BIT to YTU

by Hla Min

Updated : July 2025

(1) Burma Institute of Technology

• BIT was opened at the Gyogone Campus in 1961.
• The degree offered was B.Sc. (Engg).
• Saya U Yone Moe was the Dean (since BIT was then Faculty of Engineering of Rangoon University).
• U Sein Hla (MIT alumnus) was the Registrar.
• Dr. Aung Soe (C61), Dr. San Tint (EE61) and U Maung Maung Win (M61) joined BIT as Assistant Lecturers.
• Mao Toon Siong (M62), S Arya (M62), Dr. Tin Win (M62), U Aye (M62), U Tin Win (M62), U Hla Myint (M62), U Than Se (Richard, ChE62), U Aung Gyi (Simon, ChE62), Chow Seik Lim (EE62), and Daw Khin Than Nwe (T62) are some of the students who attended the Final Year classes at BIT.
• U Aye (M62) and U Shwe Kyaw (M63, GBNF) represented RU and BIT in Volleyball.

• Coup d’etat occurred on March 2, 1962. The final exam for the Class of 62 was delayed for an hour or so.

Hall Tutors & Warden

• U San Tun (M59) was a Gold Medalist in his class and joined the Faculty. He studied for his Masters at MIT. Upon his return, he taught at BIT and also served as a Hall Tutor.
• U Kyaw Tun (EE, saya of our sayas) was the Hall Warden.
• U Myo Kyi (EE59), U Tun Shwe (EE60), U Maung Maung Win (M61), Dr. San Tint (EE61) and Saya U Shwe Yi (T61) were Hall Tutors.

Social and Reading Club

• BIT had “Social and Reading Club” (သဟာယနဲ့စာဖတ်အသင်း Tha ha ya and Sar Phut Ah Thinn).
• Most halls in Rangoon University have Social and Reading Clubs. For example, Shwe Ku May Hnin described S&RC and the notable members (who became known in the Literary Circle in Burma and beyond) in her book, “Nga Doh Khit Tone Ga Tekkatho”.
  She gave me an autographed copy during her visit to the US.

(2) Rangoon Institute of Technology

• BIT was renamed as Rangoon Institute of Technology (RIT).
• The name change took place in 1964 with the introduction of the New Education System.
• RIT became an autonomous Institute. U Yone Moe became the Rector.
• The degree was renamed as B.E.

First Intakes at RIT in 1964

• ​In November 1964, there were three Intakes.
• 450+ students were admitted to the 1st BE based on the ILA system.
• 320+ students were admitted to the 2nd BE based on the marks from the I.Sc.(A) exam.
• About 200 students were admitted to the 3rd BE based on the marks from the I.Sc.(B) examination. They were joined by a few students who took sabbatical in the last First Year of Engineering (in the old system).

Engineering Departments

In 1964, there were eight engineering departments.

• Architecture (Acting Head : U Tha Tun)
• Chemical (Head : U Khin Aung Kyi)
• Civil (Acting Head : U Min Wun)
• Electrical (Head : U Sein Hlaing)
• Mechanical (Acting Head : U Ba Than)
• Metallurgy (Head : U Thit)
• Mining (Head : U Soon Sein)
• Textile (Head : U Maung Maung Than)

Supporting Departments

Several departments were placed in-house.

• English (Head : Daw Yin Yin Mya)
• Burmese (Head : U Tein Kyi)
• Maths (Head : U Sein Shan)
• Physics (Head : Daw Nyein)
• Chemistry (Head : U Kyaw Tun)

There were several Visiting Lecturers (e.g. for Sociology, Industrial Management, Electrical Inspection) and Part-time Lecturers.

(3) What’s in a name?

• We are not sure if “BIT Rangoon” was considered as an alternative to RIT.
• Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) has several campuses. The five oldest IIT campuses and their establishment dates are:
  (a) IIT Kharagpur IITKGP 1951
  (b) IIT Bombay IITB 1958
  (c) IIT Kanpur IITK 1959
  (d) IIT Madras IITM 1959
  (e) IIT Delhi IITD 1963 [founded in 1961]
• Many IIT graduates continue their studies at the prestigious universities in the USA.

• Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) presumably was designed as a school for South East Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO).

• Some states (e.g Massachusetts, Illinois, California) in USA are known for their Institutes of Technology.
• Dr. Freddie Ba Hli received his Sc.D. in EE from MIT. He was an informal adviser to Dr. Aung Gyi and U Min Wun, who were among the first three engineering undergraduates to be chosen under the “Twining Program” initiated by U Ba Hli, first native Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Rangoon University.

(4) Further Name Changes

RIT was renamed as YIT (Yangon Institute of Technology) and later as YTU (Yangon Technological University).

(5) Placeholder

In 1999, I started the “RIT Alumni International Newsletter” partly because my alma mater was called RIT during our days, but I have mentioned repeatedly that “RIT” is simply a placeholder for all the engineering schools in Burma/Myanmar that precede RIT and succeed RIT.

(6) Highlights and Lowlights

Adhamma Era

Our alma mater had its ups and downs. The classes were forced to close citing “disturbances”. There were no convocations for the years 1988 to 1991. It was branded as “Tha Bone Kyaung သူပုန်ကျောင်း” during the “Adhamma Era”. The classes were relocated to far away places, and “Swel Daw Bins” were decimated. The A to G Halls were transformed into make-shift quarters. Wall clocks stopped. Bushes sprang up. A video of that time brought tears and anger, and the notion that “we might not live to see our alma mater in its former glory for decades to come”.

Pwint Linn Era

With the dawn of the some-what “Pwint Linn Era”, our alma mater rose from the ashes. Per request from H.E. U Aye Myint (EP 72), the alumni — young and old, near and far — provided physical, monetary, and spiritual support to help the alma mater in every way possible.

Home Coming

The first true “Home Coming” took place in December 2012. There were tears of joy.

3000 copies of the Swel Daw Yeik Magazine were sold out in a couple of days.

Limited reprints of the 23 RIT Annual Magazines were also sold out.

Autographed copies of “Selected RIT Cartoons” were also sold out.

Some copies of “History of University Engineering Education in Burma/Myanmar” were donated to RU Central Library and YTU Library.

RUESU

Six Annual Magazines published by RUESU (Rangoon University Engineering Student Union). Saya U Moe Aung learned and refined his publication skills as an editor/publisher of the magazine.

Ban by BSPP

The student unions and all professional organizations were banned following the coup d’eat in March 1962. Censorship increased with subsequent regimes.

Alumni Association

We now have an official alumni association. It sponsored the Seventh RIT Grand Reunion and SPZP in 2016.

Shwe YaDu

Shwe YaDu Celebrations were held in 2014. Fifty Swel Daw Bins were planted and maintained. The sayas and alumni donated for the Shwe YaDu Lann, Shwe YaDu benches and much more.

SPZP

The world wide SPZP scheduled for December 2020 was cancelled due to the pandemic.

Library

YTU Library Modernization Project was launched to satisfy a requirement for the accreditation of YTU. There were hiccups in the design and implementation, but thanks to the generous supporters — young and old, far and near — the first phase of the project was completed recently. Students will be provided access to the new YTU Library.

Acknowledgement

Thanks to the Ko Htu’s and Ko Hta’s ကိုယ်ထူ ကိုယ်ထ our alma mater မိခင်ကျောင်းတော်ကြီး is on track to achieving its former glory.

Kudos to the sayas and alums for keeping the RIT (Swel Daw Yeik စွယ်တော်ရိပ်) Spirit alive and well.