Before the revolutionary triumph of January 1, 1959, there were two frustrated attempts to create the Industrial Engineering Career in Cuba. The first in 1928, when the tyrant Machado proposed the creation of a Spain-style Industrial Engineering career at the School of Arts and Crafts in Havana, as a way of opposing the revolutionary activities of the University, which rejected this proposal.

Subsequently, in 1942, in the University Statutes approved on that date, it was stated that the careers of Mechanical Engineer, Mining Engineer and Industrial Engineer, Journalism, and others, would be organized by the Faculties to which they are respectively attached, and will be put into force, when the economic resources allow it, by the University Council with the prior agreement of the Economic Council. This initiative did not materialize either.

In mid-1959, after being closed for two and a half years due to the struggle against the Batista dictatorship, the University of Havana began its activities again, and a Mixed Commission of Reform was created, whose work was not satisfactory. For these reasons, the students of the Faculty of Engineering, faced with the reactionary position of the faculty, who refuse the necessary changes that the new situation of the country with its revolution demands, began a movement to produce the necessary changes. This movement led to the dissolution of the Governing Board of the University and on 15 July 1960 a Higher Governing Board was created made up of professors and students, which on 19 July agreed to dissolve the Joint Reform Commission..

En Septiembre​1960, el Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro​José Antonio Echeverría​Central Toledo​Marianao.

The three national universities agreed to ask the government for a law that created a coordinating and rationalizing body for higher education centers, and so on December 31, 1960, the Higher Council of Universities was created, which began the real work of University Reform.

In mid-1961, Professors Engineers José Manuel del Portillo Vázquez, Diosdado Pérez Franco, José Altshuler Gutwert and Edgardo González Alonso, presented a first conception for the creation of an Industrial Engineering career, with the aim of preparing an engineer who would be capable of exploiting the industries nationalized by the revolutionary government, which was felt essential, in addition to the dizzying development of the industrialization plans that the country was beginning to undertake. The graduates of this career were conceived as engineers with knowledge of mechanical-electrical-chemical and industrial-business organization, thus unifying two international conceptions of Industrial Engineering, the European one that conceived them as mechanical-electrical-chemical and the American one that conceived them as mechanical-electrical-chemical. as business and industrial organizers. That is to say, the industrial engineer was conceived as an eminently practical and industrial exploitation engineer.

At that time, the existence of a degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Havana, Mechanical Engineering at the University of Oriente and Industrial Chemical Engineering at this and at the University of Las Villas and Sugar Chemical Engineer at the Faculty of Sugar Agronomic Engineer at the University of Havana were not capable of responding to the new needs raised.

In November of this year, the Faculty of Technology of the University of Havana was created, with six Schools, one of them, the School of Industrial Engineering, with two Departments: Industrial Units and Industrial Organization.

Due to the need to have the first graduates as soon as possible, 2nd year students from existing programs were recruited so that, with a special plan, they could make the planned transition. This made it possible for a group of 19 students to begin the 3rd year of their degree in February 1962.

In January 1962, the University Reform Law confirmed the structure given to the Faculty of Technology and the study plan developed for Industrial Engineering, and indicated that: “the Industrial Engineering career, newly created, is intended to complete, in four years the training of an engineer of the most general type, capable of specializing, during a 5th year, which will be eminently practical, in different branches of technology that are not specifically covered in other careers or in issues related to the organization of production in companies.” This conception never materialized since the fifth year of the degree always had a teaching load and was not entirely a work practice.

In the first years of the Cuban revolution and in the face of the growing and sustained productive base that the industrialization process was creating, there was a need in Cuba for professionals (engineers) to efficiently develop and exploit this developing industry, so in 1962 arose Industrial Engineering as a specialty in the training of engineers.

In his beginnings, this engineer's fundamental objective was to direct the production processes and efficiently exploit and maintain the industrial equipment, organizing the productive and auxiliary processes. Its profile was therefore of exploitation and of a broad nature, which included all the technological aspects of production and even of a constructive nature.

His first graduation specialized in the following areas of work:

• Industrial production and maintenance.

• Automatic controls.

• Business management.

But the Cuban industrial engineer could not remain limited to these fields, so constant work began to be carried out to achieve the development achieved by the United States and other developed capitalist countries in technical-organizational matters in the field of Work Organization and Standardization. Quality Control and Business Administration. Thus the career evolved with a strong influence of the study plans of the North American Industrial Engineer. From its beginning it was carefully projected in such a way that assimilating the technical-organizational aspects of this specialty in the United States, it was based on a Marxist-Leninist conception and interpreted the needs of a socialist and underdeveloped country.

With the acquisition of new professors, the creation of specialized departments was made possible, which it was estimated would fully train the engineers required in the different industries. In this way, the departments of Basic Sciences, Factory Engineering, Automatic Controls and Organization were organized.

The aforementioned call that was made to 2nd year students from other careers to study Industrial Engineering was not based on explaining advantages that students would obtain, but rather based on the interests of the country. This would be a tone of principles that would govern the entire initial development of the career. Hundreds of students directed and guided by their teachers participated in dozens of economic plans prioritized by the revolution. Among these we can mention as examples the following:

Mathematical modeling to determine the convenience or not of Cortinas Rompe winds and the planting structure in coffee and citrus plantations nationwide, organization of livestock systems for the production of milk and industrial dairy products, survey in all factories of the Industry Food to know the technical characteristics of all the equipment, analysis of the productive capacities of the mechanical plants in the country, study and proposal for the organization of the Popular Powers in the country, organization of the harvest and transportation process of the Sugar Agroindustry, automation of sugar mill processes, etc.

We must point out that the participation of Industrial Engineering students in defense or production tasks was always carried out prioritizing them over academic activities or complementing them, since it was clear that if the Revolution was not guaranteed there would be no University nor would there be development. industrial for the country. Today, the position of Industrial Engineering students in a higher phase of struggle characterized by the battle of ideas and the need to preserve the Revolution and its conquests in the face of the continuous threats and possible imminent aggression of North American imperialism is more valid than ever.

The continuous raising of the level of teaching staff and the assimilation of new technologies developing in the world was guaranteed through the participation of our teachers in foreign universities in numerous countries, such as: England, Soviet Union,

Czechoslovakia, France, Spain, Germany, etc.

This aspect was also guaranteed by the numerous participation of internationally recognized professors, such as: Milan Balda from Czechoslovakia, Pal Mihalify from Hungary, Michel from France, Rayse from Canada, etc..

Since its beginnings, Industrial Engineering has stood out in the application of new technologies and has made contributions to the creation of other careers. The first School of the University that began studying computer applications and had second generation equipment for the application of these technologies was Industrial Engineering.

Finalmente el 2 de diciembre​1964, el Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro inaugura en esta Capital, la Ciudad Universitaria José Antonio Echeverría, (CUJAE), ocupando sus instalaciones la Facultad de Tecnología de la Universidad de La Habana (con la carrera de Ingeniería Industrial incluída) y los cursos de nivelación, destinados a capacitar debidamente a los graduados de bachillerato, que aspiraban a estudiar carreras de ingenierías.

In 1970, the Center for Systems Engineering Studies (CEIS) was created, basically based on Industrial Engineers, with the purpose of carrying out training activities and applied research for the accelerated introduction of third generation technologies in various sectors of the country, which continues working with numerous successes achieved.

Automatic Controls had their first phase of development in Industrial Engineering, passing with a certain level of development to Electrical Engineering and subsequently transforming into Automatic Engineering. The specialties of Agroindustrial Sugar and Transportation Engineering began at the School of Industrial Engineering.

The first university professional group dedicated to Management Techniques was born at the School of Industrial Engineering. In 1987, the Center for Studies in Management Techniques (CETDIR) was created, which has made numerous contributions.

The School of Industrial Engineering has been a pioneer in the creation of an infrastructure to support teaching: use of audiovisual media, organization of conference rooms, etc.

In its development process, the Faculty of Industrial Engineering has been tempering its study plans and programs to the modern requirements of the development of science and technology.