Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology


Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, commonly known as BUET, is a public university in Bangladesh, which focuses on the study of Engineering and Architecture. Founded in 1912, it is the oldest institution for the study of Engineering, Architecture and Urban Planning in Bangladesh.
With the construction of new academic buildings, an auditorium complex, a cafeteria and halls of residence, the university has continued to expand over the last three decades.

History

Dacca Survey School was established in 1876 as a survey school at Nalgola, west of the current Sir Salimullah Medical College campus, in Old Dhaka by the then Government of Bengal under British Raj. It offered a survey course of two years to train land surveyors, at the end of which students competed at the Sub-Overseer's examination. According to a report on public instruction in Bengal, on 31 March 1903, Dacca Survey School had 117 students of which 103 were Hindus and 14 were Muslims. In 1908, the school started to offer diploma degrees. Nawab Sir Khwaja Ahsanullah Bahadur, 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 Bahadur released 112,000 rupees grant in 1902 in accordance. As an acknowledgement of this contribution, the school was renamed to Ahsanullah School of Engineering in 1908.
The school offered three-year long 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 Khwaja 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.
On 1 June 1962, in order to create facilities for postgraduate studies and research, the college was upgraded to East Pakistan University of Engineering and Technology, becoming the fourth university of the then East Pakistan. Rashid was appointed the first vice-chancellor of the university. A partnership with the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas was forged, and professors from A&M came to teach and formulate the curriculum. During this period, EPUET offered courses in mechanical, electrical, civil, metallurgical, and chemical engineering, and architecture.
After the liberation war of 1971, and Bangladesh's independence, EPUET was renamed to Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.
Several other departments offer graduate and undergraduate courses in different subjects: Water resources engineering, Urban and regional planning, Naval architecture and marine engineering, Industrial and production engineering, Petroleum and mineral resources engineering, Computer science and engineering, Glass and ceramic engineering, and Biomedical engineering. These courses were all added to the university at different times.
In 2007, BUET celebrated 60 years of engineering education in Bangladesh by arranging a 6-month-long series of programs and events.

Academics

Faculties and departments

Academic activities are undertaken by 18 departments under five faculties. Twelve departments offer undergraduate courses. All of the departments aside from the department of Humanities offer postgraduate courses.
At present, there are six institutes in BUET. These institutes offer postgraduate diplomas, master's and doctoral degrees.
BUET has been ranked 175th among the Asian universities in the 2019 edition of QS World University Rankings. BUET has been ranked No. 801-1000 among all universities on QS World University Rankings.

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, 141 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.

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.
The University Syndicate is the supreme authority in major policy-making matters and in approving recommendations. The Finance Committee, the Planning & 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.
  1. M. A. Rashid
  2. Mohammed Abu Naser
  3. Wahiduddin Ahmed
  4. Abdul Matin Patwari
  5. Musharrof Husain Khan
  6. Muhammad Shahjahan
  7. Iqbal Mahmud
  8. Nooruddin Ahmed
  9. Md. Alee Murtuza
  10. A. M. M. Safiullah
  11. S M Nazrul Islam
  12. Khaleda Ekram
  13. Saiful Islam
  14. Satya Prasad Majumder

    Enrollment

Undergraduate

The Undergraduate admission test is one of the most intensive written examinations in Bangladesh. After completion of Higher Secondary level education, a student can submit her or his application for undergraduate admission if he/she fulfills the minimum requirements. The students with the best grades in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, English & Bengali on their Higher Secondary School Certificate examination are allowed to take the admission test. The screening process allows 12,161 students to sit for the admission test based on the cumulative sum of their GPA in those five subjects. After the competitive admission test, only about 1060 students get selected on the basis of merit and are offered admission. However, for admission to the M.S. and Ph.D. programs, candidates are required to appear in interviews and/or written tests. The admission test is of 600 marks, with 60 questions carrying 10 marks each. 20 questions are from Physics, 20 from Chemistry and 20 from Mathematics.
There are 26 seats for foreign students at the undergraduate level. The pre-requisite qualification for admission is H.S.C. 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

Every year, around 1060 students get accepted to undergraduate programs in Engineering, Architecture, and Urban Planning. From an initial application pool of over 112,500 applicants, 12,161 candidates are selected to appear in the undergraduate admission test. Only about the top 1060 are then selected on the basis of merit and are offered admission. In Masters and Ph.D. programs, around 1000 graduate students are accepted on an annual basis.
Postgraduate degrees offered by departments and institutes are M.Sc., M.Sc Engg., M. Engg, MURP, M.Arch., M.Phil. and Ph.D.. Postgraduate diplomas 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 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, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, DfID, JICA etc.

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.

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 male graduate students. The Chatri Hall is for female students, and the remaining six halls are for male students studying at the undergraduate level. These halls were built in different periods of time, and their designs bear the history and architecture of different times.. The 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:
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, 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. 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

Safety

In 2002, a first year student in the chemical engineering department, Sony, was killed during a factional clash between two feuding groups of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal at BUET. The two factions exchanged gunfire and she was caught in the line of fire.
Abrar Fahad, a second-year student of Electrical and Electronic Engineering department, was tortured and killed by Bangladesh Chhatra League leaders in Sher-e-Bangla Hall in 2019.

Awards and achievements

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