National Institute of Technology (NIT) Karnataka, Surathkal Campus Experience

Hi everyone, I’m here to share my experience of NITK where I’m currently doing my master’s and spent my 2 semesters in the last 6-7 months.

I got admitted to NITK, Surathkal through the GATE exam. There are mainly 2 branches for master’s in the CSE department. One is Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) and the other one is Computer Science- Information Security (CS-IS). My branch is CSE. I remember the date when I first stepped into NITK Surathkal. It was 24th August 2023. There was a fine line at the main gate where all the students were submitting the details for the students who were coming for the first time. The counseling procedure happened at LHC (Lecture Hall Complex) which is nearby the central library of the college. I don’t remember the name exactly, sorry for that. All the procedure happened smoothly and I was allowed the hostel Pushpagiri.

So, I will give you an overview of the campus. The campus is quite large which is spread across 300 acres (including all the departments, residences for students and professors, etc). The campus is divided into 2 parts which are separated by the National Highway-66. The beach side is called West Campus and the other side is called East Campus. West Campus consists of the CSE, ECE department, LHC-C, Guest house, beach, etc. and the East Campus has all the remaining departments and all the boys and girls hostels with night canteens, food court, cricket and football ground, sports complex, etc.

On the first day, we all were invited to the seminar hall of the CSE department for an introduction to all the CSE faculties and how the department works for M.Tech. Our HOD was very humble and simple. Then some of our seniors were also invited in case we had some doubts regarding the academics or any other things. Mostly, the doubts were regarding the placements and preparation during M.Tech. With all this, we have started our 1st semester.

In the first semester, there is a lot of pressure especially for M.Tech students because they have to maintain the CGPA as well as prepare for the placements. As Master’s students, we need to do biometrics every day because we receive a stipend from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). Our hostel was in East campus and the department was in West campus, so we have do up down a lot everyday. There were total of 5 subjects and 2 labs that we have to do in this semester. The most interesting subject was Algorithms which was taught by our HOD. As the semester progressed, we came to know about the technical fest of the NITK i.e. Engineer (students here call it as Engi!!). This was our first fest, so it feels special. On the first day, one of the famous youtubers and comedians came. Other days, there was some south indian band. The fest was all technical but it ends with the muscial and dance nights which we enjoyed like every other fest in out Bachelor’s time. You can go and check for the Engineer fest here.

There are a lot of events that happened during the semester, like sports tournament (I don’t remember the names exactly), dance tournaments, beach events, musical nights. So basically there are lot of events you will get oppurutnity to attend. Also, the B.Tech guys are most active in these kind of events, so you just need to relax and enjoy. So, our 1st semester ended and most of students got the good CGPA. The syllabus for 6 months was covered just in 4 months!!

Let’s talk about the weather which is one of the most important factor which I did not considered while choosing the college. Here there will be no winter season. In the months of December and January, literally you will be sweating due to moisture in the air. Now you can guess what could be the scenario of the summer. Also, it will rain here randomly during the entire year, so you need to carry an umbrella all the time.

Moving on to the 2nd semester of the M.Tech, it started in the January month and ended in starting week of April (approximately 3 months). This semester was even more hectic than the previous semester. But this time the number of subjects were less. We have Network Engineering, Topics in Image Processing, Cloud Computing and Distributed Database Management Systems. The most interesting subject was Network Engineering. It was taught by Mohit sir. He is a gem. He will explain each and every point so clearly, that even the student who has no knowledge of Networks previously will understand all the concepts. His style of teaching is very good. He has literally the power to enrich the mind of a student with clear and crisp knowledge. Other subject teachers was also fine as compared to Mohit sir.

Before one month of the end semeter exams, the largest fest of the NITK, Surathkal happened i.e. Incident. It is the second-largest solely student-organised fest in South India. It is an event of 3-4 days during which many comedians, actors, DJ’s, musical bands arrive and give their performance. In Incident 2024, Shilpa Rao visited the campus. Lot of events happen during this period time from 9 AM to 11-12 PM. I will say enjoy this period as much as you can.

Overall the college is good. Infrastructure is well developed. There is no lack of any resources such as labs, equipments which are needed for Civil and Mechanical departments, canteens, supermarket all are available in the campus itself. The only problem you can face is weather specially if you’re a big fan of winters. This is all I wanted to share as of now. Thank you!!