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Harcourt Butler Technical University

Engineering school in Kanpur, India From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Harcourt Butler Technical University
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Harcourt Butler Technical University (HBTU), formerly Harcourt Butler Technological Institute (HBTI), is an old STEM college currently functioning as a public technical university, and is located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. Established in 1921, it is one of India's oldest engineering institutes,[5][6] and also India's first technological institute for higher research in technical chemistry.[7]

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It is named after its proponent-in-chief Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler, an accomplished ICS officer and a highly regarded Governor in British India, who preferred to be addressed as "Harcourt Butler".[8][9][10] As an educational reformer, Sir Harcourt was an advocate for technical education in general, and the patron of "Technological Institute" in particular.[11]

It offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programmes in engineering, technology, mathematics, natural sciences, and applied sciences; as well as master's programmes in computer applications, and business administration. The full-time four-year B.Tech. is the flagship programme of the institute.

It has historical and foundational connections to many scientific and technological entities. It is the parent of the National Sugar Institute which functioned from HBTI campus from 1936 to 1963.[12][13] The Central Control Laboratory (for Ghee, Edible oils, and Vanaspati) started operating out of HBTI in 1937.[14] HBTI also housed the offices of Glass Technology (1942–91) and Alcohol Technology (estd. 1953) of the provincial government. It assisted two new state-government colleges - the Rajkiya Engineering College Bijnor (RECB, started in 2010[15] as BRAECIT), and the Rajkiya Engineering College Mainpuri (RECM,[16] started in 2015).[17] And, when IIT Kanpur was established in 1959, its classes, starting 9 August 1960, were initially held in HBTI until IITK had its own campus.[18][19][20]

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History

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Origins

In early 1900s, there was a need for application of science in industry in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, and technical education was paramount.[21] On the initiative of Mr. Harcourt Butler,[22][7][23] the Secretary to Industrial Committee (1907-08) and DC of Lucknow,[24][25] the 1907 Industrial Conference at Naini Tal convened by the Lt.Gov. of the province,[26] Sir John P. Hewett, GCSI, KBE, CIE, recommended establishment of a Technological Institute at Cawnpore.[27] Therein, Sir Edwin H.deV. Atkinson, KBE, CIE, RE,[28] the Principal[29] of Thomason College, opined on location of the institute,[30] while the views of Upper India Chamber of Commerce (UICC) were expressed by their Secretary, Mr. Alexander B. Shakespear, CIE.[31]

The conference approved teaching and research via four chemical sections (of four students each) in industries of leather, sugar, acid-n-alkali, and textile-n-papermaking (dyeing, bleaching, etc.).[32] In 1908, Sir Harcourt left UPA&O,[24] and later, the provincial secretary (and future CAG[33]), Sir Robert W. Gillan, KCSI, submitted the scheme to the government.[34][35] But, the India Secretary deferred, and sought opinions from Dr. Morris W. Travers, FRS, DSc, among others, regarding overlaps with IISc, and relevant areas of instruction and enquiry. However, it was generally accepted that a colloquial Central Higher Technical Institute be set-up in two branches. The Rurki Branch would take over Thomason's civil engineering, and shut its Department of Technology; while the Cawnpore Branch would be the industrially accessible Technological Institute.[36]

By 1914, the idea of starting it as a polytechnic was abandoned, and industry-oriented applied research became the keynote.[36] Deferments also happened due to World War I, apart from differing opinions, and lack of funds.[7][37] By mid 1910s, an IISc-like research institute under Imperial control in North India was steadily demanded not only by industrialists, merchants, and managers like C.T. Allen, CIE, C.M. DeSouza, and A.B. Shakespear, but also by officials like the Director of Industries (DI) A.H. Silver.[38][39]

Indian businessmen wanted training in leather chemistry[40] as Kanpur had leather industry since 1800s.[41][42][43][44] Contrarily, officials like Director (LR&A) Mr. H.R.C. Hailey, CSI, CIE, and Offg. DI & DD (Agri.)[45][46][47][48] Sir Bryce C. Burt, CIE, MBE, FCS, concurred with European industrialists[32] and UICC that the proposed institute should focus on research in applied chemistry, and offer special branches only on demand.[49][50] The Indian Industrial Commission (1916–18) headed by Sir Thomas H. Holland, KCSI, KCIE, FRS, DSc, recommended that technological institutes should be controlled by provincial Director of Industries[51] to facilitate research in regional industries.[52][53] A representative committee also recommended that the institute provide training for one research chemist, and three technical chemists (oil, textile, leather).[54]

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Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler, c.1934

GRI and GTI

Sir Harcourt returned to UPA&O in 1918 as Lieutenant-Governor, and expressed dismay at the delays in starting the institute.[25] Ultimately, Government Research Institute, Cawnpore, was launched in 1920 without any teaching courses. It was headed by the Agricultural Chemist[55] Dr. Harold Edward Annett, OBE, FIC, FCS, DSc, then the Principal of Opium Research Laboratory,[56] of which GRI was an adjunct. It was housed in two rooms of Sher Wali Kothi, a British era bungalow near Nawabganj.[57]

The distinguished dye scientist[58][59] Dr. Edwin Roy Watson, DSc, Professor[60][61] at Dacca College, was appointed as Research Chemist, aided by two Asst. Res. Chemists - Dr. Nitya Gopal Chatterji, DSc, DIC, AMIChemE,[62] and Mr. Kshitish Chandra Mukherji, AIC. Dr. Watson had been research assistant to C. T. R. Wilson (who won 1927 Physic Nobel prize), and Siegfried Ruhemann (who discovered Ninhydrin in 1911) at Cambridge (1903-04).[63][64] Dr. Watson became the Principal of GRI as Dr. Annett was appointed Officiating Principal of Govt. Agricultural College by 1921.[65]

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(L) Sir J.P. Hewett, c. 1907; (R) Sir C.Y. Chintamani, c. 1911

In 1921, Sir Harcourt became the (first[66]) Governor of United Provinces,[67][65]. He reformed the U.P. Board of Industries, and appointed Sir C.Y. Chintamani, LLD, the Chief-Editor of The Leader newspaper, as the Minister of Education and Industries.[67][65] With active support from the minister, the institute started teaching three-year postgraduate diploma courses, and became the Government Technological Institute.

The institute started with two Chairs each in the three fields of applied chemistry: oil, tinctorial, and leather.[7] Dr. E.R. Watson was appointed as the first Principal (1921–26) of GTI.[68] On the 25th of November 1921, Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler, GCSI, GCIE, DL, FRGS, FRAS, formally laid the foundation-stone of the Main Building.[8][9] Sir Harcourt had envisioned to make it a full-fledged technological university, but had to leave charge in December 1922.

"The institute will have two sides, instruction and research. They must operate and energise together. [...] The work of the institute will take time. The professors must be given a reasonably free hand. But they must not lose touch with the world of business and the practical conditions of industry.

Let our motto be 'on and ever on'. The outlook is favourable. The site of the new institution is within easy reach of the great industrial centre of Cawnpore, rich with capacity and experience. [...] I will set no limits in my imagination to the future progress of Cawnpore or the United Provinces. I will not admit one argument against their destiny."

— Sir Harcourt Butler at the Foundation-Stone Laying Ceremony

Initial years

The first batch of PG Diploma in Technology ("Dip.Tech.") consisted of three students each in two courses of General Applied Research ("Gen Res"), and Oil Chemistry & Technology ("Oil Tech"). Due to lack of infrastructure, they were sent to the Govt Technical School (under principalship of P.A. Lyons[67]) in Lucknow for a six-month preliminary course in mechanical engineering. The first classes & laboratories were held in two buildings (later, the erstwhile Forest View Hostel) of the old govt soda factory, and the first hostel was a Nawab's bungalow in Souterganj near the Govt School of Dyeing & Printing (GSDP,[69] later a GCTI constituent[70]).[57]

In 1922 the institute moved its operations to the new bungalows in Luxmanbagh colony - Bungalow No. 1 for "Gen Res", Bungalow No. 2 for workshop (with pilot plant), Bungalow No. 3 for "Oil Tech", and Bungalow No. 4 for hostel. By 1925, the north-wing of Main Building was completed, and a temporary hostel was constructed behind the central hall.[57] In 1926, under the then Minister of Industry,[71] Sir M.A.S. Khan, GBE, KCSI, KCIE, the institute took the name of its patron, and became the Harcourt Butler Technological Institute,[72] though Sir Harcourt was absent, working as Governor of British Burma.[66][73]

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Old Photograph of Main Building

After Richardson Committee prioritized leather over sugar, a third course of Leather Chemistry & Technology was started in 1922 under supervision of Mr. Madhav Balkrishna Hudlikar,[74][75] but ceased intakes after 1931 on the recommendation of the second inquiry-committee under Mr. Arthur H. Mackenzie, CSI, CIE.[76][77] Academically, the institute laid emphasis on practical training in simulation plants and commercial factories.[78] Admissions were done through competitive examination (written and oral).[8] A course in Tinctorial Chemistry was also considered. In 1924, the Department of (Applied) Chemistry was established as an entity, and all six students of the first batch also successfully received their PG diplomas. Though, grading and classification criteria based on test scores was only finalised a year later in 1924-25.[57] A fourth course of Sugar Chemistry & Technology was started in July 1926.[79]

The British biochemist, Dr. Gilbert J. Fowler, FIC, FRSI, DSc, who held the first Chair of Biochemistry (at IISc) in India and in the East, became the Officiating Head of the Research Department in 1926, and then Principal of HBTI in 1927.[80][81][82] The head(s) of technology section(s) worked de facto as area Expert(s) to the Industries Department, while the head of chemical research worked as Industrial Chemist to the provincial government.[83] Also, the oil course had developed an excellent reputation in the market.[79] Post-diploma two-year studentship, and three-year fellowship were also introduced within the first decade.[8][84]

Reforms

During ministership of Sir J.P. Srivastava, KCSI, KBE, DSc,[85][86] the Director of Industries was made the ex-officio Principal in 1932, and an Acting Principal was to be the head.[87] NASI Founder-Fellow[88][89] and industrial researcher[90] Dr. H.D.H. Drane, DSc, AMIEE, AMIChemE, was the last British Principal,[86] and Dr. J.A.H. Duke, the Oil Expert,[91] was appointed the first Acting Principal of HBTI. Also, the three-year "Dip.Tech." was replaced by a two-year PG course for an Associate of HBTI (A.H.B.T.I.), and a further two years of studies for a Fellow of HBTI (F.H.B.T.I.).[92][93] Short courses at different academic levels were also started in 1932-33 session.[94]

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(L) Dr. E.R. Watson, first principal; (R) Dr. J.A.H. Duke, first acting principal

In 1934, ICAR considered taking over the oil section to make an all-India institute of oil technology,[87] and in 1936 the sugar section was taken over to establish the Imperial Institute of Sugar Technology (IIST, now NSI) on the recommendations of Indian Sugar Committee (1920),[95] and others.[96][97][98] The first Indian Actg. Principal, Rao Saheb[62] Dattatraya Yeshwant Athawale, officiated from 1937 to 1947, followed by Dr. D.R. Dhingra, ARIC, in the first decade post-independence from 1947 to 1957. Industrially critical oil schemes were introduced as war effort during World War II.[57]

In 1952, on UP CM G.B. Pant's initiative, a committee headed by Sir J.C. Ghosh, DSc, FNI, advised that HBTI operate as a university college with IIST, GCTI, and GLI (GLWS[99]) as integral parts, but it was not implemented. AICTE reviews in 1955 and 1958 suggested reorganisation and introduction of new PG courses. In 1956, separate faculty posts were sanctioned, prior to which teaching was done by Experts, Chemists, etc. Dr. H. Trivedi became the first Indian-origin Principal when the post was revived in 1957. HBTI was affiliated to Agra University in 1958, and AHBTI/FHBTI diplomas were converted to degrees: a four-year B.Sc. (Chem. Engg.) to be pursued post I.Sc. (i.e., Class 12, HSC, PUC, etc.), and a three-year B.Sc. (Tech.) post B.Sc. The first M.Sc. (Tech.) courses and an Industrial Research Centre were both started in 1960, along with appointment of a Head of Oil Technology, transfer of Essential Oils scheme to the Director of Industries, and the completion of Lake View Hostel.[100]

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Dr. CR Mitra, first director

On 26 March 1965, the Government of Uttar Pradesh (GoUP) under CM Sucheta Kripalani made HBTI a standalone institution registered as a society.[101] Accordingly, the organisation was reconstituted with a Board of Governors, and the post of Principal raised to Director. HBTI's Principal since 1962, the ex-industrial-advisor to GoUP and MIT/SEAS alumni Dr. C.R. Mitra, became the first Director in 1965, and remained till 1969 (when G.D. Birla invited him to lead BITS Pilani).[102][103][104] The college's affiliation was transferred to Kanpur University in 1967 on the latter's inception. HBTI grew significantly during 1962-69 under an education policy inspired by the Applied Industrial Research Scheme of 1961. It transformed from an instructor in chemical branches to a prominent institute of higher education in fields of engineering & technology.

In 1991, all B.Sc. (Engg/Tech) courses were changed to four-year B.Tech, and all M.Sc. (Tech) were changed to two-year M.Tech. In 2000, the GoUP established the Uttar Pradesh Technical University (UPTU), and HBTI was affiliated to it in 2001.[105] Later, HBTI became the only UP college to be granted the academic autonomy by the University Grants Commission on 27 February 2008,[106][107] a status it had lost after 1998-99.[108] On 1 September 2016, HBTI was further upgraded to a state university by the UP HBTU Act, 2016 (dated 7 April 2016),[109][110] and thereafter was renamed the Harcourt Butler Technical University.

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Campus

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HBTI Main Building, c. 2004

The university is on the Hastings Avenue in Nawabganj area in the northern outskirts of the metro-city of Kanpur, officially in the Kanpur Nagar district. It is situated between the Kanpur Zoo, and the Company Bagh Chauraha (crossing), about 4 km from the Kanpur Ganga Barrage. It is spread across two campuses – the East campus (74.84 acres), and the West campus (248.64 acres), roughly 3 km apart. The East Campus is primarily academic with accommodation facilities limited to girls, and 1st-year boys only. The West campus is entirely residential & recreational in nature.

East campus

The East Campus has its main entrance gate opposite the CSA Univ. of Agriculture & Technology premises on the Agricultural College Lane. The other gate on the opposite side of campus faces the Azad Nagar locality. It is 3 km of the Rawatpur railway station, 3 km from the Rawatpur metro station (on Orange Line), 8 km from the Kanpur Central railway station, and 9 km from the Kanpur Central (Jhakarkati) Bus Station.

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HBTI Main Building, c. 2010

The Main Building, in use since 1925, houses the VC office, several administrative offices, classrooms, lecture theatres, lecture halls, a MOOC recording studio, and departments of Chemical Technology (five out of six branches), Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Humanities. Seven other independent buildings house the departments of Chemical Engineering, Computer Science & IT (with the computer centre), Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Leather Technology. The Central Workshop (finished 1957) establishment consists of seven shops: Foundry Shop, Welding Shop, Machine Shop, Sheet Metal Shop, Blacksmithy Shop, Carpentry Shop, and Fitting-&-Benchworking Shop. It once also had a state of the art industrial-grade oil mill, a sugar plant, a soap-factory, and manufacturing machines for paint and varnish.[111]

The Tagore Central Library is an independent building. It offers a web-based OPAC catalogue, and is stocked with 83,000+ books, 25,000+ journals & periodicals. The library provides access to e-journals like the ACS, J-Gate Plus (JCCC), IEEE, Springer Nature, and Web of Science database. It offers repository of theses from Shodhganga, and e-books from AICTE e-Kumbh[112] as well as various leading publishers like Pearson, Wiley, Taylor & Francis, Elsevier, McGraw Hill, Cambridge University Press, etc.[113] HBTU also has several e-resources via the E-ShodhSindhu (eSS) Consortium's various subscriptions,[114] like NDLI eBooks, NDLI South Asia archives, web-based CaPD-PDS software (under ShodhShuddhi[115] programme).

This campus also has the buildings of old auditorium, new auditorium, old gymnasium, campus cafeteria, canteen, and the Atal Incubation Hub (GIIEC). It also has the headquarters of Oil Technologists' Association of India (OTAI),[116] the central regional office of Council of Leather Exports (CLE),[117] the Kanpur Local Centre of Institution of Engineers (India), [118], and the Kanpur Regional Centre of Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers.[119] Other things include the gardens, lawns, badminton court, tennis court, playground for cricket & football, guest house, medical centre, Central Bank of India (CBI) campus branch, and its ATM.

The residential provisions are for six female hostels - Alaknanda Hostel (GH-I), Mandakini Hostel (GH-II), Gangotri Hostel (GH-III), Bhagirathi Hostel (GH-IV, and formerly Lake View III, 'LV New'), Kaveri Hostel (GH-V), and Saraswati Hostel (GH-VI); and two male hostels - Shridharacharya Hostel (Lake View I & II, 'LV Old'), and Ramanujan Hostel. There are also a few residential quarters for the faculty & staff.

West campus

The West Campus is on Indra Road, opposite Deen Dayal Nagar locality, and around 1 km from the Gurudev Chauraha (and same name metro station). It is on the other side of the Kanpur Zoo with reference to the East Campus. This land was acquired in 1965 with an ambition to construct a new unified campus for the institute.

The West Campus features several male hostels - Abdul Kalam Hostel (WCH-I), Visveswaraya Hostel (WCH-II), Raman Hostel (WCH-III), Ambedkar Hostel (DBRA-I), Aryabhatt Hostel (DBRA-II), Vishwakarma hostel (WCH-IV), and Vivekanand Hostel (PG). It also has the VC residence, VC camp office, new multi-purpose hall (Shatabdi Bhawan), new gymnasium, community centre, a State Bank (SBI) ATM, postal facilities, and several residential quarters for faculty and staff. There are also playing grounds for cricket, football, hockey, basketball, and volleyball.

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Administration

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Governance

HBTU is a state-university nominally headed by the Governor of Uttar Pradesh as its ex-officio Chancellor. The Chancellor appoints the Vice-Chancellor (VC), nominates certain members of the Executive Council, and is the appellate authority.[3] HBTU is administered by the following structure:

The above-mentioned statutory authorities have their own respective chairperson, secretary, and members. They can be convened for specific functions as per their mandate. The authorities are: Academic Council, Board of Studies, Board of Examinations, and several other Committees (Admission, Grievance, Purchase, Works, etc).[120]

Organisation

The university is operationally headed by the Vice Chancellor (VC) who is assisted by several officials in the following reporting order:

  • Vice-Chancellor (VC)
    • Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Pro-VC)
      • Registrar, and Deputy Registrar
      • Finance Controller, and Fin/Acc Officer
      • Deans, and Associate Deans of: Academic Affairs, and Student's Welfare
      • Deans, and Associate Deans of: R&D, Incubation Hub, and CE-n-IQA
      • Dean, and Associate Dean of Planning & Resource Generation (PRG)
      • Dean, School of Engineering (SoE)
        • Heads of the five engineering departments
      • Dean, School of Chemical Technology (SoCT)
        • Heads of the seven chemical engg-n-tech departments
      • Dean, School of Basic & Applied Sciences (SoBAS)
        • Heads of the three science departments (Phy, Chem, Maths)
      • Dean, School of Entrepreneurship & Management (SEM)
        • Head of the Department of Management Studies
      • HR Development (HRD) Coordinator
      • Dean, School of Humanities & Social Sciences (H&SS)
        • Head of Department of H&SS

Academics

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HBTU is a government-aided state-university for technical UG and PG education specialising in engineering and technology, along with research and consulting in allied areas. It is a non-collegiate unitary-type university, and does not affiliate or administer other colleges or institutes. It is recognised by the University Grants Commission,[121] and is approved by the AICTE for STEM programmes.[122] HBTU holds the NAAC A+ Grade, and the courses are accredited by the NBA.[123] It was one of the 127 technical institutions to receive funding from the World Bank's IDA in TEQIP Phase-I (2004–2009)[124] implemented by NPIU[125] of GoI. The college further received more funding under RUSA, TEQIP-II,[126] and TEQIP-III.[127]

Research

The college takes up R&D schemes sponsored by various government or private entities, like DST, SERB, MHRD, UGC, ICAR, CRS (TEQIP), IITK, DRDO (& DMSRDE), CPCB, BARC, CIDA (via SICI[128]), CSIR, DAE, ICMR, MoFPI, DBT, ICMR, DOE, CSTUP, etc.[129][130] HBTU is also an S&T partner in the Rural Technology Action Group (RuTAG) initiative of IITK.[131] In 2009, Current Science ranked it #17 in top 30 Indian engg-tech institutes for their research performance, and #25 in 67 institutes based on number of papers published, using the Scopus database for the period 1999-2008.[132]

Programmes

HBTU offers a wide variety of undergraduate and postgraduate courses conferring the Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.), Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Master of Computer Applications (MCA), Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Science (M.Sc.), Master of Technology (M.Tech.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees on successful completion.

B.Tech. courses are offered in 13 fields of engineering & technology by their respective departments, as follows (dept start year mentioned): Computer Science & Engineering (since 1984), Information Technology (by CSE Dept.), Mechanical Engineering (since 1964), Civil Engineering (since 1966), Electronics Engineering (since 1990), Electrical Engineering (since 1965), Chemical Engineering (since 1954), and six Chemical Technology branches - Plastic Technology (since 1964), Biochemical Engineering (since 1964), Food Technology (since 1964), Oil Technology (since 1921), Paint Technology (since 1991), and Leather Technology (since 1978)). M.Tech. is offered in 11 of these aforementioned 13 branches (except IT, and Leather Technology). Admissions to the B.Tech. programmes are through the NTA JEE Main exam since 2017 (and previously, SEE-UPTU from 2001 to 2016), and to the M.Tech. programmes are via the JAM exam.

Full-time two-year MBA, MCA, and M.Sc. (in Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics) programmes are offered at the masters level. The erstwhile STEP-HBTI was established in 1986[133] for running the management programme(s), with STEP being acronym for 'Science & Technology Entrepreneur's Park'. A four-year BS-MS course is also offered in Mathematics & Data Science. Admission to the MBA programme is through the CAT exam (or university entrance exam), the MCA programme is through the NIMCET[134] exam, and the M.Sc. programmes is via the JAM exam & CUET (PG). Admission to the doctoral programmes (Ph.D.) is via the UGC–NET test.

Reputation and rankings

HBTU was a nationally reputed engineering college in India in the 20th century.[135][136] Initially, it was affected by the industrial decline of Kanpur post 1980, a city once called Manchester of the East.[137][138][139][140] By 2000s, HBTI suffered infrastructure deterioration, and faculty insufficiency.[141] Then, HBTU struggled for prestige after the central institutes (IITs, IIITs, and NITs) were expanded in number by the Indian government to a total of ~80 elite STEM colleges. Some old ranking reports are given below:

  • HBTI was ranked #25 by Outlook India (2006) and India Today (2007) in their India's best engineering colleges lists.[142]
  • Outlook India ranked it #21 and #23 in their Top Govt. Engg. Colleges list in 2007 and 2008 respectively.[143][144]
  • Ranked #21, #32, and #48 by Dataquest's DQ-CMR T-Schools Survey 2006, 2011, and 2012 respectively.[145][146]
  • Ranked #26, and #31 in Mint's Top 50 Government Engineering Colleges of 2008,[147] and 2009[148] respectively.
  • Ranked #26, #24, and #25 in Outlook India's Survey of Top Engineering Colleges of 2011,[149] 2012,[150] and 2013[151] respectively.
  • Career360 ranked it nationally at #39 in 2012 in their engineering colleges list.[152]
  • Ranked 25th in Best Engineering College of India in the EDU-Rand survey in 2015.[153][154]
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Centenary

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HBTU Centenary Stamp

HBTU successfully completed a century of its establishment as a teaching institution in the year 2021. It also celebrated the 100th anniversary of its Foundation-Stone Laying Ceremony on the 25th of November, 2021. The centennial occasion was officially recognised and commemorated in the Centenary Year Function organised by the university on the very date of anniversary under the charge of its Vice Chancellor Dr. Samsher.[155] The function was attended by the President of India, and the Governor of Uttar Pradesh.[156][157][158]

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HBTU Centenary Coin

The following commemorative actions were performed as part of the centenary celebrations:

  • A dual-cell 400 Kg time capsule filled with historically significant artifacts buried 10m deep below the specially constructed 60-ft high Shatabdi Stambh (Centenary Tower) in front of the Main Building.[159][160][161]
  • Launch of the book titled The History Book: HBTU, a collaborative effort of university administration, students, and alumni.
  • Issue of the HBTU Centenary commemorative stamp of INR 5 face value by the India Post under the My Stamp branded personalised series made available in sheets. It is a multicolour stamp featuring the image of the Main Building, and comes attached with an informative label mentioning the centennial occasion.[162][163]
  • Release of the HBTU Centenary commemorative coin of INR 100 denomination. It is produced by SPMCIL, and manufactured at the India Government Mint, Kolkata. It is made of the quaternary metallic alloy of Silver, Copper, Nickel, and Zinc in the proportion 10:8:1:1. The reverse face of the coin (colloquially, tails or back-side) bears the name of the commemoration event (in Hindi and English), the representational picture of HBTU's Main Building along with the years of commemoration (1921-2021). It is available for order in two variants: the Uncirculated Coin (UNC), and the Proof Coin.[164][165][166]
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Career Assistance

The Dean (PRG) is in-charge of the Training and Placement (T&P) Cell which is responsible for assisting students in acquiring industrial training and availing job opportunities. It consists of admin-staff and student-members from all branches. It aids in the making and verification of CVs. It also coordinates with interested organisations, and facilitates the campus placement process.

Student life

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Activity council

Apart from the academics, the HBTU students can also participate in extra-curricular activities organised by several officially recognised bodies called Sub-Councils. All of them are ultimately governed by an apex body called the University Students Activity Council (USAC) which is headed by a Chairman. All sub-councils have an administrative Convener, and are primarily run by their respective student-members.[167]

The student-bodies can be categories based on their primary function:

Associations

The various departments of engineering and technology also have their own Associations of engineers and technologists, e.g., ACE, AME, etc. These associations coordinate among their faculty, students, and alumni for various co-curricular and extra-curricular activities as they deem important, including but not limited to intra-department or inter-college events. The associations have their own intra-departmental conveners, and student-members.

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Alumni

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HBTU alumni are popularly known as Harcourtians.[168] They have been known so for a long time, are proud of their alma mater, and share a strong identity.

The alumni can be easily found working in large numbers in the central government services (UPSC CSE/ESE, SSC, CAPF, Military, etc.), PSUs/PSEs, banks, institutes, colleges, state-government services (UPPSC, UKPSC, etc.), and provincial corporations like state-PWDs, metro-rail corps (DMRC, UPMRC, NMRC, etc.), utility corps (UPPCL, UPRVUNL, UPJN, etc.), development units (DDA, YEIDA, UPSIDC, etc.), and many more. They are also successfully working as engineers & managers in the private sector firms, including all prominent MNCs.[169] Many alumni also go to IITs, IIMs, IISc, or foreign colleges for further education.

OBA

Old Boys' Association was the first alumni association of HBTI, founded in the early 1930s, and colloquially called "OBA, HBTI".[170] In 1936, the Sugar Technology was established as a separate institute named IIST, but the association kept operating under the same name, and kept representing both institutes together. After IIST was renamed NSI in 1957, the joint alumni association was also renamed "OBA, HBTI & NSI" to reflect the change. When NSI moved to its own new campus a few km away in 1963, the association still carried on its activities across both campuses. However, the joint association was ultimately broken in 1971, and was again called "HBTI OBA". The association's activities declined after late 1970s.

Alumni association

The currently active Alumni Association, HBTU (originally as AA HBTI) was founded after the OBA went defunct. The association has chapters in major Indian cities for ease of access to alumni. It organised the first International Alumni Meet in 2005, and does so every year.[171][172]

Alumni Cell

HBTU established the Alumni Cell in 2020s which enjoys dedicated resources.[173] It is headed by the Dean (PRG) as ex-officio Chairman, and the Associate Dean (PRG) is the ex-officio Member-Secretary in-charge of the alumni affairs. There are three other rotating members - two from faculty, and one from students.

Notable alumni

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Notes

    See also

    References

    External links

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