Pranjal Srivastava's Review On Harcourt Butler Technological University - [HBTU], Kanpur

Harcourt Butler Technological Institute is one of the oldest institutions in the country with a glorious past. The glory has faded a bit because of pathetic funding by the state government but students have a new ray of hope now as HBTI has been granted UNIVERSITY status and now will receive direct funding from UGC. The management is a typical government management working on their wish and will. Still the students are some of the brightest in the state and hence continue to excel in all walks of life.

I took the Uttar Pradesh State Entrance Examination(UPSEE) and scored a rank of 756 in the exam. I didn't have any NITs or IITs as options so HBTI was the best option I had. Also HBTI is considered one of the best insttutes in Uttar Pradesh and is one of the oldest college of the country. These factors also influenced my decision to join HBTI.

The course curriculum is designed to suit modern industry requirements and is updated in every three to four years to by a committee comprising of professors from Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, other eminent teachers, and teachers from Harcourt Butler Technological Institue. Open electives are offered in the final year from as many as thirteen departments.

The college does not provide any internship students have to work for themselves and write to professors or companies if they want to score an internship.

The placement differs from department to department. The placements of computer science department, mechanical engineering department, chemical engineering department, and paint technology are top notch. Also consultancies like Mu-Sigma and EXL come to campus for recruitment. Core companies like tata motors, hyundai, maruti, etc. are some of the major recruiters Placements of students of branches like civil engineering, electronics engineering, electrical engineering, leather technology, etc. are a bit low as far as core companies are concerned. Official figures of placements of 2016 batch have not been disclosed by the college yet except for the highest package that was 23 Lakhs bagged by a guy in biochemical engineering.

The college has one cultural fest organised in odd semester while each branch organises its own technical fest in the even semester. The cultural fest is called 'ODYSSEY'. Brach fests are: Mecharnival - Mechanical Engineering, Incord - Computer Science and Engineering, Techera - Electronics Engineering, Nirmaan - Civil Engineering , etc. Also Abhiruchi is organised by hobby club which is a fest full of informal events.

The fee structure is very much feasible and really inexpensive fee structure is as follows: B.Tech (All branches except Information technology) - ₹58,230 per annum, B.Tech( Information Technology) - ₹73,230 per annum, B.Tech(For NRI) - $7000, MCA - ₹43,230 per annum, M.Tech - ₹58,230 per annum.

Scholarship is offered by the Uttar Pradeh Government for the students with weak economic background. Other than that, the college does not offer any loan or scholarship facility.

The campus life is not at all happening. Students are not allowed outside the hostels after 10. The gender ratio is fine because of reservation of seats for girls. A lot of extra curricular activities take place ranging from different competition to sports. The quizzing club Q-FRAT is one of the best quizzing club in Northern India.

The hostels are pathetic and so is the mess food. Both the hostels and the mess lack basic infrastructure. The hostels have horrible rooms, with bathrooms and washrooms that are much less than the required number. The mess food is horrible and there is no quality check. There are only two water coolers for a total of 160 students and one of them is switched off at night. There is no wifi or lan facility.

HBTI is one of the oldest institutions in the country and hence has a really strong alumni network. The strong alumni base really helps in every possible aspect. Also the seniors are really friendly and helpful.

The frequency of the exams is fine. There are two mid semester class tests of fifteen marks each and a final semester examination of hundred marks. The criteria for failing a student for the year is really harsh. A semester has, 2 CTs - 15 marks, 1 semester exam - 100 marks, Internal assessment/attendance - 20 marks, Total is 150 marks for each subject. One has to score 60 marks to pass in the respective subject.

The faculty is a mix of superb teachers, good teachers, average teachers, and bad teachers. Most of the departments are short of faculty. Some teachers are really dedicated while some have a typical government college attitude. Some teachers teach only for the sake of teaching while some are really good and helpful.