page_title: College of Engineering, Pune
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: College of Engineering, Pune / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Photos of Coep during the early 20th century
context_page_description: College of Engineering Pune, is a college affiliated to Savitribai Phule Pune University in Pune, Maharashtra, India. Established in 1854, it is one of the oldest engineering colleges in India, after College of Engineering, Guindy Chennai and IIT Roorkee. The students and alumni of College of Engineering, Pune are colloquially referred to as COEPians.
context_section_description: The college was one of the first few colleges established by the British to serve the Indian subcontinent. The foundation stone of the new college was laid by the Governor of Bombay, Sir Bartle Frere, who was to become the Vice-Chancellor of the University, on 5 August 1865. In June of the following year, Theodore Cooke M.A., was appointed the Principal. He went on to hold the office for next 28 years.
  Initially, it was started on 16 December 1854, to train public works department (PWD) officials and was housed in three bungalows as the 'Poona Engineering and Mechanical School' to train subordinate officers for carrying out public works like buildings, dams, canals, railways and bridges. In July 1857, Henry Coke was given the charge of the institute. Admission was open to all, irrespective of nationality or caste. Good proficiency in English and basic knowledge of Mathematics were a prerequisite for getting admitted to the institute. The process of admission required that the aspiring candidate apply to the nearest government English school, to whom the entrance examination papers were handed over. The headmaster would take the examination on a date deemed convenient to him and submit the answer sheets to Henry Coke, the in-charge of the mechanical school. After examining the papers, Coke would notify the headmaster of the school with the names of candidates who were deemed fit for admission. Scholarships of ₹ 6 were offered per month after a period of six months of training in the mechanical school for fifteen students. The courses offered included Mathematics, Drawing, Surveying and levelling, building and construction and setting out works on the ground. The course would run for a period of two years.
  Later on, in the year 1864, the school became the "Poona Civil Engineering College". The number of courses were increased to include forestry and agricultural subjects, which led to its name being changed to Poona College of Science. The college was inaugurated at the new premises on 5 August 1865, at the hands of then governor Sir Bertel Ferre. It started a course in licensed and civil engineering (LCE) and trained masons and overseers. Later it secured affiliation to the Bombay university. The course was revised in 1886 and the minimum criteria required for admission was raised from Matriculation to the then Previous Examination.
  In 1909, the LCE was converted into the BE degree and the first batch of students passed out in 1912. The name 'Government college of engineering, Pune' was taken up only in 1911. All non-engineering courses were stopped by 1911, transferring the Bachelor of Science degree to the Science Institute of Bombay and subsequently in the year 1911, the name was changed to the "Government College of Engineering, Poona".
  The institution was initially affiliated to the University of Bombay (now Mumbai) for a degree of Licentiate in Civil Engineering known as LCE in 1858. The certificate course was converted into a degree course and the first class of the Bachelor of Engineering degree graduated in the year 1912. After the University of Poona (now Savitribai Phule Pune University) was established in 1948, the college became affiliated to the new university. In 1968, the three-year degree was extended to 4 years constituting 8 semesters.
  In 2003, the institute was granted complete autonomy by the State Government of Maharashtra, thus giving it the freedom to set its own curriculum and manage its own finances. With permanent affiliation to the Savitribai Phule Pune University, the institute now is an autonomous engineering school. This has been the biggest change as far as pedagogy at COEP is concerned. The following years have seen a multitude of positive changes in administration and academic strategies. Many of these have been responsible for the growing innovation in project work of college students. The institute contends that its autonomy now grants it greater flexibility in dynamically changing its syllabus to suit the changing needs of the industry.
caption: Photos of Coep during the early 20th century
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