IIEST, Shibpur. Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur (abbr. IIEST Shibpur) is a public technological university located at Shibpur, Howrah, West Bengal, India. Founded in 1856, it is one of Institute of National Importance under Ministry of Education of Government of India. It is regulated by the Council of NITSER. It is the fourth oldest engineering institute in India. In October 2010 The union cabinet approved the proposal for the conversion of the Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU) at Shibpur to India's first Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST). IIEST is a member of the Association of Indian Universities.

History 

The university was founded as the Civil Engineering College on 24 November 1856, in Writers' Building, Calcutta (now Kolkata). The college was established as an independent entity in 1880 as Government College, Howrah, on the premises of Bishop's College in Shibpur, Howrah. In 1921, the name of the college was changed to Bengal Engineering College. B.E. College was previously affiliated to the University of Calcutta. At that time it contained only civil and mechanical engineering departments. Several other departments were created subsequently over the years, the last among them being that of Aerospace Engineering and Applied Mechanics in 2010.

On recommendation of UGC Expert committee, institution got status of a Deemed University in 1992 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.In November 2003, the Government of India announced that the S K Joshi Committee would guide the selection of the five institutions to be the five new IITs.On 1 October 2004, the institution was conferred the status of a full-fledged State university. It was formally inaugurated as Bengal Engineering and Science University by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, the President of India, on 13 July 2005.

Post 2010
In October 2010 The union cabinet approved 2006 M.Anandakrishnan committee proposal for the conversion of the Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU) at Shibpur to India's first Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), it will be an Institution of international standard and will produce quality manpower for the strategic sector of the country, research laboratories and quality teachers for the institutions of engineering and science education. An amount of ₹ 592.20 crore has been earmarked for the project and it will be completed over a period of five years.

In March 2014, the institute was conferred the status of an INI and was renamed Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur by the Govt. of India by suitably amending the National Institutes of Technology and Science Education and Research Act, 2007. The conversion process of BESU to IIEST was mentored by IIT Kanpur. President of India, Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated it as IIEST on 24 August 2014.

In June 2014, Govt. of West Bengal appointed IIEST Shibpur as the Mentor Institute for the Indian Institute of Information Technology Kalyani, which was inaugurated in June of the same year.

In May 2017, the Government of India sanctioned a grant of ₹11 crore to the Institute for conducting Dr. Bholanath Chakroborty Fundamental Research Laboratory on Homeopathy under the ‘Ayush’ project to undertake focused, evidence-based research on homeopathy formulation and validate their mode of action.
In December 2020, Union Govt sanctioned grants for ₹ 130 Cr to buildup 10-story hostel building facility for 1000 students.
In Jan 2025 A former teacher come student of the institute donated $1 million for special research. In all, he donated 8.6 crore rupees.This initiative will be taken mainly to create a Center for Water and Environmental Research.

Campus

Salt Lake campus 
In Dec 2024 Institution convocation day, The governor announced that IIEST would set up its second campus in Salt lake, Sector III. campus will come up on a 38.5 Kattah land which will be used for academia-industry interactions and Part-time courses for working professionals.

Organisation and administration

Governance
Just like all NITs follow the same organization structure which has the President of India is the ex officio visitor of IIEST Shibpur, at the top of the hierarchy. Directly under the president is the Council of NITSER.  Under the Council of NITSER is the board of governors of IIEST, Shibpur. The board of governors consists of the chairperson, director, and twelve members, which include government, industry, alumni, and faculty representation. Under the director, in the Senate Standing Committee, the director and the Secretary to the Senate, deans, department heads, and registrar. In September 2023 T Kumar appointed as chairperson of the Board of Governors of Institution for a period of next three years.

Departments

Schools
Eight schools of excellence in IIEST are:

Centres
Following are the multi-disciplinary centers located in IIEST Shibpur:
 Center of Healthcare Science and Technology

Academics

Library
The institute's Ramanujan Central Library occupies  and houses 158,000 books, 41,000 bound volumes of journals, and a collection of documents, such as patents, standards, technical reports and pamphlets. The library has old and rare books and journals of the nineteenth century.

Admission procedure 
Undergraduate programs to the various engineering disciplines (4-year B.Tech. programs) and architecture (5-year B.Arch. program) are granted via JEE Main, taking 50% students from the home state (West Bengal) and 50% from other states. Students from any discipline other than Architecture, on the basis of their performance, are allowed to change their disciplines at the end of the 1st Year (i.e., second semester) and may opt for dual degree (B.Tech.-M.Tech.) courses extending over 10 semesters as per terms and conditions specified by the institute. For PG programs admission is through GATE for M.Tech. courses and Joint Entrance Screening Test for MSc. Students are also admitted in Ph.D. programs twice a year through online applications.

Ranking and reputation 

IIEST Shibpur has ranked 401-450 among the top Universities in Asia category by the QS Asia Ranking 2024.

In India, IIEST Shibpur was ranked 49th among engineering institutes by the NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework) rankings in 2024 and 4th in Architecture & Planning.

Academic collaboration 
On 2017 Institution has done collaboration with US based University of California, Irvine and signed an MoU to offering dual degree programmes from both universities.

Institute-Industry partnership 
In April 2017 an MoU was signed between the Institute and Indian Paint Association for Masters Programme in Coating Sciences & Technology from the academic session 201 also Joint research projects would also be undertaken. In October 2020 MoU signed between The Institute and IBM for collaboration on research development of learning content, software, faculty training.
To promote research and innovation particularly in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector in state of West Bengal A collaboration MoU has been signed between The institute and state based advocacy group Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry at The Bengal Chamber Premises.

Controversies and criticism 
A BJP vice-president in Karnataka has been appointed chairperson of the board of governors of IIEST, which has drawn criticism in academic circles for allegedly trying to saffronise an institution with a rich legacy.

Notable people

Notable faculty 
 John Samuel Slater, principal
 Sankar Sen, professor of the electrical engineering department.
 Joseph Allen Stein, professor and head of the Department of Architecture

Notable alumni 

Bimal Kumar Bose, scholar in Power Electronics, Chondra Chair of Excellence in Power Electronics, professor emeritus at the University of Tennessee, member of National Academy of Engineering
Rajen Mookerjee, industrialist, co-founder of Martin Burn & Co. and founder of Indian Iron & Steel Co. Ltd.
Shankar Nath Rimal, Nepalese civil engineer, designer of the modern Nepalese flag
Jatindranath Sengupta, poet and writer.
Fazlur Rahman Khan,  World's Greatest Structural Engineer Designated as "Father of Structural Engineering" by American Society of Civil Engineers USA.
 Renuka Dasgupta, Singer
 Abhijit Chowdhury, Film director and Writer
Narayan Sanyal, Academy Award Winner Famous Writer of Biswasghatak ,"Dandak Shabari" and "Shyatakam"

References

External links

Engineering colleges in West Bengal
Universities and colleges in Howrah district
Education in Howrah
All India Council for Technical Education
Academic institutions associated with the Bengal Renaissance
Educational institutions established in 1856
1856 establishments in British India