Harcourt Butler Technical University

Harcourt Butler Technical University (HBTU), formerly Harcourt Butler Technological Institute (HBTI), is a reputed and old STEM college currently functioning as a public technical university, and is located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. Established in 1921, it is one of India's oldest engineering institutes, India's second institute for industry-oriented applied science, and also India's first technological institute for higher research in technical chemistry.

It is named after its visionary and relentless proponent-in-chief Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler, a highly regarded ICS officer and Governor in British India, who preferred to be addressed as "Harcourt Butler". As an advocate of industrial advancement, Sir Harcourt was a promoter of technical education in general, and the patron of "Technological Institute" in particular. Originally, the institute aimed to train science graduates for pursuing career as technologists, or starting their own industrial venture.

It has historical and foundational connections to many scientific entities. It is the parent of the National Sugar Institute which operated from HBTI campus from 1936 to 1963. The Central Control Laboratory (for Ghee, Edible oils, and Vanaspati) started in HBTI in 1937. HBTI also housed ICAR's Sugar Technologist (1930-36), and provincial govt's offices of Glass Technology (1942–91) and Alcohol Technology (estd. 1953). It assisted three new state-govt colleges - Rajkiya Engineering College (REC) Bijnor (started in 2010 as BRAECIT), REC Kannauj (started in 2015), and REC Mainpuri, (started in 2015). And, when IIT Kanpur was established in 1959, its classes, starting 9 August 1960, were initially held in HBTI until IITK had its own campus.