center of Information & Communication Technology (CICT).
NSU's first convocation was held on 18 December 1996 when Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed, Honorable President of Bangladesh and Chancellor of NSU conferred degrees upon 96 graduates. In the 2nd (1998), 3rd (1999) and 4th (2000) Convocations, degrees were conferred by the then Pro Vice Chancellor Dr. Hafiz G.A. Siddiqi as authorized by Chancellor Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed. In the 4th Convocation held on November 25, 2000, 165 graduates including the first batch of 45 MBA graduates were conferred degrees. The 5th Convocation on November 11, 2001 saw Professor Dr. lajuddin Ahmed, Honorable President of Bangladesh and Chancellor of NSU confer degrees upon 203 graduates. The Chancellor conferred degrees upon 251 graduates at the 6th Convocation on November 2, 2002. In the 7th Convocation on 6 December 2003, 8th Convocation on 24 November 2004, 9th Convocation on 21 December 2005 and in the 10th Convocation on 28 November 2007 the numbers of graduates were 307, 375, 475 and 518 respectively. The total number of graduates produced by NSU to 2627 (up-to 10th Convocation 2006). Most of these graduates are employed in national and multinational companies. Many are pursuing higher studies at renowned universities abroad.
