Bengal Engineering & Science University,Shibpur
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The Bengal Engineering & Science University, established at Shibpur, Howrah (just opposite to the city of Kolkata), is the second oldest (after Roorkee) engineering college in existence in India. It was formally established as Civil Engineering College, Calcutta, in 1856 with the idea of introducing engineering education to the country. Every year students from this institution form a large intake of the administration, management and technocracy, both in the public sector and private companies in India and abroad.
The University celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2006.
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[edit] Historical roots
It has had a long and checkered past. Initially known as Bishop's College, Bengal Engineering College came to be known as Calcutta Civil Engineering College from 24th November, 1856, when there were only 10 students and a few instructive staff. From 12th February, 1920, the name was changed to B.E. College Shibpur. The word Shibpur was deleted from 24th March, 1921.
From 1865 to 1879 the College functioned as Civil Engineering Department of Presidency College, Kolkata. In 1880 the college shifted to its new and permanent home the lush campus at Bishop's College, Howrah. It got its name, Bengal Engineering College in 1921.
From May 1857 to 1992, it was a constituent college of the University of Calcutta. In recognition of its services to the nation, the college was elevated to the status of a Deemed University in 1992. The then President of India, Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma, formally inaugurated the University on March 13, 1993. On 1st October, 2004, Bengal Engineering College (A Deemed University) was elevated to the status of a full-fledged University with its present name. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the President of India, formally inaugurated it as Bengal Engineering and Science University, Shibpur, BESUS, on 13 July 2005.
The Central Govt is now considering it to upgrade to an IIT, along with seven other institutes in various parts of the country. However after initial debates it is decided now that instead of IIT status it will be given a new status : Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST). This will only be possible after approval of the state government of West Bengal.
In a recent survey conducted by India Today, it has been rated as one of the top 10 engineering colleges in India.
[edit] Location
The University is located in the sylvan surrounding on the western bank of the Hoogli River in Howrah, opposite the city of Kolkata, which is connected by transportation to all the major Indian cities as well as to some foreign ones by rail transport and air routes and also by the Golden Quadrangle Road Network presently nearing completion. The nearest railway station is Howrah Station, which is six kilometres from the University Campus, and the Airport is at a distance of thirty kilometres from the Main Gate of the campus.
[edit] Undergraduate and graduate studies
The University, at present, offers the following AICTE approved undergraduate courses leading to B.E (8 semester) /B.Arch. (10 semester).
- Architecture .
- Civil Engineering .
- Computer Science & Technology .
- Electrical Engineering .
- Electronics & Tele-Communication Engineering .
- Information Technology .
- Mechanical Engineering .
- Metallurgical Engineering .
- Mining Engineering .
The University also offers AICTE approved 4-semester post graduate courses leading to Master of Engineering degree in 8 disciplines, namely, Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, Metallurgy, Mining, Electronics and Tele-Communication, Computer Science and Technology, Engineering Mechanics and Mining and a 4-semester post graduate degree course in Master of Town & Regional Planning.
In addition to above , the Institution also offers the following Post-graduate courses:
- 6-semester course in Master of Computer Applications(MCA).
- 6-semester part-time evening Post-graduate courses in Civil Engineering in three areas of specialization namely Structural Engineering, Geo-technical Engineering & Environmental Engineering.
- 6-semester part-time evening course in Industrial Metallurgy.
- 4-semester full time course in Master of Business Administration (MBA) under the aegis of BECSOMS.
- 6-semester part time course in Information Technology, under PDSIT.
- 1 year post-graduate diploma in Bio-Informatics.
- 4 semester full time course in Master of Science in Applied Physics, Applied Chemistry, Applied Mathematics and Applied Geology.
- 4 semester full time in Materials Engineering leading to Master of Technology.
[edit] Campus life
The university has a lush green campus, with a number of ponds. There is a four storied central academic building, an eight storied extension building, a workshop complex, an one storied building for material science, a canteen and a university auditorium. Classes start from 8am in the morning and continue till 4pm. There are a number of hostels for 1st and 2nd year students, like Hostel Nos. 7,8,9,10,11,14,15 and 16, and a number of single-seater residence halls like McDonald Hall, Richardson Hall, Sen Hall, Sengupta Hall, Wolfenden Hall etc for 3rd and 4th year students. The ladies hostel is called Pandya Hall. The campus also has a well-equipped gymnasium, a swimming pool and a hospital. There is a model school named BE College Model School in the campus.
Campus activities include games in two large ground called Oval and Lords, that good old "adda" at Netaji bhaban or at the canteen. Every year an annual fest is held together with an alumini meet - it is called REBECA, an acronym for "REunion of BECollege Alumni".
There is a cultural club called FOBECS an acronym for "Forum Of BECollege Students".This club organises all kinds of activities from quiz, poetry competition, elocution etc to photography exhibition. It also publishes a monthly magazine called Unmesh. This forum was first started by a handful of students in year the 2000 with a common vision of improving speaking abilities of students. Saurayan Chaki, Abhijit Ganguly, Siddhartha Banerjee, Darshan Deep Bhardwaj & Abhishek Singh were amongst the first members of this forum.
The college is also a seat of culture. It has not only produced hardcore engineers, but also engineers who have made major contributions in other fields, for which they will be remembered with reverence for times to come. They include Badal Sircar (playwright and theatre activitst), Narayan Sanyal (novelist), Dr Shankar Sen (former minister, Government of West Bengal), Binoy Majumdar (poet), Pandit Buddhadev Dasgupta (eminent Sarodist) and many others. World famous Bangladeshi-American structural Engineer Fazlur Khan passed his undergraduate civil engineering from this university.
