Harcourt Butler Technical University

Harcourt Butler Technical University

हरकोर्ट बटलर प्राविधिक विश्वविद्यालय (Hindi)
HBTU Logo
Former names	Harcourt Butler Technological Institute
Motto	श्रम एव परं तपः (Sanskrit) śrama eva paraṃ tapaḥ IAST
Motto in English	"Work Indeed is Great Austerity"
Type	State University (Technical)
Established	1921 (103 years ago) (1921)
Founder	Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler
Accreditation	NAAC A+ Grade
Chancellor	Governor of Uttar Pradesh
Vice-Chancellor	Prof. Samsher
Undergraduates	1185 (Engg. & Tech.)
Postgraduates	666 (STEM + MBA)
Doctoral students	117 (STEM + MBA)
Address	Hastings Avenue, Nawabganj , Kanpur , Uttar Pradesh , India
Campus	Urban, 348 acres (141 ha)
Colours	Royal Blue #002366   Sage Green #aac588   Corsa Red #bb0000
Website	hbtu.ac.in

Harcourt Butler Technical University (HBTU), formerly Harcourt Butler Technological Institute (HBTI), is a historical STEM college & technical university in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. It offers NBA accredited 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. HBTU is one of the oldest engineering institutes in the country, and holds an NAAC A+ accreditation, and an ISO 9001:2000 certification.

It has historical & foundational connections to many institutes and colleges. It is the parent of the National Sugar Institute,^[1] founded in 1936 as the Imperial Institute of Sugar Technology. In 1937, the Central Control Laboratory of the government started operating out of HBTI, under the charge of Department of Oil Technology. HBTI also housed the offices of Glass Technology (1942-91) & Alcohol Technology (estd. 1953), both running under the Director of Industries (Govt. of UP). It assisted & mentored two new state-government colleges - the Rajkiya Engineering College Bijnor (RECB, started in 2010^[2] as BRAECIT), and the Rajkiya Engineering College Mainpuri (RECM,^[3] started in 2015). And, when the IIT Kanpur was established in 1959, its classes, starting 9th of August 1960,^[4] were initially held in the canteen building of HBTI until IITK had its own campus.

It was one of the 127 technical institutions to receive funding from the World Bank's IDA in TEQIP Phase-I (2004–2009)^[5] implemented by NPIU^[6] of GoI. The college further received more funding under RUSA, TEQIP-II,^[7] and TEQIP-III.^[8] The college also takes up R&D schemes sponsored by DST, UGC, ICAR, DRDO (& DMSRDE), CPCB, BARC, CIDA (via SICI^[9]), CSIR, DAE, ICMR, DOE, CSTUP, etc.^[10]

In early 1900s, there was a growing need for advancement in applied sciences in the United Provinces (erstwhile NWP) of British India. On the initiative of ICS officer Sir Spencer H. Butler, the Industrial Conference in Nainital (1907) summoned by the then Governor of the province, Sir John P. Hewett, GCSI, KBE, CIE, GCStJ, proposed the establishment of two engineering institutions — one at Roorkee for engineering, and the other at Cawnpore (Kanpur) for industrial Chemistry (in industries of leather, dyeing & bleaching, sugar, acid & alkali, printing, etc.). Later, Sir Bryce C. Burt, CIE, MBE, FRSA concurred^[11] with European industrialists in Kanpur (and Upper India Chamber of Commerce) that the proposed institute should focus on research in applied chemistry, and facilities/courses for special branches made available on an on-demand basis. Furthermore, the Indian Industrial Commission^[12] (1916-18) headed by Sir Thomas H. Holland, KCSI, KCIE, FRS, FRSE, DSc, recommended that three-year postgraduate courses be offered by the aforementioned institute - in chemical research, and in oils.

Ultimately, the Government Research Institute, Cawnpore was launched in 1920 as a non-instructing research-only institute. The new institute was headed by Dr. Harold Edward Annett, OBE, FIC, DSc, then the Principal of the Opium Research Laboratory, Cawnpore, of which the new institute was an adjunct. Also, Dr. Edwin Roy Watson, DSc, the famous dye scientist^[13] and Professor^[14] at Dacca College in Bengal Presidency, was appointed as the Research Chemist, and further aided by two more Assistant Research Chemists. It was housed in the two rooms of what was then called the 'Sher Wali Kothi', a majestic building that still stands old at the northern corner of the Company Bagh crossing.

In 1921, with support from the then Minister of Education & Industries, C.Y. Chintamani,^[15] the institute started teaching three-year postgraduate diploma courses, and was rechristened the Government Technological Institute, Cawnpore with Dr. E.R. Watson appointed as the first Principal. On the 25th of November 1921, the then Governor of the United Provinces, Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler, GCSI, GCIE, DL, FRGS, FRAS, FRSA, FZS, formally laid the foundation of the (still present) 'Main Building'.

The first batch (in 1921) comprised of six students - three each in the two sections of General Applied Chemical Research ("Gen Res"), and Oil Chemistry & Technology ("Oil Tech"). Due to lack of infrastructure in Kanpur, they had to be sent to the Govt Technical School (in Lucknow) for a six-month preliminary course in mechanical engineering. The first classes & laboratories were held in two buildings (which later became 'Forest View Hostel') of the old Govt Soda Factory, and the very first hostel was a Nawab's bungalow near the Government^[16] School of Dyeing & Printing (constituent^[17] of GCTI) in Souterganj.

In 1922 the institute moved its operations to the new bungalows in the 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 served as hostel. By 1925, the North-Wing of the building was completed, and behind the central hall a temporary hostel was constructed for accomodation. In 1926, under the then Cabinet Minister of Industry, Lt. Col. Sir M.A.S. Khan, Nawab of Chhatari, GBE, KCSI, KCIE, the institute took the name of its patron, and became the Harcourt Butler Technological Institute,^[18] though Sir Spencer himself was absent, serving afar as the Governor of British Burma.

A third section of Leather Chemistry & Technology was started in 1922 (but abolished in 1932 on recommendation of Mackenzie Committe after GLWS/GLI^[19] Kanpur was firmly established). In 1924, the Department of Chemistry was established as an entity, and the first batch of six students also all successfully received their PG diplomas in the same year. Grading, and classes of diploma were only finalised in 1925. A Sugar Technology section was started in 1928, but it was taken over by ICAR in 1936 to establish the aforementioned Imperial Institute of Sugar Technology (IIST, now NSI), thereby implementing the recommendations^[20] of: Indian Sugar Committe (1920), Royal Commission on Agriculture in India (1928), and Tariff Board (1930).

Significant changes happened in 1932, when the Director of Industries (UP) was made the ex-officio Principal, and an Acting Principal was to be the operational head. Dr. J.A.H. Duke, the then Oil Expert to the Govt. of UP, was appointed as the first Acting Principal of HBTI. Also, the three-year PG course (Dip.Tech.) was replaced by a reduced-term two-year postgraduate course for an Associateship (A.H.B.T.I.), and a further two years of studies for a Fellowship (F.H.B.T.I.). The first Indian national to become the (Acting) Principal was Shri Dattatreya Yashwant Athawale, who officiated from 1937 to 1947. R&D schemes for Essential Oils, Food, Vegetable, Fibre, Plastics, and Soda Ash were started in 1947, but by 1952 all but the first one were either terminated or amalgamated.

In 1952, on CM G.B. Pant's initiative, a committee headed by Dr. J.C. Ghosh recommended the reorganisation of HBTI as a university college. They also recommended that IIST (NSI), GCTI (UPTTI), and GLI work as integral parts of HBTI, but it was not implemented. Moreover, AICTE review in 1955 suggested further reorganisation, and another review in 1958 called for introduction of new PG courses. In 1956, separate faculty posts were sanctioned, prior to which teaching was done by Oil Expert, Industrial Chemist, Research Chemist, etc. Full-time Principal's post was revived in 1957, and HBTI was affiliated to the Agra University in 1958. The AHBTI/FHBTI diplomas were converted to degree courses in 1958: a four-year B.Sc. (Chem. Engg.) post I.Sc. (Class 12), and a three-year B.Sc. (Tech.) post B.Sc. The first M.Sc. (Tech.) courses were started in 1960. Establishment of an 'Industrial Research Centre', and appointment of a Head of Oil Technology were also done in 1960, apart from transfer of Essential Oils scheme to the Director of Industries.

On the 26th of March 1965, the Government of UP (GoUP) during the reign of CM Sucheta Kripalani officially changed HBTI's status to a standalone society-based teaching institution. Accordingly, the organisational structure was reconstituted, like the post of Principal was raised to that of Director, and formation of a Board of Governors for administration. Dr. C.R. Mitra who was the Principal since 1962 became the first Director of HBTI in 1965, and remained so till 1969. The college affiliation was transferred to the Kanpur University (now CSJMU) in 1967 on the latter's inception. HBTI grew & changed significantly during 1962-69 under a growth-focussed education policy inspired by the 'Applied Industrial Research Scheme' (originally introduced in 1961). The transformation of HBTI was now complete, and its reputation changed from that of an institute instructing in oil/chemical technologies to that of a prominent institute of higher learning imparting state-of-the-art degrees in various fields of engineering & technology. In 1991, all B.Sc. (Engg/Tech) courses were changed to post-intermediate four-year B.Tech, and all M.Sc. (Tech) were changed to two-year M.Tech.

In 2001, the GoUP established the Uttar Pradesh Technical University (UPTU) (renamed GBTU in 2010, then AKTU in 2015), and HBTI's affiliation was transferred^[21] to it. Later, it was granted the academic autonomy by the UGC on the 27th of February 2008,^[22] the only one in UPTU, and thereby recognising the college's high stature. On the 1st of September 2016, HBTI was further upgraded to the legal status of a state university by the 'UP HBTU Act, 2016',^[23] and thereafter was renamed the 'Harcourt Butler Technical University' (HBTU).

The university is on the Hastings Avenue in Nawabganj area in the northern outskirts of the Kanpur city, between the Kanpur Zoo, and the Company Bagh crossing. It is less than 4 km from the 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 limited accommodation - for girls, and 1st year boys only. The West campus is entirely residential & recreational in nature.^[18]

The main entrance gate of the academic campus is opposite the CSA University of Agriculture & Technology's premises,^[24] and the other gate faces the Azad Nagar locality. It is within 3 km of the Rawatpur railway station (and same name metro station on Orange Line), and 8 km from the Kanpur Central railway station.

The main building, in use since 1925, houses the VC office, administrative offices, classrooms, lecture halls, 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 an industrial grade oil mill, a soap factory, and paint & varnish manufacturing machines.

This campus also has the buildings of Tagore Central Library (with NDLI, Web OPAC), old auditorium, new auditorium, old gymnasium, old canteen/cafeteria, and the Atal Incubation Hub (GIIEC). It also has the Oil Technologist's Association of India's (OTAI)^[25] headquarters, the Council of Leather Exports' (CLE)^[26] central regional office, and the Institution of Engineers (India)'s Kanpur^[27] Local Centre. Other things include the Garden of Bliss, lawns, badminton court, lawn 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 four female hostels - Alaknanda Hostel (GH-I), Mandakini Hostel (GH-II), Gangotri Hostel (GH-III), and Bhagirathi Hostel (GH-IV, and formerly Lake View III, 'LV New'); and two male hostels - Shridhracharya Hostel (Lake View I & II, 'LV Old'), and Ramanujan Hostel. There are also a few residential quarters for the faculty & staff.

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), and Vishwakarma hostel (WCH-IV). It also has the VC residence & camp office, new gymnasium, multi-purpose hall, and several residential quarters for faculty & staff. It offers an State Bank (SBI) ATM, and postal facilities. It also has playing grounds for cricket, football, hockey, basketball, and volleyball.

HBTU is a state-government residential university nominally headed by the Governor of UP as its ex-officio Chancellor, and is administered by the following structure:^[28]

• Executive Council (VC as Chairperson)
  • Vice-Chancellor (VC)
    • Pro Vice Chancellor (Pro VC)
    • Registrar
    • Finance Controller
    • Controller of Examinations

There are also several other authorities (with their own chairperson, secretary, and members) which can be convened for specific functions, e.g.: Academic Council, Boards of Studies, Board of Examinations, and Committees (Admission, Grievance, Purchase, Works, etc).

The university is operationally headed by the Vice Chancellor (VC) who is assisted by several officials^[29] in the following reporting order:

• Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Pro-VC)
  • Registrar & Deputy Registrar
  • Finance Controller & Fin/Acc Officer
  • Dean & Associate Dean, Academic Affairs
  • Dean & Associate Dean, Student's Welfare
  • Dean & Associate Dean, R&D
  • Dean & Associate Dean, Planning & Resource Generation (PRG)
  • Dean & Associate Dean, CE & IQA
  • Dean & Associate Dean, Incubation Hub
  • Dean, School of Engineering
    • Heads of the five engineering departments (CE, ME, EE, ET, CSE/IT)
  • Dean, School of Chemical Technology
    • Heads of the seven chemical engg-&-tech departments (CH, BC, FT, OT, LT, PT, PL)
  • Dean, School of Basic & Applied Sciences
    • Heads of the three science branch departments (Phy, Chem, Maths)
  • Dean, School of Entrepreneurship & Management
    • Head of the Department of Management Studies
  • Dean, School of Humanities & Social Sciences
    • Heads of Department of H&SS
  • HRD Coordinator

It also has a University Students Activity Council (USAC) with a Chairman, and nine individual Conveners for the nine Sub-Councils, namely: NSS, Photography, Literary, Hobby, Sports, Yoga, Cultural, Technical, and Print-&-Social Media.

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 (since 1958) branches - Plastic Technology (since 1921), 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^[30] 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^[31] 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.

HBTU was considered one of the best engineering colleges of the country in the 20th century, and even till the early 2000s. HBTU struggled for prestige after the IITs, IIITs, and NITs were expanded by the central government to now ~80 elite colleges in total. Some old ranking reports are given below:

• India Today ranked HBTI at #25 in 2007 amongst the top 100 engineering colleges of India.
• Ranked #21, #32, & #48 by Dataquest's DQ-CMR T-Schools Survey 2006, 2011, & 2012.^[32]
• Among government colleges, ranked #26, and #31 in Mint's Top 50 Government Engineering Colleges of 2008,^[33] and 2009^[34] respectively.
• In 2009, Current Science (Vol. 97, No. 3, 10 August 2009) ranked #17 amongst top 30 engineering & technological institutes of India for their research performance during 1999-2008, and #25 amongst 67 institutes based on the total number of papers published during the same period, using the Scopus database.^[35]
• Ranked #26, #24,^[36] and #25^[37] in Outlook India's Survey of Top Engineering Colleges of 2011, 2012, and 2013^[38] respectively.
• Career360 ranked it nationally at #39 in 2012.^[39]
• Ranked 25th best Engineering College of India in the Edu-Rand survey in 2015.^[40][41]
• Ranked 25th best engineering college in India, and 4th best in UP by GoI MHRD in 2017.

HBTU alumni are popularly known as 'Harcourtians'. 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, CPWD, SSC, CAPF, Military CDS, etc), PSUs/PSEs, banks, colleges, and state government services & corporations (UPPSC, PWD, DMRC, DDA, UPJN, UPAVP, UPPCL, UPMRCL, UPSBCL, UPSIDA, etc.). They are also successfully working as engineers & managers in the private sector firms, including all prominent MNCs. Many alumni also go to IITs, IIMs, IISc, or foreign colleges for further education.

The first alumni association was founded in early 1930s called the "Old Boys' Association", with acronym "OBA, HBTI". 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.

The currently active "Alumni Association, HBTI/HBTU" was founded after OBA went defunct. It enjoys dedicated resources allotted by the institute. It organised the first 'International Alumni Meet' in 2005, and does so every year. HBTU's Alumni Cell 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.

Government

• K.D. Malviya, "Father of the Indian Hydrocarbon Industry",^[42] GoI Minister of: Natural Resources (1954-57), Mines & Oil (1957-62), Mines & Fuel (1962-64), Petroleum (1975-77)
• Lt. Gen. Suresh Sharma, Ex-Engineer-in-Chief^[43] of Indian Army (PVSM, AVSM), and Ex-DGBR^[44] (Director General of Border Roads)

PSUs/PSEs

• Anil Khandelwal, Ex-Chairman-&-MD, Bank of Baroda^[45][46]
• K.C. Purohit, Ex-Chairman-&-MD of Nuclear Power Corporation of India^[47]
• Atul Saraya, Ex-Director (Power) of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited^[48][49]
• Prashant Swaroop, Ex-Director (Operations) of Hindustan Copper Limited^[50]

Entrepreneurship and Business

• Dinesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO of IndiaMART^[51]
• Swapnalekha Basak, Co-Founder & Secretary^[52] of Computer Shiksha, a prominent NGO
• Anu Garg - Founder of Wordsmith.org;^[53] Author^[54] of two books; and Columnist^[55] for Microsoft Encarta, Mental Floss, and Weekly Reader
• Alakh Pandey, Founder of Physics Wallah^[56]
• Dinesh Chandra Shahra, Founder & Ex-MD of Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd.^[57]
• Sunil Agarwal, Co-founder & Director of Kamdhenu Ispat Ltd.^[58]

Corporate

• Gyan Prakash, President & CEO^[59] of Kalpa-taru (KPIL/KPTL) Oil & Gas BU, Ex-ONGC,^[60] Ex-GAIL
• P.N. Khanna, Ex-CEO of Asian Paints' Overseas Projects (Berger International Ltd.)^[61]
• Umesh Singh, Chairman & MD of Marigold Paints,^[62] and Ex CEO & Group-VP (South Asia) of Hempel Paints India ^[63]
• Ashish Bakshi, Ex-Country Head (India Operations) of BenQ^[64][65]

• Official website

26°29′37″N 80°18′27″E / 26.4935°N 80.3075°E / 26.4935; 80.3075