Delhi Technological University

The seeds of Delhi Polytechnic were sowed by the Wood and Abbott Committee of 1938. It was established as Delhi Polytechnic in 1941. The technical school was created to cater to the demands of Indian industries. At that time, Delhi Polytechnic offered courses in Arts, Architecture, Commerce, Engineering, Applied Science and Textiles. Walter William Wood, the father of technical education in India, became the founder Principal of Delhi Polytechnic.

The National Diploma awarded by Delhi Polytechnic was considered an equivalent to the B.E. Degree by the then UPSC. B.E. degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Textile Engineering were awarded to the students under Faculty of Technology, the University of Delhi since 1952. A B.E. degree in Civil Engineering was introduced in 1955. In addition to merit of the qualifying examination, tests and/or interviews were held for the selection of candidates for admission.

Up till 1962, the college was under the direct control of the Ministry of Education, Government of India. Since 1963, Delhi Polytechnic was taken over by the then Delhi Administration and Chief Commissioner Delhi was the ex-officio chairman of the college. It later became a college of the Union Territory of Delhi. In 1963, Department of Arts became the College of Arts and Department of Commerce & Business Administration was converted to several institutes of Commerce & Secretarial Practices. Fragmentation of Delhi Polytechnic ultimately left behind an engineering institute alone. In 1962, the college was affiliated with University of Delhi. In 1965, the Delhi Polytechnic was renamed as Delhi College of Engineering and became the first engineering college of Delhi, Now it is called Delhi technological university.

B.E. degree course in Production & Industrial Engineering was started in 1988 while B.E. degree course in Computer Engineering was started in 1989. B.E. degree level courses were started in Polymer Science & Chemical Technology and Environment Engineering in 1998. Information technology played a vital role during this era and the beginning of new millennium witnessed the introduction of B.E. in Information Technology in 2002. B.E. in Bio-Technology was introduced from the academic session 2004-2005.[6]

The Department of Architecture of the Delhi College of Engineering became the School of Planning and Architecture, now a Deemed University and Institution of National importance. The Department of Arts and Sculpture became College of Arts and the Departments of Chemical Technology and Textile Technology were shifted out en-block to mark the beginning of the IIT Delhi at its new campus at Hauz Khas. The Department of Commerce was later abolished and the Faculty of Management Studies of the University of Delhi was established by Prof. A. Das Gupta, of DCE. Delhi Administration established Delhi Institute of Technology (Presently Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology) in 1985 and the new college was established under the patronage of Delhi College of Engineering. DCE shared its campus with NSIT at Kashmiri Gate campus, although later, NSIT was shifted to Dwarka as a follow-up of the Wood and Abott Committee of 1938. Delhi College of Engineering is thus the mother institution of a number of national institutes including Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi, College of Art, Delhi and Faculty of Management Studies.[5]

In July 2009, Delhi College of Engineering was upgraded to a state university and renamed Delhi Technological University (DTU), through the Delhi Technological University Bill, 2009.[7] P. B. Sharma was nominated as the university's first Vice-Chancellor.[8] The move was met with student protests over the erosion of the DCE brand[9] which culminated to a face-off in March 2010, with the students boycotting the mid-semester exams,[10] and demanding reconsideration of the change and replacement of the VC.[11] However, the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit informed the students that the change will not be reconsidered,[12] and by the end of March the protest dwindled down, with the students taking their exams.[13] In April 2010 Times City reported that the government will be willing to change the name to "DCE Technological University" (DCE TU),[14] however, as of June 2018 the university name remains unchanged till date.

Students at DTU participate in projects such as design and development of a Formula SAE car, Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV DTU), SAE Mini Baja,[23] ASME HPV, Hybrid Car, solar car,[24] unmanned aerial vehicles,[25] innovative embedded devices appreciated worldwide[26][27][28] and setting up a plant for manufacturing Biodiesel.[29]

Pioneered by the Defianz Racing team participating in the Formula Student competition, many student teams collaborate with universities[4] from other countries and actively participate in international and national competitions.[30][31][32] The college also came up with the development of a Personalised Mover - Mitra,.[33] Delhi College of Engineering is one of the TIFAC COREs (Technology Information, Forecasting & Assessment Council's Centres Of Relevance & Excellence) in Fiber Optics and Optical Communication. Also, Students of Delhi College of Engineering have made it top-15 Worldwide slots in the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2007 and 2008[26][27][34][35]

The technical team UAS-DTU has been exceptionally successful, designing and building a prototype UAV, the Aarush X-1 [36] with funding and mentorship from Lockheed Martin, USA. It also stood third in the AUVSI Student Unmanned Air System (SUAS) Competition,2012.[37] The team has developed several prototype UAVs and expands its UAV count each year.

The solar car team, DTU Solaris was the first solar electric vehicle team in the country to have developed a two-seater passenger solar electric vehicle Arka "[38] in 2012. Its previous design - Avenir won the Most Economical Car Award in WSC 2011.

The campus at DTU has been proposed as one of the sites for the Delhi Government's plan of creating Delhi a Research and IT hub.[39] A Knowledge Park at DTU has been set up as part of better infrastructure for Delhi.[40]

DTU had been selected by Intel Technology Pvt. Ltd. to join Planet Lab Consortium that has the world's top universities and industrial research labs like Princeton University, University of Washington and NEC Labs as its members.[40]

DTU organises various events/conferences/seminars throughout the year so that students from other Engineering institutes/organisations can also get benefited. Societies like ASME, SAE, IEEE, IET, MACS etc. frequently organise such events.

The largest waste-to-energy plant in any educational institution in North India is operational in DTU. The University is now building a sewage treatment plant on its 164-acre campus in Rohini, Delhi.[41]

Team DTU Super mileage took part in Shell Eco-marathon, part of the inaugural Make the Future India festival in Chennai, held at the Madras Motor Race Track. In the Urban Concept internal combustion engine category, they clocked 154kpl in their vehicle.A total of 20 teams participated in the event, under two categories: Prototype (futuristic vehicles with incredible aerodynamics) and Urban Concept (conventional, roadworthy, energy-efficient vehicles aimed at meeting real-life needs of drivers).[42]

UAS-DTU won the first spot for ‘Flying Formation Challenge’ at the Drone Olympics at biennial Aero India Show 2019. UAS-DTU also received prize money of Rs. 5 lakh including a developmental kit from Lockheed Martin and would further be trained for the AlphaPilot, an open innovation challenge in the US. They also exhibited a stall under the R&D Department of the Indian Air Force (IAF).[43][44][45]

Scholarships at DTU are available for students beginning their first year at the college, which are awarded on the basis of their performance in subjects.[4] Another award is given to two final year students on the basis of merit, sponsoring their tuition for the purpose of pursuing MBA at the Raj Soin College of Business, Wright State University.[4]