Legacy of Roorkee

A proud institute, a most beautiful city, and believe it or not, a maiden’s name. Founded as the first technical institute in Asia (third oldest in the entire world) as College of Civil Engineering at Roorkee in 1847, it was rechristened “Thomason College of Civil Engineering” in 1854 after the man who was instrumental behind the idea of starting the college (the initial purpose was to look after the construction of the Ganga Canal), Sir James Thomason, the Lieutenant Governor of India at the time. And Roorkee was the name of this gentleman’s daughter! It became “University of Roorkee” (UOR) in 1949 to acknowledge its status as the premier engineering college of the country. Having given stiff competition to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT’s) for decades, UOR finally became the seventh IIT in 2001. And the proud tradition still continues.

The motto says it all:

UOR alumni have established their distinct identities all around the world, leaving their footprints in virtually every sphere of life. They have been successful entrepreneurs, innovators, and researchers, have headed several governmental establishments, and served as top bureaucrats in the government of India. Ten UOR alumni have made the institute proud by achieving the Padma awards, twenty-seven have bagged the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar award for Science & Technology, and two have even served as the honorable governors of state.

And did you know?

People are often told that the first train in India ran between Bombay and Thane on April 16, 1853; but the truth is that the first-ever Indian train ran between Roorkee and Piran Kaliyar on December 22, 1851!

This Legacy is what drives us in this Foundation 🙏