UMT was founded in 1990 as the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM). ILM was established by leading educationists, professionals, and industrialists with an aim to enhance the organizational and individual effectiveness. Guided by the noble mission of helping others in actualizing their limitless human potential to its finest shape, ILM sought to respond to the challenges of information-based economy, globalization, and ever increasing complexity.

UMT – now an independent, not-for-profit, private institution of higher learning – received her degree-granting charter first as the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) in 2002 through an Act of the Assembly of the Punjab. Later, on 16 June 2004, IMT became University of Management and Technology through the passing of a similar Act by the Punjab Assembly.

In September 2007, the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan, upgraded the category of UMT from ‘Category X’/ previous ‘Category B’ to ‘Category W’/ previous ‘Category A’. UMT now ranks among the few select universities in the country in this category.