Punjab Engineering College (Deemed to be University) (abbreviated PEC or PEC Chandigarh) is a public research & technical institution in Chandigarh. It was founded in 1921 in Lahore, established in Chandigarh in 1953, and focuses on the field of applied sciences, particularly engineering and technology. It is well-known for its undergraduate and graduate programmes in engineering, to which the entry is through the Joint Entrance Examination – Mains and Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering. It offers degrees such as Bachelor of Technology, Master of Technology and MBA. It also has a comprehensive graduate program offering doctoral degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
Contents
History
PEC was established in 1921 in Mughalpura, a suburb of Lahore, Punjab, erstwhile British India as the Mughalpura Technical College. In 1923, the name was changed to Maclagan Engineering College to honour Sir Edward Maclagan, the then Governor of Punjab. In 1939, the name was again changed to Punjab College of Engineering and Technology.
In 1932 the institution became affiliated with the University of Punjab for awarding a bachelor's degree in engineering. After partition in 1947, the college was relocated to Roorkee in India and was renamed East Punjab College of Engineering. In the year 1950, the word East was dropped. Towards the end of December 1953, the college shifted to its present campus in Chandigarh as an affiliated campus of Panjab University. In October 2003, the Government of India recognized the college as a Deemed University and thereafter it became known as Punjab Engineering College (Deemed University).
In 1994 this institution was adjudged the best technical college in India by the National Foundation of Engineers. It occupies an area of 146 acres and offers Bachelor of Engineering degrees in various specializations.
PEC has historically differed from Central Educational Institutions (CEIs) by not providing a 27% OBC reservation. Following the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006, PEC—a "Deemed to be University" under the Chandigarh Administration—argued it was a UT-funded institute rather than a CEI, exempting it from the mandate. This was legally challenged in 2018 (Gujar Samaj Kalyan Parishad v. PEC), where the Punjab and Haryana High Court upheld PEC's stance, ruling that its indirect funding through the UT administration meant the 2006 Act did not automatically apply. However, a 2025 Supreme Court directive has recently mandated a phased implementation of the OBC quota for Chandigarh-governed institutes, starting at 3% for the 2025–26 session and rising to 27% over six years. Currently, PEC operates on a 50-50 split between the Chandigarh (Home State) and All India (Other State) quotas.
Presently there are twelve post-graduate courses leading to a Master of Engineering degree. Facilities for post-graduate studies exist for regular and part-time students. The college has facilities for research work leading to the award of the PhD degree in engineering in certain selected fields of different disciplines.
Academics
Academic programmes
Institute offers Bachelor of Technology (previously Bachelor of Engineering) in:
Aerospace Engineering
Civil Engineering
Computer Science and Engineering
Computer Science and Engineering (Artificial Intelligence)
Computer Science and Engineering (Data Science)
Electrical Engineering
Electronics and Communication Engineering
Electronics Engineering (VLSI)
Mathematics and Computing
Mechanical Engineering
Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
Production and Industrial Engineering
The institute also offers 'Master of Technology degrees‘ in the following specializations:
Computer Science and Engineering (with specialization in AI, Cyber security, Software Engineering, Data Engineering)
Highways, Structures, Hydraulics and Irrigation, Rotodynamic Machines
Electrical Power Systems
Environmental Engineering
Electronics Engineering
Collaborations
The college has collaborated with national and international educational institutions for student exchange programs. MoUs have been signed with corporates to attract projects and internships. Some of these collaborations are:
PEC has collaborations with a large number of international companies and universities, to name a few such as:
Indian Institute of Science
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
Indian Institute of Technology Ropar
Indian Institute of Technology Jammu
Indian Institute of Technology Mandi
National Institute of Technologies
SMVDU, Katra
PGIMER, Chandigarh
NITIE, Mumbai
Microsoft
Intel
IBM
Eic Pvt.Ltd., Chandigarh
ABB Global Industries & Services Ltd. Bangalore
Minda Corporation Ltd Noida
Central Tool Room, Ludhiana
CONCAVE Research Centre, Concordia University, Canada
Central Scientific Instruments Organization, Chandigarh
Swaraj Division (a unit of FES M&M), Mohali
Student life
Cultural and Technical festivals
PECFEST is the annual cultural and technical fest of PEC Chandigarh. The festival started as a cultural event in 2003. It usually runs for three days in the month of November.
In 2014, PECFEST merged with VYOM (the technical fest of PEC) and consequently, now acts as an umbrella festival for both cultural and technical events and competitions. The fest has seen various musical and cultural acts perform on the final day, such as Javed Ali, Sukhwinder Singh, Sunidhi Chauhan and Asees Kaur.
Vyom (earlier known as Technique before being renamed in 2011) was the university's annual technical festival that ran from 2008 to 2014. It was discontinued in 2015 and the technical events are now conducted as part of PECFEST.
Student organizations
Currently, there are 12 technical societies and 12 clubs active in the college, and these are named as:
Technical societies
ACM-CSS - Computer Science Society (Recognized under ACM student chapter)
ATS - Aerospace Technical Society
ASCE - American Society of Civil Engineers (Student Chapter)
ASME - American Society of Mechanical Engineers (Student Chapter)
ASPS - Astronomy and Space Physics Society
IEEE - The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Student Chapter
IGS - Indian Geotechnical Society
IIM - Indian Institute of Metals
The Robotics Society
SAE - The Society of Automotive Engineers Student Chapter
SESI - Solar Energy Society of India
SME - The Society of Manufacturing Engineers Student Chapter
Students Council
SAC- Students Affairs Council
Clubs
NCC (National Cadet Corps) under 2 Chandigarh battalion.
NSS (National Service Scheme)
Hostels
There are four hostels for boys and two hostels for girls. Each hostel is self-contained with amenities such as a reading room/indoor games/TV room, dining hall and mess. Every hostel has a student chairman (Hostel Senior) for managing and controlling various activities.
Girls' hostels:
Kalpana Chawla Hostel (named after alumni Kalpana Chawla)
Vindhya Hostel
Boys' hostels:
Aravali Hostel
Himalaya Hostel
Kuruksheta Hostel
Shivalik Hostel
Notable alumni
Satish Dhawan - known for Indian Space Programme
Kalpana Chawla - Space Shuttle Columbia astronaut; BE Aeronautical (1982).
Badshah (Aditya Prateek Singh), Punjabi singer and rapper; BE Civil Engineering (2006)
Sandeep Bakhshi, CEO of ICICI Bank
Jaspal Bhatti - satirist, comedian, film-maker; BE Electrical (1978).
Vijay K. Dhir - Dean of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science
Adesh Pratap Singh Kairon - Punjab politician
Shalabh Kumar - Indian American industrialist and a philanthropist, BS Electronics Engineering (1969)
Vanya Mishra - Model and Miss India 2012
Sunil Saigal - Dean, Newark College of Engineering at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), BE Civil (1978).
Steve Sanghi - CEO of Microchip Technology BE Electronics (1975)
K. K. Aggarwal - former Chairman of NBA, MHRD and founder vice chancellor of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University
Vandana Verma - Space Roboticist at NASA
Tim Guleri - American Venture Capitalist.
Anup Chandra Pandey - Former Election Commissioner of India.