Harcourt Butler Technical University (HBTU) traces back to 1921, when it was founded as the Government Technical Institute in Kanpur; it was renamed Harcourt Butler Technological Institute in 1926 and ran as an autonomous technical institute from 1965. On September 1, 2016, the Uttar Pradesh government converted it into a full state technical university under UP Act No. 11 of 2016.
HBTU sits on two campuses in the Nawabganj area of Kanpur, about 3 km apart: the East Campus (77 acres) and the West Campus (251.8 acres). It is organized into six schools covering engineering, chemical technology, basic and applied sciences, humanities and social sciences, entrepreneurship and management, and pharmaceutical and biological sciences. Prof. Samsher has served as Vice Chancellor since April 2021.
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Established | 1921 (as Government Technical Institute); university status since 2016 |
| Type | State government technical university |
| Location | Nawabganj, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh 208002 |
| Campus | East Campus 77 acres, West Campus 251.8 acres |
| NAAC | A+ (first cycle, 2023) |
| Admission route | JEE Main rank, university's own counselling portal |
| Official website | hbtu.ac.in |
13 B.Tech and 11 M.Tech specializations plus MCA, MBA, MSc, and PhD programs across engineering, chemical technology, and allied disciplines.
| Year | Category | Rank / Band |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Engineering (NIRF) | 166 |
| 2025 | Engineering (NIRF) | Rank-band 201-300 |
| 2025 | State Public University (NIRF) | Rank-band 51-100 |
HBTU does not appear in any published NIRF Engineering rank-band for 2023 or 2024, so no figure is reported for those years.
HBTU runs six hostels for men (together housing roughly 1,200 students) and four hostels for women (together housing roughly 430 students), with a new West Campus hostel block of 400 seats reported ready for occupancy. Central facilities include a guest house, gymnasium and sports grounds, a health centre, a bank branch, and a canteen and auditorium complex.
Founded in 1921 as the Government Technical Institute, HBTU is one of the older technical institutions in India, with over 100 years of continuous engineering and technology education before it became a university in 2016.
The institute held autonomous status from 1965 onward, well before university conversion.
Six schools cover engineering, chemical technology, pharmaceutical and biological sciences, management, humanities, and basic sciences, offering 13 B.Tech and 11 M.Tech specializations along with MCA, MBA, MSc, and PhD programs.
Admission runs through JEE Main rank via HBTU's own online counselling portal rather than the state UPTAC process.
The university holds an A+ grade from NAAC in its first accreditation cycle (2023), alongside NBA accreditation for several engineering departments.
| Framework | Category | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| NIRF | Engineering | 2020 | #166 |
26 courses offered. Fees in INR lakhs.
