The university was founded August 19, 1950 as the Novosibirsk Electrotechnical Institute. In 1992 it was renamed into Novosibirsk State Technical University (NSTU).

Since 2015 the full name of the educational institution - the Federal State Educational Institution of Higher Education "Novosibirsk State Technical University."

Currently NSTU is one of the leading educational centers of the region: over 14 000 students enrolled at the university; It employs more than 1500 teachers; providing training in 95 directions (undergraduate and master) and 5 specialties of higher education -Scientific, technical, economic and humanitarian, And also in 8 specialties and directions of secondary professional education.

The university operates 17 faculties and institutes:

Faculty of automation and computer engineering (AVTF)
Faculty of aircraft (FLA),
Mechanical Engineering Department (TFM)
Faculty of Mechatronics and Automation (PMA)
Ppikladnoy Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science (FPMI)
Faculty of Radio Engineering and Electronics (RAF)
Physics-Technical Faculty (FTF)
Faculty of Energy (FAN)
Faculty of Business (FB),
Humanitarian Faculty of Education (CSF)
Legal Department (LF),
Institute of Distance Education,
the only region in the Institute of Social Technologies and rehabilitation,
Continuing education institutions,
Institute of professional development of teachers;
Faculty of Pre-University Education
People Faculty - for persons of retirement age
Center remote pre-university education.

Since 2005, the NSTU at the Institute of distance learning is implemented combined (part-distance) form of education.

The University is a participant in the experiment on introduction of the credit system in the framework of the Bologna process.

International activity

Special attention is paid to international cooperation at the university.

NSTU is a participant of  103 agreements on cooperation in the field of science, education and culture with partner universities in 28 countries and participates in international projects and programs, such as TEMPUS, ERASMUS MUNDUS.

The University has 12 professors from China, Germany, USA and Japan. University opens Center for Russian Language and Culture University in Xi'an (Xi'an, China) and the Tajik Technical University. Acad. Osimi (Dushanbe, Tajikistan). The university centers and offices are open: DAAD, Confucius Institute, German and French centers, Center for Eastern cultures. Students have the opportunity to learn English, German, French, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Polish and Italian.

NSTU implementing joint educational programs, academic mobility program included training and network forms of interaction. NSTU - one of the basic universities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the direction of "Energy". Joint educational programs are implemented with universities in the UK, Italy, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Poland, Finland, the Czech Republic, the following areas: electrical technology, electricity, chemical engineering, global innovation management, mechatronic systems and equipment, materials.

Traditional international forums, conferences, seminars and schools in NSTU dedicated Strategic Technology (IFOST), actual problems of electronic instrument making, micro-nanotechnology and electronic devices (EDM), optical lasers, laser technology issues and new materials.

The NSTU is trained 2.1 thousand. Foreign students from 32 countries. The faculty of pre-university education conducts pre-university training of foreign citizens. All foreign nationals who wish to receive a state certificate to the knowledge of the Russian language the appropriate level may be tested in the Regional Center for Testing of foreign citizens in the Russian language. NSTU students receive the Diploma Supplement of the European standard.