CEG or IIT Roorkee: Which was the First Engineering College in Asia? A Historical Timeline

Feb 18, 2026, 18:18 IST

Which was the first engineering college in Asia largely depends upon the definition taken into consideration. While CEG traces its origin to the 18th century as a survey school and later evolved into an engineering college, IIT Roorkee was established specifically as a civil engineering institution from the start. The distinction depends on the origin date or the formal engineering status considered.

The question of the first engineering college in Asia is closely linked to two historic institutions in India, i.e., the College of Engineering (CEG) Guindy and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee.

Both these institutions were established during the colonial period: the College of Engineering Guindy in 1794, and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee in 1847, are among the earliest centres of technical education in Asia. However, their initial goal, organisational framework and academic evolution are different.

Both these engineering institutions date back to the 18th and 19th centuries, respectively, and have also played significant roles in Indian technical education.

College of Engineering (CEG) Guindy: History and Evolution

The College of Engineering (CEG) Guindy was established in May 1794 as a School of Survey, with only one student in a building near Fort St. George.

This institution was founded by Micahel Topping, and then became the Civil Engineering School in 1858, and it was relocated to the Kalasa Mahal buildings in Chepauk.
In 1859, the College of Engineering (CEG) Guindy was formed as a college under the Madras University.
Then, in 1861, the institution was renamed the College of Engineering and also added the Mechanical Engineering course in the same year.
There were only eight students at the start.

Academic Development of the College of Engineering (CEG), Guindy

Throughout the 19th and the early 20th century, CEG steadily implemented a systematic engineering program in various engineering fields like civil, electrical, mechanical and other areas. Today, it is one of India’s leading public engineering universities.

Given below is the academic development of the College of Engineering (CEG), Guindy:-

Civil engineering was a very popular specialisation in the early days. The first group of students got the DCE degree in 1864.
When the College was relocated to the Guindy campus, it had an impact on conducting the degree courses in Mechanical Engineering, paving the path for quick expansion to add other Degree courses.
There were a few other degree courses which were added to the curriculum, like mechanical engineering was established in 1894, telecommunication and highways in 1945, electrical engineering in 1930; and printing technology in 1982.
In 1975, the student intake of the college of engineering was doubled from 175 to 275.

Key Features of the CEG Guindy

Features	About
Established	It was established in May 1794.
Original Name	The original name of the College of Engineering, Guindy, was the School of Survey
Current Status	It is a constituent college of Anna University
First Indian Principal of the College of Engineering	It was Rao Bahadur G. Nagarathinam Ayyar

(Source of Information:- Official Website of College of Engineering.)

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee: History and Evolution

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee was established in 1847 as the Thomason College of Civil Engineering.

The college was established particularly to teach civil engineers for the Upper Ganges Canal and other public works projects in British India.
Unlike the survey schools, this institute was established as a dedicated engineering institution from the very beginning.
In 1853, the college was renamed the Thomason College of Civil Engineering, and the college entrance test began in 1857.
Then, in 2001, it was renamed the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee after being designated as an Indian Institute of Technology.

Academic Development of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee

From the start, Thomason College or IIT Roorkee has offered a structured engineering curriculum, particularly in civil engineering. It further grew to encompass a wide range of engineering and technological disciplines.

In 1880 course for engineering students was revised.
In 1893, a course on Telegraph Engineering was started in the college.
In 1896, the Electrical and Mechanical Apprenticeship classes were started, and engineering curricula with civil and electrical specialisations were extended from two to three years.
Courses in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering were started on par with Civil Engineering courses in 1909.
A course on Textile Engineering was started in the college in 1910.
The undergraduate course in Computer Science and Technology was founded in 1983.
The Mehta Family School for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence was opened in 2022, ranking among the top such schools in its inaugural year.

Key Features of the IIT Roorkee

Features	About
Established	It was established in 1847
Original Name	Thomason College of Civil Engineering
Current Status	Recognised as the Indian Institute of Technology in 2001, and was renamed as IIT Roorkee
NIRF Rankings 2025	6

(Source of Information:- Official Website of IIT Roorkee.)

The College of Engineering (CEG), Guindy, is one of Asia’s oldest technical institutions, having been founded in 1794. However, when it was established, it served as a survey school rather than a full engineering college. On the other hand, IIT Roorkee was established in 1847, making it one of Asia’s first engineering institutions, which was dedicated to offering formal engineering education.

Given below are the key comparisons between CEG and IIT Roorkee in chronological order:-

Institute Name	Year	Former Name	Engineering status at founding
CEG, Guindy	1794	School of Survey	Engineering programs were developed at a later part
IIT Roorkee	1847	Thomason College of Civil Engineering	It was established as an engineering college.

When addressing the question of which was the first engineering college in Asia, the answer interpretation depends on the definition of two factors, i.e.,

Based on the earliest origin of a technical institution
Based on the first institution was founded specifically as an engineering college.

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