And, when the IIT Kanpur was established in 1959, its classes, starting 9th of August 1960, were initially held in HBTI until IITK had its own campus.

[7] In early 1900s, there was a growing need for advancement in applied sciences in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh (erstwhile NWP) of British India.

On the initiative of ICS officer Sir Spencer H. Butler,[8] the Conference on Industrial Development at Nainital summoned in 1907 by the then Lieutenant-Governor of the province,[9] Sir John P. Hewett, GCSI, KBE, CIE, GCStJ, recommended the establishment of an Institute of Chemical Technology at Cawnpore (Kanpur).

[13] Contrarily, Deputy Director (Agriculture)[14][15][16] Sir Bryce C. Burt, CIE, MBE, concurred with European industrialists[11] in Kanpur and the Upper India Chamber of Commerce that the proposed institute should focus on research in applied chemistry, and special branches offered only on demand.

[18][19] The Indian Industrial Commission (1916–18) headed by Sir Thomas H. Holland, KCSI, KCIE, , FRS, DSc, recommended that technical institutes of higher education combine practical experience with technological instructions in courses of special branches of applied chemistry,[20] and be controlled by the provincial Directors of Industries who would also facilitate chemical research work in industries like oil milling, soapmaking, essential oils, wood distillation, dyeing, etc.

It was initially headed by the Agricultural Chemist[23] Dr. Harold Edward Annett, OBE, , FIC, DSc, then the Principal of the Opium Research Laboratory, Cawnpore,[24] of which GRI was an adjunct.

It was housed in two rooms of Sher Wali Kothi, a building that still stands old on the northern side of the Company Bagh Chauraha (crossing) near Nawabganj.

[31] On the 25th of November 1921, Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler, GCSI, GCIE, DL, FRGS, FRAS, now the Governor of United Provinces,[30][29] formally laid the foundation-stone of the (still present) Main Building, and made the following remarks in his address delivered during the ceremony: "The institute will have two sides, instruction and research.

The site of the new institution is within easy reach of the great industrial centre of Cawnpore, rich with capacity and experience.

In 1924, the Department of Chemistry was established as an entity, and the first batch of six students also all successfully received their PG diplomas in the same year.

R&D schemes for Essential Oils, Food, Vegetable, Fibre, Plastics, and Soda Ash were started in 1947, but by 1952 all but the first one were either terminated or amalgamated.

On the 26th of March 1965, the Government of Uttar Pradesh (GoUP) under CM Sucheta Kripalani changed HBTI to a standalone teaching institution.

HBTI grew and changed significantly during 1962-69 under a growth-focussed education policy inspired by the Applied Industrial Research Scheme of 1961.

The library provides access to e-journals like the ACS, J-Gate Plus (JCCC), IEEE, Springer Nature, and Web of Science database.

It offers repository of theses from Shodhganga, and e-books from AICTE e-Kumbh[47] as well as various leading publishers like Pearson, Wiley, Taylor & Francis, Elsevier, McGraw Hill, Cambridge University Press, etc.

The West Campus is on Indra Road, opposite Deen Dayal Nagar locality, and around 1 km from the Gurudev Chauraha (and same name metro station).

HBTU is a state-university nominally headed by the Governor of Uttar Pradesh as its ex-officio Chancellor, and is administered by the following structure: The above-mentioned statutory authorities have their own respective chairperson, secretary, and members.

[54] The university is operationally headed by the Vice Chancellor (VC) who is assisted by several officials in the following reporting order: HBTU is a government-aided state-university for technical UG and PG education specialising in engineering and technology.

[57] It was one of the 127 technical institutions to receive funding from the World Bank's IDA in TEQIP Phase-I (2004–2009)[58] implemented by NPIU[59] of GoI.

[63] HBTU offers a wide variety of undergraduate and postgraduate courses conferring the Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.

The erstwhile STEP-HBTI was established in 1986[64] for running the management programme(s), with STEP being acronym for 'Science & Technology Entrepreneur's Park'.

HBTU struggled for prestige after the IITs, IIITs, and NITs were expanded by the Indian government to a total of ~80 elite STEM colleges.

Some old ranking reports are given below: HBTU successfully completed a century of its establishment as a teaching institution in the year 2021.

The centennial occasion was officially recognised and commemorated in the Centenary Year Function[80] organised by the university on the very date of anniversary in the presence of the President of India, the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, and the Minister of Education (UP).

Apart from the academics, the HBTU students can also participate in extra-curricular activities organised by several officially recognised bodies called Sub-Councils.

All of them are ultimately governed by an apex body called the University Students Activity Council (USAC) which is headed by a Chairman.

These associations coordinate among their faculty, students, and alumni for various co-curricular and extra-curricular activities as they deem important, including but not limited to intra-department or inter-college events.

The alumni can be easily found working in large numbers in the central government services (UPSC CSE/ESE, SSC, CAPF, Military, etc.

They are also successfully working as engineers & managers in the private sector firms, including all prominent MNCs.

The currently active Alumni Association, HBTU (originally as AA HBTI) was founded after the OBA went defunct.