Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Front of main building
Front of main building

The Institute of Technology or IT-BHU is the engineering school of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in Varanasi. It is one of India's oldest and highest-ranked engineering colleges. Like the rest of BHU, it is a residential and co-educational institute. The admission process for undergraduate students is independent from BHU, and is through IIT - Joint Entrance Examination.

Contents

[edit] History

There were three technical colleges in Banaras Hindu University up until Independence of India, in 1947. These were Banaras Engineering College (BENCO) in 1919, College of Mining and Metallurgy (MINMET) in 1923 and College of Technology (TECHNO). The first-ever degree courses in Mining, Metallurgy, Ceramics and Pharmaceutics in India were pioneered at BHU.

After India became independent, post graduate and doctoral research programmes were also introduced. After the establishment of the Indian Institutes of Technology in 1971, the three engineering institutions of Banaras Hindu University were merged to form the Institute of Technology (IT-BHU). Thus the present Institute came into existence in 1971. The Institute has so far produced more than 22,000 B.Tech. graduates, 2700 M.Tech. post graduates and 650 Ph.D. doctorates.

IT-BHU has been proposed to be converted to an IIT in the 11th Five year plan by the government of India.[1] ````

[edit] Admissions

The earlier system of merit-based region-based admission in the colleges of BENCO, MINMET and TECHNO was replaced with all-India admission procedures at the time of formation of IT-BHU.

Main article: IIT-JEE

For undergraduate admissions, IT-BHU (along with the IITs and ISM Dhanbad) conducts the Joint Entrance Examination, or JEE. The undergraduate acceptance rate is around 2%, with more than 300,000 annual test takers. Admission to IT-BHU has been only through the IIT-JEE, since 1971, i.e.,for the past 37 years. The IIT-JEE is possibly the toughest entrance exam in the world.


For post-graduate studies students are selected by Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE).

[edit] Assessments

IT-BHU is consistently ranked among the top ten technology schools in India. In May, 2005, a survey of engineering schools ranked IT-BHU at Number 5 overall, and at Number 1 in the development of "Intellectual Capital".

Many of its departments, called branches, come under the distinguished category of "Centre Of Advanced Studies", a distinction awarded by India's University Grants Commission.

According to a survery of leading technical colleges in India carried out by World Bank in August 2003, IT-BHU was ranked second in research, after the Indian Institute of Science. Other studies have been consistent. One published in the journal Current Sciences, on the publication output of engineering schools, ranks IT-BHU third and the IISc first.

[edit] Departments

The structure of departments at IT-BHU as of today is as follows:

  • Computer Engineering [1]
  • Ceramic Engineering [2]
  • Chemical Engineering [3]
  • Civil Engineering [4]
  • Electrical Engineering [5]
  • Electronics Engineering [6]
  • Mechanical Engineering [7]
  • Metallurgical Engineering [8]
  • Mining Engineering [9]
  • Pharmaceutical Engineering [10]

Applied Departments

  • Applied Chemistry [11]
  • Applied Mathematics [12]
  • Applied Physics [13]

Schools

  • Bio-chemical Engineering [14]
  • Bio-medical Engineering [15]
  • Material Science and Technology [16]

[edit] Academic Programs

The institute follows semester system and offers following courses
1. B. Tech. (4 year Duration)
2. Integrated M. Tech (5 year Duration)
3. M. Tech Dual Degree (IDD BTech + MTech degrees) (5 year Duration)
4. M. Tech. (2 year Duration)
5. M. Sc. (In Applied Sciences)
6. B Pharma & M Pharma (5 yr course)

Besides these programs the institute offers PHD programs in various specializations. In year 2005 the institute has revised the curriculum and program structure of all the programs. The course structure is designed in such a way that students have enough time for getting involved in extracurricular activities beside assisting faculty members in their research projects.

[edit] Recognitions

The institute has contributed significantly towards the development of Indian industries since independence. Four of its departments (Metallurgical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Mining Engineering and Chemical Engineering) are recognized by the Government of India as Center of Advanced Studies. Department of Metallurgical Engineering was the first CAS recognized engineering department of India. Also the departments are supported under FIST, SAP and DST scheemes of Government of India.

[edit] Alumni

There are hundreds of alumni of the Institute teaching in leading educational institutions and research establishments in India and abroad, particularly in the United States. Many have established their own companies and several are serving in government. Their alumni organization website is ITBHUGlobal.org.

Notable alumni of the institute include:

  1. Late Sri Krishna Kant, Former Vice President India
  2. Sandeep Pandey a Magsaysay Award recipient for Emergent Leadership for year 2002, for his work on Asha for Education, an education program for underprivileged children.
  3. Manoj Sinha, (MTech Civil Engineering), a BJP Politician and former Lok Sabha Member from Ghazipur.
  4. Nikesh Arora, President, EMEA operations, Google.
  5. Ram Charan, a business consultant, speaker, and writer[17]
  6. Narla Tata Rao
  7. Vijay Shukla, Co-founder and Country Head, India, ValueFirst (www.vfirst.com)
  8. Dr US Awasthi, MD and Chairmain of IFFCO
  9. Proshanto Banerjee, former CMD of GAIL India Limited
  10. R G Rajan, CMD of Projects and Development India Limited
  11. Ashok Agarwal, Chemical Engineer

[edit] References

  1. ^ PIB Press Release

[edit] External links