About Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology - IIEST Shibpur

The Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU) at Shibpur, Howrah is one of the oldest, premier and leading engineering colleges in existence in India. The university is known in India and abroad for its heritage as well as excellence in teaching and research in engineering and applied sciences. It was established in 24th November,1856 occupying three rooms in Writers' Building to meet the requirement of trained Engineering personnel for Public Works Department as Civil Engineering College. It was affiliated to the Calcutta University in May 1857.

It was previously known as Bishop's College and was renamed as Calcutta Civil Engineering College on 24 November, 1856, when there were only 10 students and a few instructive staff. From 1865 to 1879 the College functioned as Civil Engineering Department of Presidency College, Kolkata. In 1880 the college shifted to its new and permanent home the lush campus at Bishop's College, Howrah. From 12 February, 1920, the name was again changed to Bengal Engineering College (B.E. College Shibpur). The word Shibpur was removed from the title on 24 March, 1921.

From May 1857 to 1992, it was a constituent college of the University of Calcutta. In recognition of its services to the nation, the college was elevated to the status of a Deemed University in 1992. The then President of India, Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma, formally inaugurated the University on March 13, 1993. On 1 October, 2004, Bengal Engineering College became full-fledged university with its present name. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the President of India, formally inaugurated it as Bengal Engineering and Science University, Shibpur on 13 July 2005.

Departments

1. Aerospace Engineering and Applied Mechanics
2. Architecture
3. Chemistry
4. Civil Engineering
5. Computer Science & Technology
6. Electrical Engineering
7. Electronics & Tele Communication
8. Geology
9. Humanities and Social Sciences
10. Human Resource Management
11. Information Technology
12. Mathematics
13. Mechanical Engineering
14. Metallurgy And Materials Engineering
15. Mining Engineering
16. Physics

The Schools in the University

• Purabi Das School of Information Technology (PDSIT)
• School of Materials Science & Engineering (SMSE)
• School of Management Sciences (SOMS)
• School of Community Science and Technology (SOCSAT)
• School of Disaster Mitigation Engineering (SDME)
• School of Ecology, Infrastructure & Human Settlement Management (SEIHSM)
• School of Mechatronics & Robotics (SM&R)
• School of Safety & Occupational Health Engineering (SSOH)
• School Of VLSI Technology (SOVLSIT)

Location and Transport - The University is located in the sylvan surrounding on the western bank of the river Hooghly, opposite the city of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) which is connected with all the major Indian cities as well as to some foreign ones by rail and air and also by the Golden Quadrangle Road Network presently nearing completion. The nearest Railway Station is Howrah, which is 6km from the University Campus and the Airport is at a distance of 30km from the Main Gate.

Facilities

Computer Centre - The Centre had its modest beginning in 1976 in the premises of the Electrical Engineering Department with a TDC-316 machine operated through punched cards. In 1992, the centre became a separate central computing facility, complete with servers and networked computers, on two floors of the block III of the main administrative building. Presently the Computer Centre has been temporarily located at the second floor of A. K. Seal Hall for a short period. The centre is under the process of renovation and very soon it will be shifted to the new Technology building near the main administrative building, to provide adequate regular computing infrastructure, as well as high performance computing facilities for the students, research scholars, faculty members and staffs.

At present, in its temporary location, the centre primarily caters for the computing needs of UG curriculum. There are two laboratories: Laboratory-I and Laboratory-II, each equipped with 30 nos. of Pentium 4 pcs. These are connected through LAN to a central server. The PCs are provided with Internet facilities also.

Hostels - The University, with a student population of about 2500 has 13 hostels, including one for girls. The accommodation for international students is guaranteed. The University also provides accommodation for a sizeable numbers of faculty members and other categories of staff.

Video Conferencing - Bengal Engineering & Science University has newly introduced a well-furnished AC Audio Video Conference Center with Multiple facilities like Polycom. This entry level product has everything needed for essential video conferencing and provides for future growth and investment protection. The VSX 7000 offers flexibility and expandability in offering users the option to add additional displays, microphones, speaker, ISDN network modules and more. The VSX 7000 brings features to the entry level that, until now, were available only in high-end systems

Library - The University library has the distinction of being one of the oldest and the largest resourceful technical library in the south East Asia. The approximate total area of the library is around 20,000 square feet and it is open from 8.00 A.M. to 8 P.M. The library not only caters to the basic information needs of faculty members, research scholars and students of this University but also provides information services to research workers of neighbouring universities and research institutes in the state. The present collection books is about 1.3 lakhs and 40,000 bound volumes of journals, besides it has a huge collection of non-book materials, such as patents, standards, technical reports and pamphlets. It has also many rare publications of the 19th century. The Library subscribes 200 titles of engineering and scientific journals including 90 foreign journals in hard copy besides the Library is a member of Indian National Digital Library in Engineering Science and Technology (INDEST) consortium

Health Service - The University has a Hospital to cater to the needs of the Campus inmates with Resident Medical Officers and required supporting staff. Besides, the hospital has an ward to effectively isolate students Suffering from infectious diseases such as chicken pox, mumps, measles etc. Outdoor treatment is available in two shifts : morning and afternoon except on Sundays. Serious cases are generally transferred either to any city hospital or to the Students' Health Home, Calcutta, the University having Universal Membership for the latter. The University hospital provides 24 hours ambulance service.

Campus Services & Management - The University is provided with uninterrupted power supply from the Calcutta Electric supply Corporation. Water supply is provided by the Howrah Municipal Corporation. In addition, the University has its own captive generation plant and also water supply sources. There are three agencies which look after the maintenance of various services in the campus: the Public Works Department (Maintenance) with an Assistant Engineer-in-charge for maintenance of all the buildings and roads, the Electrical Wing of the P.W.D. with a Sub-Assistant Engineer-in-charge to look after the maintenance of electrical services and Public Health Engineering Department with a Sub-Assistant Engineer-in-charge for maintenance of water supply and sewage disposal services. Recently the University has opened its own Engineering Wind. For looking after the security of the campus and maintenance of the compound, there is an Estate Office under a Head Caretaker.

Achievements

It was "Ranked 10th" among Top Engineering institutes in India by "India Today" in 2005

Information Compiled From : Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology - IIEST Shibpur - Website