The Bandung Institute of Technology (Indonesian: Institut Teknologi Bandung, abbreviated as ITB) is a national research university located in Bandung, Indonesia. It has produced many notable leaders in science, engineering, politics, business, academia, and culture.

History

Bandung Institute of Technology traces its origin to the Technische Hoogeschool te Bandoeng (THB) which was founded during the centuries-old Dutch colonialism of Indonesia. The project was founded by Karel Albert Rudolf Bosscha, a German-Dutch entrepreneur and philanthropist. His proposal was later approved by the colonial government to meet increasing demand of technical know-how in the colony.

The school building was designed in 1918 by a Dutch architect named Henri Maclaine Pont by blending Indonesian vernacular architecture with modern elements. The school first opened its doors on 3 July 1920. By then, it only had one active department, the Faculty of Technical Science and one academic major, The Department of Road and Water Resources Engineering.

During the 1940s, the university rapidly changed hands and experienced various renamings.

During the Japanese occupation in the Second World War and ensuing years, the school was renamed as the Industrial University by the Japanese administration. This name was short-lived as a few years later, the Japanese surrender paved the way for Indonesia's declaration of independence and the campus was renamed as Technical High School by the newly-declared republic.

A year later, the Dutch colonial government would return to re-occupy Indonesia and took re-directorship of the campus. It was renamed again as Emergency University of Dutch East Indies as the Indonesian National Revolution raged across the colony. It was during this time that the campus would begin operating the Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Science under the University of Indonesia.

On 2 March 1959, the two faculties of University of Indonesia in Bandung was declared a separate academic entity. Bandung Institute of Technology was founded for higher learning in natural sciences, technologies, and fine arts.

In 2020, Reini Djuhraeni Wirahadikusumah was appointed as rector of the university until 2025 replacing Kadarsah Suryadi. She became the first women rector in the campus 60 years after the inauguration of the campus by President Sukarno, in 1959.

Campuses

The ITB main campus, along with its other campuses, covers a total area of about 770,000 square metres.

Ganesha Campus

The original and main campus in Ganesha has a wide range of facilities. Apart from lecture classes and laboratories, the campus boasts an art gallery, a dedicated sports centre, central library, medical clinic and extracurricular areas.

Jatinangor Campus

Due to the increasing number of students, the decision was made to develop another campus elsewhere. The second campus in Jatinangor served as an integral part of the university and is on the same standing as the Ganesha campus. All Freshmen will have their Joint Preparatory Stage (Tahap Persiapan Bersama - TPB) in Jatinangor Campus starting from August 2023.

Cirebon Campus

ITB plans to build a brand-new campus in Cirebon so as to anticipate future research and educational endeavors. This will be the university's commitment in further developing human resources of Indonesia.

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  ITB Library in 2007
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  The East Hall of Tecnische Hogeschool in Bandung in 1929
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  ITB
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  West Hall of ITB
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  East Hall of ITB
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  Tunnel of ITB

Rankings and Reputation

University rankings
Global – Overall
ARWU World	n/a (2022)
QS World	281 (2024)
QS Employability	301-500 (2022)
THE World	1201-1500 (2023)
Regional – Overall
QS Asia	63 (2023)
THE Asia	351-400 (2023)

ITB was ranked 281st worldwide in the 2024 QS World University Rankings, and ranked 60th in QS Asian University Rankings 2024. ITB has also been ranked 1201–1500 worldwide by THE World University Ranking 2023 and 351-400th in the THE Asia University Rankings 2023.

Domestically, the university is ranked 2nd by QS World University Rankings and ranked 3rd by Times Higher Education. ITB is universally and consistently placed among the top three elite universities in the country, having the highest score threshold in Indonesia's national state university entrance test in 2009. Out of the 422,159 candidates who applied, only 2,000 are successfully admitted. To this day, engineering faculties in ITB is nationally accepted as the finest in the country and as such, they are among the toughest to be admitted into.

Apart from STEM-based faculties, the campus also opened a business school called the School of Business and Management (SBM). SBM is considered as the most prestigious and elite business school in Indonesia and regarded as the best business school in Indonesia by eduniversal ranking, global brand magazine and SWA Magazine, the most popular business magazine in Indonesia.

Research

According to the rector of ITB, ITB had built an eight-storey mining research centre for both national and international research such as research on oil reservoirs, production optimisation, geological exploitation and coal exploitation development worth Rp110 billion ($12.1 million).

Faculties and programs

Consisting of 12 faculties and schools, ITB is not only focused on the fields of STEM but also arts and business management which have been recognized at national and international levels.

Natural Sciences Cluster

Pharmacy Cluster

School of Pharmacy (SP) Indonesian: Sekolah Farmasi (SF) Pharmaceutical Sciences Clinical Pharmacy

Engineering Cluster

Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities Cluster

Faculty of Art and Design (FAD)

FSRD ITB is a higher education institution for Indonesian undergraduate and graduate visual art and design studies. The academic aim of the FSRD ITB is to deliver higher-quality education, research, and community services in all areas of visual art and design. In 2022, Art and Design program in the FSRD ITB was one of the QS World's top 20 Art & Design schools in the Asia region.

Student loan

In January 2024, ITB was reported encouraging their students to pay tuition using loan. This was revealed after an account on Twitter uploaded a photo of a pamphlet containing information on monthly tuition installments managed by a third party. Head of Public Relations ITB, Naomi Haswanto, confirmed that ITB uses financial institutions to help student pay for their tuition and added that the collaboration was carried out using financial institutions that had permission from the Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (literally Financial Services Authority; OJK). She also added that the collaboration for paying tuition fees via installments has been implemented with the Danacita platform since August 2023 and stated that several other universities have also provided the option of paying via installments. Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology released a statement and asked the rector of ITB, Reini Wirahadikusumah, to search for a good funding scheme solution after the payment of tuition using an online loan platform went viral and as a mission to provide high quality and inclusive education. OJK asked for an explanation from Danacita as a platform that offers payment of tuition fees in online loan installments.

On 29 January, hundreds of students marched from the ITB Ganesha campus to the rectorate building as a form of protest against the policy of paying tuition fees using online loan installments. They protested by carrying a number of posters against campus policies which were considered burdensome with the offer of payment via online installments. A number of students then tried to negotiate to meet the ITB rector but it ended in a commotion because they were unable to get the rector to come out and meet the crowd to discuss the problem. Chairman of the KM ITB Cabinet, Muhammad Yogi Syahputra, asked the campus to remove the option of paying via installments which is said to reach Rp. 12,500,000 (USD 790) and demanded to provide a guarantee so that students who had payment arrears could fill out study plan forms which were limited until 30 January. Former Governor of West Java, Ridwan Kamil, said that ITB intentions were good in providing payments using the installment scheme because not all students have the ability to overcome the financial problems they experience. He added that as much as possible, the payment option should not be a burden on students.

Notable people and alumni

ITB has produced more than 120,000 alumni who play a significant role in nation-building, among others are: