Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, is the only institution of its kind on rainfed agriculture in the world. The original name given to the university was "University of Arid Agriculture, Rawalpindi''. It was established at Shamsabad, Murree Road, Rawalpindi on April 27, 1994, on the occasion of the first convocation of the Barani Agriculture College, Rawalpindi. The University of Arid Agriculture Bill, 1994 was passed by the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab on the 30th of April, 1995 and assented to by the Governor of the Punjab on the 15th day of May, 1995, when it became an Act of the Provincial Assembly (published in the Gazette of the Punjab on 24th of May, 1995).
The Barani Institute of Information Technology (BIIT) was established at the University, in 1998, after a long and deliberate consideration of the growing needs of Software development and the initiative launched by the Government of Pakistan, known as Public Private Partnership. The Institute was originally established as a joint venture between the PMAS Arid Agriculture University and the private sector. However, on recommendation of HEC and Govt of Pakistan, in 2016 the joint venture was transferred to an affiliated institute status. The institute operates on a self-financed scheme and is concentrating on the following academic areas: Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Software Engineering.
BIIT takes pride in being the first institute in Pakistan to launch the four-year Computer Science and Information Technology degree programs in 1998 and 1999 respectively, which were recognized nationally and internationally. Currently BIIT focuses on comprehensive undergraduate degree programs, namely: Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering BSSE, and Bachelor of Science in Computer Science BSCS, with specialization in General Computing and Artificial Intelligence. Very soon, two more specializations, Data Science and Cyber Security are also going to be launched.
BSCS previously known as BCS (Hons) follows the four-year curriculum proposed in University Grants Commission's curriculum development meeting held in May 1998, and subsequently revised in HEC's National Curriculum Revision Committee for CS & IT in April 2001, 2004, 2009, 2015, 2017, 2022, and 2023. This undergraduate degree program with specialization in General Computing and Artificial Intelligence is the flagship program of BIIT, where a major emphasis is placed on the standards and quality. Only the students having a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.50 are allowed to graduate from this program. The institute has state-of-the-art computing facilities. Overall, there are 8 labs, numerous servers and a diverse array of computers and devices available for students' use. There is one research lab and seven teaching labs, consisting of Intel multi-Core machines. All the labs are networked through fast Ethernet hubs and switches. Admissions to BIIT are open to all persons of any religion, race, creed, class or color, and no person will be deprived of the benefits accruing from the institute on any such grounds. BIIT follows a blind admission policy, where admission is granted without assessing the ability of the student to finance his/her education.
