A heritage institution of excellence

IIT Roorkee inherits more than 150 years of traditions of discipline and excellence of the erstwhile University of Roorkee and the Thomason College of Civil Engineering which are credited with laying of the foundation of engineering education in India.

Located in a quiet town of Roorkee, 170 kms from New Delhi, this institution has a campus spread over 146 hectares.

Its main administrative building, which used to house the Thomason College in the past, has a splendid Victorian architecture and presents a breathtaking view. Its tranquil and green ambience is mesmerising.

The main building is a testimony of generations of youth whose lives were molded here into some of the greatest craftsmen of engineering skills of this country.

It was September 21, 2001 when the Presidential Ordinance amended the Institute of Technology Act 1961 to transform the first technical University of India under the State of Uttar Pradesh and then Uttaranchal, ie, University of Roorkee into Indian Institute of Technology-Roorkee (IIT-R) a Central Government Institution, one of the ten institutions of national importance.

It started as Roorkee College in 1847 to train engineering personnel particularly for the construction work of Ganga Canal, and then renamed as Thomason College of Civil Engineering in 1854 before becoming University of Roorkee in 1949.

Though IIT-Roorkee is the seventh IIT but it is the oldest technical institution and has been a trend setter in engineering education in India in the last 158 years.

After becoming an IIT in 2001, this institution has intensified efforts to mobilize its potential for world class education and research.

The focus has been on consolidating the traditionally strong areas of Water Resource Management and Disaster Management including Earthquakes, on one hand and creating Centers of Excellence in selected emerging technologies, on the other hand. The undergraduate and postgraduate teaching is given highest priority.