Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology

Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
বাংলাদেশ প্রকৌশল বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়
Established 1876: Dhaka Survey School
1912: Ahsanullah School of Engineering
1947: Faculty of Engineering, University of Dhaka
1962: BUET
Type Public, Coeducational
Chancellor President Mohammad Zillur Rahman
Vice-Chancellor Dr. S.M. Nazrul Islam
Academic staff 500
Students 5500
Location Dhaka, Bangladesh
Campus Urban, 76.85 acres (0.31 km²)
Nickname BUET
Website www.buet.ac.bd

Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ প্রকৌশল বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় Bangladesh Prokoushol Bishshobiddalôe) or BUET as it is commonly known, is a Public Engineering University in Bangladesh. It is the oldest Engineering institution in the region, and is regarded as the best university for technological education in Bangladesh. The medium of instruction is English.[1]

Every year, about 1000 students get enrolled in undergraduate and postgraduate programs to study engineering, architecture, planning and science in this institution. The total number of teachers is about 500. The University has continued to expand over the last three decades. This includes the construction of new academic buildings, auditorium complex, halls of residence.

Contents

History

Dhaka Survey School was established in 1876 as a survey school for training surveyors. at Nalgola, in Old Dhaka to train surveyors for the then Government of Bengal of British India.[2] Later, generous grants from Nawab Ahsanullah, a renowned Muslim patron of Education and member of the Nawab family of Dhaka enabled it to expand as a full fledged engineering school. Ahsanullah School of Engineering offered three-year diploma courses in Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. In recognition of the generous financial contribution from the then Nawab of Dhaka, it was named after his father Khwaja Ahsanullah. It was moved to its present premises in 1912.

After the partition of India in 1947, it was upgraded to Ahsanullah Engineering College, as a Faculty of Engineering under the University of Dhaka, offering four-year bachelor's courses in Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering.

In 1962, it was renamed as East Pakistan University of Engineering and Technology (EPUET). A partnership with the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (renamed Texas A&M University in 1963) was forged, and professors from A&M came to teach and to formulate the curriculum. During this period, EPUET offered courses in Mechanical, Electrical, Civil, and Chemical engineering, and Architecture.

After the liberation war of 1971, Bangladesh became independent, and EPUET was renamed to Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).[3]

Several more departments to offer graduate and undergraduate courses in different subjects like:Water Resources Engineering, Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering, Industrial & Production Engineering, Petroleum & Mineral Resources Engineering, Computer Science & Engineering were included in the university at different times.

In 2007, BUET celebrated 60 years of engineering education in Bangladesh by arranging a series of programs and events.

Campus

The BUET campus is in the capital city of Dhaka. It has a modest-size campus with limited capacity for residence within walking distances of the academic buildings. At present the campus occupies 76.85 acres (311,000 m²) of land. The academic area is confined in and around the old campus occupying 30.24 acres (122,000 m²) of land defined by Shahid Sharani, Bakshi Bazar road and the Asian Highway. This area accommodates five faculties, three institutes, the administrative building, the central library, main sports facilities, the auditorium complex, the BUET Club and eighty two small units of residential accommodation of teachers, staff and employees and the Vice-Chancellor's quarter.

Academics

Faculties and departments

Academic activities are undertaken by seventeen departments under five faculties.Eleven departments offer undergraduate courses. All of the departments except the department of Humanities offer postgraduate courses.

Institutes

At present there are four institutes in BUET. These institutes offer postgraduate diplomas and Masters degree.

Centers

Library

BUET central library has a great compilation of books, journals, periodicals and monographs of the relevant engineering fields. Central library has a collection of over 132,000 volumes and 218 current periodical subscription. Per year 1500 volume is added in this library.[4] It has also a free internet browsing facility and rental library program. There are also departmental library in each department and hall library in each residence halls.

Admissions

Undergraduate admission test is one of the intensive written examination in Bangladesh as it only offers a limited number of seats in each academic year.For this reason most talented students of Bangladesh get the chance to get admitted in this university.After completion of higher secondary level (HSC) education, a student can submit her or his application for undergraduate admission if s/he fulfills the minimum requirements. Students with best grades in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and English of their higher secondary examination are allowed to take the admission test. The screening process allows 8000 students to sit for the admission test, based on the cumulative sum of GPAs in these four subjects .[5] After the admission test, only about 1000 students get admitted. However, for admission to M.S. and Ph. D. programs candidates are required to appear in interviews and/or written tests.

There are 26 seats for foreign students in undergraduate level. The pre-requisite qualification for admission is H.S.C. or GCE A level or its equivalent with good grades in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. Tuition and other fees per year is US$1000 (one thousand US dollar) and approximate cost for food, lodging etc. is US$100 (one hundred US dollar) per month. Maximum 10 students from a single country are allowed for admission.[6]

Undergraduate enrollment

Student life

Halls of residence

There are eight residence halls to provide housing for BUET students. The Shahid Smriti Hall is reserved for young teachers who do not have an official quarter in the campus and for the graduate students. The Chatri Hall is for female students, and the remaining six halls are for male students studying in the undergraduate level. These halls were built in different periods of time. Designs of these halls bear the history and architecture of different time. Administrative head of a residence hall is its provost, usually chosen from the senior teachers of different faculties. 3 Assistant Provosts are also appointed in the hall administration. Most of the halls are named after several eminent figures in the history of Bangladesh. These are listed below:

Student organizations

Awards

Distinguished alumni

A large number of BUET alumni are working in the industry and academia both in Bangladesh and outside Bangladesh.

Mechanical Engineer A.K.M. Fazle Hussain ,currently Cullen Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Institute of Fluid Dynamics and Turbulence at the University of Houston, also obtained his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from BUET. He built the highly regarded Aerodynamics and Turbulence Laboratory at the University of Houston.He has presented more than 200 papers in prestigious journals and regarded as world's leading authority in the research of Fluid Dynamics.He has been awarded the highest awards of the American Physical Society, American Society of Mechanical Engineers and American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.He was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering in 2001.

Notes and references

External links