Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University

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Institute of Technology Banaras Hindu University
Motto	कर्म ही पूजा है (Work Is Workship)
Established	1919
Type	Education and Research Institution
Dean	Prof. Virendra Singh
Director	Prof. S.N. Upadhyay
Faculty	265
Location	Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh,  India
Campus	Urban
Acronym	IT-BHU
Website	http://www.itbhu.ac.in/

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 University is situated in a magnificent campus spread over nearly 1300 acres at the southern end of the ancient city of Varanasi on the banks of the holy river Ganga. The admission for undergraduate students is through IIT - Joint Entrance Examination and for post-graduates is through Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE). The Institute has so far produced more than 22,000 B.Tech. graduates, 2700 M.Tech. post graduates and 650 Ph.D. doctorates. Since its inception, the Institute of Technology, BHU has not only evolved to become a premier educational institution producing Graduates Technocrats and Entrepreneurs, but has remodeled itself into a educational beacon which provides versatile postgraduate training and conducts sophisticated research in Engineering and Technology. IT-BHU is now scheduled to become India's 16th IIT and the first that will bear in its name link to another institution viz BHU. Human resource development minister Kapil Sibal has cleared the last roadblock to the conversion of Banaras Hindu University’s engineering wing into an IIT, accepting an administrative umbilical chord threatening to strangle the promised upgrade.^[1]

History

Front of main building

Education in Engineering & Technology commenced at the University eighty years ago with the establishment of the Banaras Engineering College (BENCO), College of Mining & Metallurgy (MINMET) and College of Technology (TECHNO) respectively in the years 1919, 1923 and 1932. The three premier engineering Institutions were merged to form the Institute of Technology (IT-BHU) which came into full-fledged existence in 1971. To preserve its excellence and national character, the earlier system of region-wise admission (via merit lists) has been replaced by admission procedures through the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE of the IITs) for undergraduate courses and Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE conducted by the IITs & IISc.) for the post-graduate courses

IT-BHU pioneered degree courses in mining, metallurgy, ceramics and pharmaceutics in India. Today, nearly ninety years later, IT-BHU continues to contribute significantly to the advancement of science and technology in India in a number of ways. It has produced world class engineers and scientists, and alumni of IT-BHU are achieving success in various capacities as entrepreneurs, managers, technocrats, consultants and advisers, and as faculty members and researchers, in India and abroad.It is frequently rated as one of the best technical institutes in the world.

Admissions

The selection procedure for students at undergraduate, postgraduate and research level is highly stringent and is somewhat similar to IITs so that ITBHU gets the best brains of India. 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.

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.

For post-graduate studies students are selected by Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE). The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE), is another highly competitive Entrance Examination, which strives to identify, at the National level, meritorious and motivated candidates for admission to Postgraduate Programmes in Engineering, technology, Architecture, Science and Pharmacy in colleges across the country, including IIT's. The GATE is held in 22 different Disciplines and some of the disciplines see up to 40000 test-takers every year with only about 300 making it to IIT's.

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 survey 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.

Conversion of IT-BHU into an IIT

Several committees constituted by MHRD (Professors Joshi and Anand Krishnan Committees^[2]) have recommended for the conversion of the Institute into an IIT^[3]. On July 17, 2008, the government of India issued a press release giving "In principle approval for taking over the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University – a constituent unit of the Banaras Hindu University, a Central University, its conversion into an Indian Institute of Technology and integrating it with the IIT system in the country." [1] BHU Executive Council has approved the proposal of the HRD ministry to convert IT-BHU to an IIT. The new institute will be called IIT-BHU and it will retain academic and administrative ties to BHU. Next steps include a series of administrative and parliamentary procedures to effect the conversion to an independent entity including amending the 1963 Insitutes of Technology Act and 1915 BHU Act in Parliament. [2]

Departments

Chemical Engineering Department

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

• Computer Engineering [3]
• Ceramic Engineering [4]
• Chemical Engineering [5]
• Civil Engineering [6]
• Electrical Engineering [7]
• Electronics Engineering [8]
• Mechanical Engineering [9]
• Metallurgical Engineering [10]
• Mining Engineering [11]
• Pharmaceutical Engineering [12]

Applied Departments

• Applied Chemistry [13]
• Applied Mathematics [14]
• Applied Physics [15]

Schools

• Bio-chemical Engineering [16]
• Bio-medical Engineering [17]
• Material Science and Technology [18]

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 specialization. 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. Each theory and laboratory course has a certain number of credits assigned to it depending on its lecture and laboratory contact hours in a week. Each course is coordinated by a Coordination Committee, which has full responsibility for coordinating the course, holding the tests and awarding grades. A seven-point letter grade (with specified number of grade points) is awarded in each course for which a student is registered. A student’s performance is measured by the number of credits that he/she has earned and also by the weighted grade point average earned by him/her for a semester/year/course.

The Institute has well equipped laboratories and workshops, excellent computer facilities in all departments/schools in addition to a Central Computer Centre. The Institute has one Main Library along with many Departmental Libraries. These libraries house more than 200,000 books and subscribe to a large number of scientific and technical journals. Online access of these journals is also available.

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 schemes of Government of India.

Research

Faculty members and research scholars are engaged in research and development work in many frontier areas of Engineering & Technology with the support of different funding agencies like the UGC, CSIR, DOE, DST, ARDB, DAE, AICTE, DRDO, and many reputed Industries such as TISCO, ONGC, SAIL, BHEL, HINDALCO, GAIL, FCI, COAL INDIA, etc. The Institute provides Industrial Consultancy and Testing Services of different kinds to a large number of industries. During the preceding five years, about 950 research papers were published and 900 presented; two dozen Books & Conference Proceedings were also published and 54 Symposia, Seminars, Workshops and Summer/Winter Schools were organized. During the past five years the faculty members have delivered about 350 invited lectures and have to their credit over a 100 National/International recognitions.

Festivals

The institute organizes the techno-management fest-Magnum Opus, Cultural fest-Kashiyatra and the sports fest Spardha, the details of which can be found at the institute's website.

Alumni

Since its inception, IT-BHU alumni are front runner of industrial development and entrepreneurship in India and abroad. 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.

ITBHU Global Alumni Association

As the official alumni association, ITBHU Global Alumni Association acts as the conglomeration of chapters of IT BHU Alumni world wide. It brings together the alumni, the students and the faculty of ITBHU to come up with ideas for institute improvement projects and implement them collaboratively to accelerate ITBHU's growth as an institute of advanced learning. Some of the successfully executed projects by the Alumni Association include WiFi Connectivity in the Campus, CSE Lecture theatre, Alumni Guest House, a modern girl's hostel etc. Their alumni organization website is ITBHUGlobal.org.

ITBHU Alumni Guest House

ITBHU Chronicle

The Chronicle is a monthly online news magazine published by IT-BHU Global Alumni Association (IBGAA). Its first issue was published 4 years ago (May 2005 issue). The magazine represents news and views of IT-BHU (Institute of Technology-Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi) community including: students, alumni, faculty and administration. The magazine faithfully records all the news and events happening for the IT-BHU community (hence the name chronicle-recorder of events). It publishes news and articles from a variety of published sources, which are important for the engineering students and professional engineers. Previous editions of Chronicle can be read at ITBHU Chronicle

Kashi Yatra

The IT BHU Cultural festival is called Kashi Yatra. It was first started in 1980.^[4]

Kashi Utkarsh

This is IT-BHU's one of the student body organisation. ^[5]

Prastuti

The National paper presentation contest held by Department of Electrical Engineering every year.

Spardha

The Institute of Technology, BHU apart from being one of India’s most premier engineering colleges has the reputation of excelling at sporting activities.

For the last decade, Spardha has been the benchmark of flawless management and has evolved into one of the biggest and most eagerly anticipated sports extravaganza in India. Over 1500 competitors from 40 colleges, including many IIT’s and NIT’s, congregate at the Mecca of college sports gathering.

A majority of the games are held under floodlights including football, basketball, volleyball, tennis, badminton and kabaddi. Several others, such as cricket and hockey take place on the lush green fields during the day. Spardha ’09 promises to be more explosive and inspiring than ever before with repackaged events including informals and new concepts such as an e-magazine and blogs.

Notable alumni

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• Sri Krishna Kant (deceased), former Vice President of India
• Ved Prakash Goyal, BSc Engg 1948, a BJP Politician and former Union Minister of Shipping.^[6]
• Prof. Bindumadhav Belgaumkar (deceased), first HOD of Mechanical Engineering department of IIT Kharagpur who pioneered mechanism science in India.^{[citation needed]}
• Kota Harinarayana, a Padma Shri awardee and scientist at DRDO
• Dr. Pulickel Madhavapanicker Ajayan, noted scientist
• 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
• Rajiv Dogra, an Indian diplomat, author and commentator
• Manoj Sinha (MTech Civil Engineering), a BJP Politician and former Lok Sabha Member from Ghazipur
• Shri Narla Tata Rao (deceased), a doyen of the power sector in India and a former chairman of the Andhra Pradesh State Electricity Board.^[7]
• Nikesh Arora [19] President, Global Sales Operations and Business Development, Google
• Dr. U. S. Awasthi, Chief Executive Officer, IFFCO^[8]
• Ram Charan, Business Consultant, Speaker, and Writer^[9]
• M. N. Dastur (deceased), Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of M. N. Dastur and Co (P) Ltd^[10]
• Thomas Anantharaman, one of the 3-member team at IBM who developed IBM Blue supercomputer^{[citation needed]}
• Pankaj Chandra, Director, IIM Bangalore
• Mr. Shirish Sathaye, Venture Capitalist, Figured in Forbes Midas List^[11][12]

The list of recipients of ITBHU Alumni Award of Excellence can be found here

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University

• Home Page IT-BHU
• Home Page IT-BHU ACM Students Chapter
• Alumni Home Page alt link for ITBHU Alumni
• ITBHU Chronicle: Alumni Magazine
• Assessment of publication output from engineering research institutions, 1987-89, G. Prathap, Current Sciences

• Press Release Government of India
• IIT-Varanasi: a pipe-dream
• For IIT upgrade, an alternative roadmap
• An Initiative by ITBHU students
• Black carbon major cause of global warming ITBHU Chemical Engineering initiative
• Linkedin itbhu group
• Prof T R Anantharaman