Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology

History

The Dacca Survey School was established in 1876 at Nalgola, west of the present Sir Salimullah Medical College campus in Old Dhaka, by the Government of Bengal during the British Raj. It offered two-year engineering and survey courses toward the Sub-Overseer's examination, which certified land surveyors.

According to a report on public instruction in Bengal, on 31 March 1903, Dhaka Survey School had 117 students of which 103 were Hindus and 14 were Muslims. In 1908, the school started to offer three year diploma courses. Nawab Sir Khwaja Ahsanullah, a philanthropist and Nawab of Dhaka, endowed donations for developing the survey school. After his death in 1901, his son, the then Nawab of Dhaka, Sir Khwaja Salimullah released the grant in 1902 in accordance with his late father's wish. As an acknowledgement of this contribution, the school was renamed to Ahsanullah School of Engineering in 1908.

The school offered three-year diploma courses in civil engineering, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering in 1908. In 1912, the university was moved to its present premises. In 1938, A. K. Fazlul Huq, the then Prime Minister of Bengal, appointed Hakim Ali as the principal of the school.

After the partition of India in 1947, Chief Minister of East Bengal Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin approved the school to be upgraded to Ahsanullah Engineering College, as a faculty of engineering under the University of Dhaka, offering four-year bachelor's course in civil, electrical, mechanical, chemical and metallurgical engineering.

In 1948, the government of East Bengal granted recognition to the engineering college. Ali became the first principal of the college. In 1951, TH Mathewman was appointed the next principal. M. A. Rashid succeeded him in 1954 as the first Bengali principal of the college and held the post until 1960. In 1956, a new course curriculum and the semester system were introduced at the college.

In 1961, The Engineering and Technological University Ordinance, 1961 (East Pakistan Ordinance)

(Ordinance NO. XXXVI OF 1961) was passed to establish a university in Dacca, East Pakistan.

Academics

Campus

BUET has an urban campus located in the Palashi area of Dhaka. The campus houses academic and administrative buildings, residential halls for students and other amenities.

Faculties and departments

Academic activities are undertaken by 18 departments under six faculties. Thirteen departments offer undergraduate courses, all of which, except the department of humanities, offer postgraduate courses as well.

Faculty of Chemical and Materials Engineering:

Department of Chemical Engineering (ChE)

Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering (MME)

Department of Nanomaterials and Ceramic Engineering (NCE)

Department of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Engineering (PMRE)

Faculty of Civil Engineering:

Department of Civil Engineering (CE)

Department of Water Resources Engineering (WRE)

Faculty of Electrical and Electronic Engineering:

Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE)

Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE)

Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME)

Faculty of Science:

Department of Chemistry (Chem)

Department of Mathematics (Math)

Department of Physics (Phys)

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering:

Institutes

At present, there are eight institutes in BUET. These institutes offer postgraduate diplomas, master's and doctoral degrees.

Institute of Water and Flood Management (IWFM)

Institute of Appropriate Technology (IAT)

Institute of Information and Communication Technology (IICT)

Accident Research Institute (ARI)

BUET-Japan Institute of Disaster Prevention and Urban Safety (BUET-JIDPUS)

Institute of Nuclear Power Engineering (INPE)

Institute Of Robotics And Automation (IRAB)

Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development (IESD)

Research centers

BUET has several research centres.

Centre for Energy Studies (CES)

Centre for Environmental and Resource Management (CERM)

Biomedical Engineering Centre (BEC)

Bureau of Research, Testing & Consultation (BRTC)

International Training Network Centre (ITN)

Bangladesh Network Office for Urban Safety (BNUS)

Applied Bioengineering Research Incubator (ABRI)

Directorates

Directorate of Advisory, Extension and Research Services (DAERS)

Directorate of Students' Welfare (DSW)

Directorate of Planning and Development (P&D)

Directorate of Continuing Education (DCE)

Journals and research bulletins

Journal of Mechanical Engineering Research and Developments

Chemical Engineering Research Bulletin

Bangladesh Journal of Water Resources Research

Electrical and Electronic Engineering Research Bulletin

Protibesh (Research Journal on Architecture)

Rankings

BUET has been ranked #801–850 in the world, #187 in Asia and #2 in Bangladesh by QS World University Rankings in 2024.

Library

BUET central library has a collection of 142,913 items of information materials. Among the materials, 125,066 and 17,847 are books and bound periodicals respectively. Besides, 152 titles are in the current subscription list of journals. Every year, 1500 volumes are added to this library. The main reading room of the central library can accommodate 200 students at a time to provide reading facilities of rare and out-of-print books, and also ready reference and prescribed textbooks. There are also departmental libraries in each of the departments and institutes and hall libraries in each of the residence halls.

On 8 February 2025, the name of the central library was changed as 'Shahid Abrar Fahad Library' in the memory of Abrar Fahad.

Convocations

After the independence of Bangladesh and the subsequent name change, the first convocation of the university was held in 1973. Since then, convocations have been held in 1976, 1992, 1993, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011 and 2019.

Administration

The chancellor is the ceremonial head of the university who appoints the vice-chancellor. The position is held by the incumbent president of Bangladesh. The vice-chancellor is the executive head of the university. The position is always held by a senior professor of the university. The university is administered by the University Syndicate which is chaired by the vice-chancellor.

Members of the syndicate include deans of several faculties, director general of Secondary and Higher Education in Bangladesh, director general of Technical Education in Bangladesh, eminent academics from this university as well as from other famous public universities. Each of the faculties is headed by a dean and each of the departments is chaired by a head of the department.

They are generally full professors from their respective faculties and departments. Institutes, Research Centers and Directorates are headed by the directors who are full professors from relevant fields of research. Other major administrative posts include the registrar, the comptroller and the controller of exams.

The university has also the following Statutory Authorities.

Academic Council

Finance Committee

Faculties

Selection Boards

Committee for Advanced Studies and Research (CASR)

Planning and Development Committee

Boards of Postgraduate Studies (BPGS)

Boards of Undergraduate Studies (BUGS)

The University Syndicate is the supreme authority in major policy-making matters and in approving recommendations. The Finance Committee, the Planning and Development Committee and other committees assist the syndicate in matters important for the proper functioning of the university. The Academic Council is the supreme body for formulating academic rules and regulations to which the CASR, Boards of Undergraduate and Postgraduate Studies and the faculties recommend.

List of vice-chancellors

Following is the complete list of the vice-chancellors.

Admission

Undergraduate

The undergraduate admission of BUET is based on grades and examinations. Extracurriculars or financial needs are not considered in the admission process.

The undergraduate admission test is a fairly competitive written examination. After completion of higher secondary level (HSC) education, a student can submit his/her application for undergraduate admission if he/she fulfills the minimum requirements.

The students with the best grades in mathematics, physics and chemistry on their Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC) examination are allowed to take the admission test. The screening process allows 18,000 students to sit for the preliminary admission test based on the cumulative sum of their GPA in those three subjects.

After the admission test, about 1,309 students get selected on the basis of merit and are offered admission. The admission test is of 400 marks, with 40 questions carrying 10 marks each. 13 questions are from physics, 13 from chemistry and 14 from mathematics. The test is taken within two hours.

There are 26 seats for foreign students at the undergraduate level. The pre-requisite qualification for admission is HSC or GCE A-level or its equivalent with high grades in mathematics, physics, and chemistry. The admission fee is $200; the course registration fee is US$50 per credit hour and the approximate cost of food, lodging etc. is US$100 per month. A maximum of 10 students from a single country are allowed for admission.

Postgraduate

In master's and PhD programs, around 1,000 graduate students are accepted on an annual basis. For admission to these programs, candidates are required to appear in interviews and/or written tests.

Postgraduate degrees offered by departments and institutes are MSc (Master of Science), MSc Engg. (Master of Science in Engineering), M. Engg (Master of Engineering), MURP (Master of Urban and Regional Planning), MArch (Master of Architecture), M.Phil. (Master of Philosophy) and PhD (Doctor of Philosophy). Postgraduate diplomas (PG. Dip.) are also offered in IT and Water resources development.

Research programs

For consultation and research the expertise at the university, its teachers and the laboratory facilities are available to other organizations of the country. A separate institution – Bureau of Research, Testing and Consultation (BRTC) has been formed to oversee these activities.

The university undertakes research programs sponsored by outside organizations like United Nations Organizations, Commonwealth Foundation, European Union, University Grants Commission (Bangladesh), World Bank, Asian Development Bank, DfID, JICA etc.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, BUET developed OxyJet, a cost-effective CPAP ventilator, which was approved by the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) in July 2021.

Conferences and workshops

BUET regularly organizes national and international conferences and workshops in its campus to enhance the research capabilities of its students and faculties. Among the conferences organized by BUET, following are notable:

Clubs and organizations

Political organization

According to Ordinance 1962, all organizational politics have been banned in Bangladesh Engineering University. After a university student, Abrar Fahad was beaten to death by the BUET Chhatra League, the vice-chancellor of the university, Saiful Islam, banned all kinds of student politics and political organizations and their activities in the campus.

According to the university ordinance, teacher politics has also been banned on the campus.

Science and Technology Related Clubs

Satyen Bose Science Club

BUET Nuclear Engineering Club

BUET Automobile Club

BUET Energy Club

BUET Robotics Society

BUET Cyber Security Club

Team Interplanetar

BUET Innovation and Designing Club

Art and Cultural

BUET Drama Society

BUET Film Society

Murchona

Origami Club

Alokbortika-BUET

BUET Sahitya Sangsad

Charcoal- Artista Society

Kontho-BUET

Photography

BUET Photographic Society

Environment

Environment Watch

Sports

BUET Chess Club

Humanitarian Organizations

BADHAN-BUET zone

BUET Rover Scout Group

Career

BUET Career Club

BUET Debating Club

BUET Entrepreneurship Development Club

Other Organizations

BUET Brainiacs

BUET Media and Communication Club

BUET Self Defence Club

House of Volunteers BUET- HoV BUET

Student life

Halls of residence

There are nine residence halls for BUET students. Most are named after eminent figures in the history of Bangladesh:

Ahsanullah Hall (named after Nawab of Dhaka, Nawab Bahadur Sir Khwaja Ahsanullah)

Titumir Hall (named after Bengali Muslim revolutionary Syed Mir Nisar Ali Titumir)

Sabekun Nahar Sony Hall, Formerly Chattri Hall (Named after Sabekun Nahar Sony, who died being caught between gunfighting between political groups in BUET at 2002)

Shadhinata Hall (Previously: Bangamata Sheikh Fojilatunnesa Mujib Hall)

Dr. M. A. Rashid Hall (named after M. A. Rashid, the first vice-chancellor of the university)

Kazi Nazrul Islam Hall (named after the National Poet of Bangladesh Kazi Nazrul Islam)

Sher-e-Bangla Hall (named after the 1st Prime Minister of Bengal- Sher-e-Bangla A. K. Fazlul Huq)

Suhrawardy Hall (named after the Bengali-nationalist leader and 5th Prime-minister of Pakistan Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy)

Shahid Smrity Hall (named in memory of martyrs of the Bangladesh Liberation War)

The administrative head of a residence hall is its provost, usually chosen from the senior teachers of different faculties. Three Assistant Provosts are also appointed in the hall administration.

Students who do not stay at halls of residence are facilitated by the university's own commuter buses which cover major routes of Dhaka city.

Sports facilities

BUET has a large playground at the eastern periphery of main academic campus. It is used as venue of annual athletics competition of the university as well as cricket, football, and hockey competitions. Students can access the facility all year round. Besides, visiting foreign national football teams as well as few top football clubs of Bangladesh sometimes use this ground for practice sessions. The playground is also used as venue of alumni reunions. BUET has tennis court in the main academic area. It also has a gymnasium near halls of residence where students can do gymnastics and play basketball during leisure.

Awards and achievements

CSE, BUET students have achieved extraordinary feat since its participation at 1998 Atlanta ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest. BUET was the first University from Bangladesh as well as South Asia along with the North South University, Bangladesh to participate in World Finals of such an Prestigious Programming Competition. Best Ranking in ACM ICPC World Finals was 11.

Following is the position of BUET in ICPC world finals over the years:

*AWC = Asia-West Champion; HM = Unranked but Honourable Mention; NQ = Not Qualified

Teams from BUET became first and third around the globe in the inaugural International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing in the 2014 IEEE Signal Processing Cup (SP Cup) at the ICASSP in 2014, and second and fifth place in IEEE SP Cup 2015 and again followed by the Grand Prize (1st place) in IEEE SP Cup 2016. Recently, teams from the EEE department are also participating in the IEEE Video and Image Processing Cup (IEEE VIP Cup) since 2017. In 2017 BUET achieved 1st and 3rd place in IEEE VIP cup among more than 200 teams around the world.

BUET teams participated in the IEEE Myron Zucker Student Design Contest in 2001, placed first, Chicago, United States.

Graduate alumnus of BUET was recognized by American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the 10 new faces of 2016 in Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) awards 2016.

BUET teams participated in the Asia-Pacific Robot Contest ABU ROBOCON 2005 Beijing and was awarded the Panasonic Award.

BUET student won the 2006 IEEE Region 10 Student Paper Contest.

BUET won the Student Enterprise Award in 2007 from IEEE.

BUET won the IEEE Vibrant Student Branch Award 2008 in IEEE Region 10 Student Congress in 2007 from IEEE.

Criticism

Student politics and safety

There are examples of multiple violent events that took place during different political regime. In 2002 during the internal conflict of two students wing of JCD, a second year student of chemical engineering department, namely Sabekun Nahar Sonny was shot to death in front of Ahsanullah hall. In 2013, a student Arif Rayhan Dip affiliated with BCL, was killed by extremist. In 2019, a second year student of EEE department Abrar Fahad, was beaten to death by the BCL affiliated student wing based on a facebook post. However, student and teacher politics had been banned after that event and it is still banned now.

Brain drain and Economic consequences

After graduation a huge portion of BUET graduates (50-60%) go abroad for higher education (mainly Europe and the USA) and most of them never return.