Niaz Ahmad Akhtar (Urdu: نیاز احمد اختر; born 15 June 1960) is a Pakistani academic who is currently serving as the vice-chancellor of Quaid-i-Azam University, in office since 14 March 2023 and rector of National Textile University, Faisalabad on additional charge basis.

In recognition of his outstanding performance in the field of Education (Engineering & Technology), he was awarded Sitara-i-Imtiaz by the Government of Pakistan in 2015.

Akhtar began his teaching career at the University of the Punjab as a lecturer in chemical engineering in 1988.

He came back to serve his country in 2001 and joined as an associate professor at the Institute of Chemical Engineering & Technology, University of the Punjab.

The institute is presently offering BS, MS, & PhD degree in field of Industrial Engineering & Quality Management.

[8][7][9] For the first time in Pakistan, he launched MSc, MS and PhD programs in the field of Total Quality Management.

[18] Akhtar also took several other steps for the development of the university, including implementation of online teaching and research during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Due to his outstanding contribution, he was awarded with the gold medal by BOG of the National Textile University.

In addition to increasing the number of students and faculty, he started many new programs including 12 new BS, MS and Ph.D.

[26][27][28] Owing to his significant contributions, he was decorated with the National Award of Sitara-e-Imtiaz in 2015, in the Field of Education (Engineering & Technology).

[29][30][31][32] In 2021, Akhtar was assigned the additional charge of the University of Sahiwal (UoS) for a period of three months or until a regular appointment was made.