National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK), also known as NITK Surathkal, formerly known as Karnataka Regional Engineering College (KREC), is a public technical university at Surathkal, Mangalore. It was founded in 1960 as KREC while today, it is one of the 31 National Institutes of Technology in India and is recognised as an Institute of National Importance by the Government of India. It has a suburban campus, in close proximity to the Arabian Sea. National Highway 66 runs through the campus and serves as the major mode of access. History The foundation stone for Karnataka Regional Engineering College (KREC) was laid on 6 August 1960, at Surathkal. It was made possible through the efforts of U. Srinivas Mallya and V. S. Kudva and the area is now called Srinivasnagar in his honour. KREC began with three under-graduate courses in engineering: Mechanical, Electrical, and Civil, with affiliation to the University of Mysore. 1965 saw the beginning of under-graduate courses in Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering. In 1966, the college started its first postgraduate course in Marine Structures and Industrial Structures, followed by post-graduate courses in Industrial Electronics (1969), Heat Power (1971), Hydraulics and Water Resources (1971), Chemical Plant Design Engineering (1971) and Process Metallurgy (1972). More under-graduate engineering courses were added later: Electronics and Communication Engineering (1971), Mining Engineering (1984), Computer Engineering (1986), Information Technology Engineering (2000) and Artificial Intelligence Engineering (2021). In 1980, KREC came under the affiliation of Mangalore University, and the five-year under-graduate courses were shortened to four-years. On 26 June 2002, it was elevated to the status of a National Institute of Technology and has been called NIT Karnataka (NITK) ever since. It is now a Deemed University. NITK celebrated its 50th Institute Foundation day on 6 August 2009. The year-long Golden Jubilee celebrations were inaugurated on 10 August 2009. Campus The campus is located on National Highway 66 (formerly National Highway 17), by the shores of Arabian Sea. It has a private beach, including a lighthouse. Almost all the students reside on-campus, as do most of the staff. Staff quarters consist of the Director's quarters, Professors & Assistant Professors quarters, Lecturers & Assistant Lecturers quarters, Warden quarters, bachelors quarters and non-teaching staff colony. There are more than 200 residences on campus including independent houses and flats. The campus includes a Cooperative Society and a marketing center. Both State Bank of India and Canara Bank have branches in