Harcourt Butler Technical University is a State Government Sponsored University located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The HBTU was named after Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler, the then Governor of the United Provinces in British India. It is one of the oldest engineering education centres in the country. As a member of Education Council to Viceroy, Sir Harcourt Butler first proposed a technical education institute in 1910 in the industrial city of Cawnpore (Kanpur) to teach Chemistry and allied Chemical Sciences.

In 1920, to boost entrepreneurship, accelerate industrial development, create a sound environment for contemporary applied research and inculcate scientific research, an institute in the name of Government Research Institute was started. On 25th November, 1921, the then Governor Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler formally laid the foundation of the present main administration building of the institute.In 1928, the institute was renamed as Harcourt Butler Technological Institute. However, as of 1st September 2016, it was granted a university status and renamed again as Harcourt Butler Technical University under the HBTU Act, 2016 passed by Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh.

In the year 2021, HBTU completed glorious 100 years of its foundation. The centenary year is being celebrated in befitting manner by organizing seminars and conferences including the much-awaited CHEMCON 2022. HBTU has been a premier technical institute in the country especially in the field of Chemical Technology and Chemical Engineering.