The RTU Research Centre for Engineering History (RCEH) started operating on 1 February 2017, but the research of engineering history and preservation of historical evidence began much earlier – already in 1896 the statutes of Riga Polytechnic Institute (RPI) provided for the position of museum custodian.
RPI has had a History Museum since 1967 and can be considered the origin of RCEH. 50 years after the foundation of the museum, the research of the history of engineering sciences at RTU has entered a new quality in accordance with the 21st century – a modern history exhibition hall has been created and the first scientific journal «History of Engineering Sciences and Institutions of Higher Education» has been published.