The National Institute of Technology – Karnataka (NIT-K), Surathkal inducted the newly-admitted B.Tech students of the 2026–30 batch on its campus on August 19. A total of 1,066 B.Tech students joined this academic year, comprising 834 male students and 232 female students.
Deputy Director of the institute Subhash Yaragal congratulated the incoming batch. “We are very proud of our students who become responsible citizens and industry professionals of tomorrow,” he said and added, “As the institute’s motto goes, Work is Worship.”
Students today have access to world-class facilities in the campus, he said.
Addressing the gathering, institute Director B. Ravi told students that the next four years would bring profound changes in the world, which will shape their careers and life choices. “By 2030, your real competition for jobs may not be from fellow students, but from AI,” he said, noting that Artificial Intelligence already outperforms humans in ‘logical left-brain’ capabilities such as reading, writing, remembering, locating, translating, and monitoring. He urged students to work on their ‘right-brain’ capabilities — curiosity, creativity, intuition, emotion, empathy, ethics, context, judgement, nuances, and non-verbal communication, and combine these with AI to succeed in the future world.
Prof. Ravi highlighted that the institute’s newly redesigned curriculum, developed over the past three years, is built to strengthen such human capabilities. Alongside theory and laboratory courses, students will undertake four categories of life-skill activities — physical (sports), cultural (creative arts), technical (model fabrication), and professional (communication).
He pointed to a stronger institutional focus on innovation and entrepreneurship. Students can pursue a parallel minor programme covering product design, fabrication, and business plan development, supported by NITK’s alumni as mentors, co-founders, and investors.
Prof. Ravi set an aspirational target for the batch: 100 new student startups over the next four years; so that the number of job creators exceed the number of job seekers.
The Deans, Chief Warden and other Institute functionaries delivered presentations on NITK’s academic structure, research opportunities, campus facilities, and student life.
The UG Induction Programme is designed to enable smooth transition for new students into the institute’s academic and cultural environment, laying the foundation for their four years at NIT-K.
A separate programme was organised for more than 1,500 parents who came to the institute. They were given a tour of the institute’s facilities, followed by addresses by the institute’s functionaries. The parents were urged to partner with the institute in the progression of their wards, and to regularly keep in touch with them.
Published - August 19, 2026 04:23 pm IST