Institute of technology

Institute of technology is a designation employed in a wide range of learning institutions awarding different types of degrees and operating often at variable levels of the educational system. It may be a world renowned institution of higher education and advanced engineering and scientific research or professional vocational education, specializing in science, engineering, and technology or different sorts of technical subjects. It may also refer to a secondary education school focused in vocational training.

The term polytechnic comes from the Greek πολύ (polú or polý) meaning "many" and τεχνικός (tekhnikós) meaning "arts". The term institute of technology, for its part, is often abbreviated IT; the term is not to be confused with information technology.

While the terms institute of technology and polytechnic are synonymous, the preference concerning which one is the preferred term varies from country to country.

Institutes of technology versus polytechnics

The institutes of technology and polytechnics have been in existence since at least the 18th century, but became popular after World War II with the expansion of applied science education, associated with the new needs created by industrialization. The world's first institution of technology, the Berg-Schola (today University of Miskolc) was founded by the Court Chamber of Vienna in Selmecbánya Hungary in 1735 in order to train specialists of precious metal and...
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