It was founded in 1921 in Lahore, established in Chandigarh in 1953, and focuses on the field of applied sciences, particularly engineering and technology.

It also has a comprehensive graduate program offering doctoral degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

The college has facilities for research work leading to the award of the PhD degree in engineering in certain selected fields of different disciplines.

[citation needed] The college has collaborated with national and international educational institutions for student exchange programs.

Some of these collaborations are:[citation needed] PECFEST is the annual cultural and technical fest of PECO Chandigarh.

[citation needed] Vyom (earlier known as Technique before being renamed in 2011) was the university's annual technical festival that ran from 2008 to 2014.

[citation needed] Currently, there are 13 technical societies and 12 clubs active in the college, and these are named as:[citation needed] Technical societies Students Council Clubs Cell There are four hostels for boys and two hostels for girls.