Harcourt Butler Technical University (Formerly Harcourt Butler Technological Institute, Kanpur) started in 1920 with the establishment of the Government Research Institute, Cawnpore (Kanpur) by Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler, the then Governor of United Provinces (present Uttar Pradesh). Institute was renamed as Government Technical Institute and its foundation stone was laid on November 25, 1921. Later on, Institute was given its all famous name – Harcourt Butler Technological Institute (HBTI) in 1926. The University is dedicated to the cause of rapid industrial development, creating a healthy environment for applied researches and, above all, to carve out men and women, having a truly rational and scientific demeanour. Autonomous status was granted to HBTI in 1965. Government of Uttar Pradesh, by Act No. 11 of 2016, upgraded it to Harcourt Butler Technical University, Kanpur on September 01, 2016 with the mandate to be a leading Residential University and to become a Centre of Excellence with focus on Research & Development and Incubation in the field of Engineering, Technology, Basic & Applied Sciences, Humanities, Social Sciences & Management and other Professional courses. HBTU, Kanpur aims to promote studies, research & innovation in engineering areas of higher education, to enhance skill development through continuing education programme and to achieve excellence in higher technical education.

The University is spread across two campuses – the East Campus (77 acres) and the West Campus (251.8 acres) which are situated about 3 km apart in the very heart of Kanpur. The University has completed 100 glorious years on November 25, 2021 and the Centenary Celebration function was attended by the Hon’ble President of India.

The University has five schools namely, School of Engineering (SoE); School of Chemical Technology (SoCT); School of Basic & Applied Sciences (SoBAS); School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SoHSS) and School of Entrepreneurship & Management (SoEM). The University offers fourteen Undergraduate Programmes (B.Tech.) in Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Science & Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Information Technology, Leather Technology, Mechanical Engineering, Biochemical Engineering, Biotechnology, Food Technology, Oil Technology, Paint Technology and Plastic Technology and two undergraduate programmes in Bachelors of Business Administration (BBA) and B.Pharma. It also offers M.Tech. programmes in eleven specializations. In addition, it runs a regular Master of Computer Application (M.C.A), Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Science (M.Sc.) in three streams (Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics). The University also offers doctoral programme in all the departments. Four departments of the University namely, Civil, Mechanical, Electronics and Chemical Engineering are recognized Quality Improvement Program (QIP) Centres for Ph.D. programmes. HBTU Kanpur has received aid from the World Bank (TEQIP-I, TEQIP-II & TEQIP-III) for various developmental projects.