Research scholars at NIT-K can now complete Ph.D. in less than five years, says its Director B. Ravi

Director of NITK B. Ravi speaking during 24th Annual Convocation of NITK-Surathkal, in Mangaluru on Saturday. Director of the National Institute of Technology – Karnataka (NIT-K), Surathkal, B. Ravi, said on Saturday that the institute has streamlined its PhD. pathway allowing research scholars to complete the degree in less than five years.Speaking at the 24th convocation of the institute, Prof. Ravi said that with the streamlining of the pathway, a research scholar can complete the Ph.D. in three years now unlike five or six years earlier. “They (research scholars) can pursue product development, and one of the two publications can be a patent,” the Director said.Prof. Ravi said that the NIT-K is revising the curriculum of its postgraduate programmes to align with various industry verticals. “The new postgraduate curriculum will be launched in the next academic year,” he said.The Director said that the institute’s first online M.Tech. programme in Signal Processing and Artificial Intelligence launched this year has received excellent response. Hence the institute is planning to offer online M.Tech programmes in other subjects.Stating that the Science and Technology Entrepreneurs Park (STEP) at the institute facilitates startup incubation, he said that it will soon be augmented with Research, Innovation and Technology Enterprise (RITE) Park for co-locating companies who can access institute’s resources including faculty and facilities.The Director said that the innovation ecosystem at the institute has been strengthened for translating research work into useful products. The Centre for Inter-Disciplinary Studies (CIDS) building will soon house Centre for VLSI Innovation for Systems, Technology and Applications, he said.The Director said that the newly launched Department of Design and Entrepreneurship on the campus enables students to to business planning.Prof. Ravi said that sponsored research projects at NIT-K exceeded ₹20 crore of funding last year. These represent inter-disciplinary fields such as cybersecurity, climate resilience, renewable energy, sustainable infrastructure, healthcare technologies, and smart transportation. Consultancy and testing projects for industry and other organisations have also increased and crossed ₹10 crore last year.“The growing spirit of invention resulted in 56 patents filed and 35 patents granted during the year. NIT-K is increasing its collaborations with other institutes and industry. In the last one year, the institute signed 24 MoUs, taking the total to 140. These MoUs open more doors for faculty and student exchange, collaborative research and development projects, joint events and other activities,” Prof. Ravi said.He said the institute recently completed another round of faculty recruitment, which will take the total number of faculty to about 330.“The campus is vibrant and diverse, comprising about 6,900 students – 4,179 undergraduate, 1,816 postgraduate and 894 PhD. One in four is a woman student. The faculty membners are supported by about 180 regular and more than 200 temporary staff members,” he said. Published - November 14, 2026 07:37 pm IST