INTRODUCTION

The College of Engineering Trivandrum (CET), established in 1939, is the first engineering college in the erstwhile Travancore State. For over eight decades, it has stood as the most sought-after and prestigious engineering institution in Kerala — a place where generations of engineers, architects, managers, and innovators have been shaped and sent out to serve the world. Located in Sreekariyam, Thiruvananthapuram, on a sprawling 80-acre green campus, CET is not merely an institution — it is a landmark, a legacy, and a living culture.

Today, the college comprises eight full-fledged departments, offering nine undergraduate programmes, 29 postgraduate programmes, MBA, MCA, and doctoral programmes under KTU. The institution currently hosts around 5000 students, supported by 300 faculty members and 300 technical and ministerial staff.

LEGACY AND HISTORY

CET began as a constituent college of Travancore University with an initial intake of 21 students each in Degree and Diploma programmes in Civil, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. Those three founding departments — Civil, Mechanical, and Electrical — remain active to this day, each having grown into large, research-active departments with hundreds of students and alumni spread across the world.

In 1960, the college was shifted to its present 80-acre campus. The move to Sreekariyam gave CET the space and infrastructure to expand dramatically — new departments were established, new programmes were introduced, and the campus evolved into one of the most vibrant academic communities in South India.

Architecture education began at CET in 1964, making the Department of Architecture and Planning the pioneer of architectural education in Kerala. The ECE and AEI programmes also trace their roots to 1964–65. The Computer Science department followed as computing emerged as a critical discipline, and CET was among the first institutions in the region to offer it at the undergraduate level.

Over the decades, CET has built an alumni network that spans continents — from IAS officers and senior government engineers to CEOs of multinational companies, IIT and IIM professors, ISRO scientists, and entrepreneurs. The CET Alumni Association (CETAA) maintains strong ties with the institution, contributing to its development and supporting current students through mentoring and placement networks.

Since its inception, CET has upheld its status as one of India's premier engineering institutions. In 2024, CET celebrated 85 years of excellence through a series of events, lectures, and alumni gatherings that underscored how deeply the institution is woven into the fabric of Kerala's intellectual and professional history.

VISION AND MISSION

These are not aspirational statements alone — they are reflected daily in how the institution functions: in the research published by its faculty, the companies that recruit from its campus, the patents filed by its students and professors, and the social outreach programmes its students run for tribal communities and school children across Thiruvananthapuram.

VALUES AND QUALITY POLICY

The values that underpin daily life at CET include academic rigour, ethical conduct, social responsibility, innovation, and inclusive excellence. The institution maintains an Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC-CET) that continuously monitors and improves quality across teaching, research, and administration. A dedicated Women Cell provides 24x7 support for women students, and a Student Counsellor is available for mental health and personal guidance. An Anti-Ragging Cell and a Grievance Redressal mechanism ensure that the campus remains safe, respectful, and equitable for all.

AFFILIATIONS AND GOVERNANCE

CET is owned by the Government of Kerala, administered by the Department of Technical Education, and affiliated to APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU). KTU, headquartered in Thiruvananthapuram, is the parent university for all engineering and technology institutions in Kerala. CET is one of its most prominent constituent colleges and has historically produced a disproportionately large share of KTU's university rank holders.

The college is also approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the national regulatory body for technical education in India. It is recognised as a QIP (Quality Improvement Programme) centre by AICTE, which means it can support faculty from other institutions in pursuing PhD degrees at CET — a recognition accorded only to institutions with proven research capacity. Multiple departments have this QIP recognition, including Civil, Electrical, ECE, and Mechanical Engineering.

The B.Arch programme is conducted as per the norms of the Council of Architecture (CoA), New Delhi, the statutory body governing architecture education in India. The M.Planning programme is recognised by the Institute of Town Planners, India (ITPI).

ACCREDITATIONS AND RANKINGS

ACADEMIC STRUCTURE AND WORKING

CET operates under a structured semester system aligned with KTU norms. The academic year typically runs from July to April, with two semesters of approximately 16 weeks each. Teaching is supplemented by labs, tutorials, mini-projects, seminars, and a mandatory industrial internship. The final year of every B.Tech programme is anchored by a major project that students carry out either within the institution or at external organisations and research labs.

The college is led by a Principal, supported by five Deans — for UG Studies, PG Studies, Research, Student Affairs, and Corporate and International Relations. Each department is headed by a Head of Department (HoD). The college maintains active committees for student welfare, anti-ragging, parent-teacher association, women's cell, internal quality assurance, and industry-institute interaction.

Faculty are encouraged to pursue sponsored research, consultancy, and international collaborations. The college has an Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Cell that helps faculty and students file patents. The Centre for Continuing Education (CCE) and the Centre for Industrial Training, Consultancy and Sponsored Research (ITC&SR) facilitate industry collaboration. A Technical Documentation Centre and a full-fledged Technical Library support academic and research needs.

The CET Learning Management System (LMS) at epaatashala.cet.ac.in and the College Management System (CMS) at cet.etlab.in digitise academic records, timetables, and internal assessment. These platforms reflect CET's ongoing investment in digital infrastructure for education.

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION INFRASTRUCTURE

CET has built an impressive research ecosystem that sets it apart from most state engineering colleges:

PLACEMENTS

CET's placement record is one of the strongest among government engineering colleges in Kerala. The Career Guidance and Placement Unit (CGPU) coordinates placements across all departments and maintains active relations with a wide range of companies from core engineering to IT, consulting, finance, and management.

Recruiters from across sectors visit the campus annually. From the Mechanical Engineering department alone, companies like L&T, Caterpillar, Renault Nissan, Ashok Leyland, JSW Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Daimler Truck Innovation Center, Royal Enfield, MRF, and Schneider Electric recruit regularly. The Mechanical department reports an average package of ₹6 LPA and a highest package of ₹14 LPA.

The CSE and ECE departments attract top-tier technology companies — including Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Goldman Sachs, Tata Elxsi, UST, Infosys, Wipro, TCS, Cognizant, and a growing number of product startups. Top packages in recent batches from the CSE department have reached well above ₹20 LPA.

Graduates from all departments also pursue higher studies at premier institutions — qualifying GATE for M.Tech at IITs and NITs, cracking CAT for MBA at IIMs, securing international admissions with strong GRE scores, and joining prestigious research programmes globally. The breadth of career paths that CET graduates pursue — from ISRO and DRDO to Silicon Valley startups — is a testament to the quality and versatility of a CET education.

CLUBS AND TECHNICAL ORGANISATIONS

CET has one of the richest club cultures among engineering colleges in Kerala. The campus is home to dozens of active student organisations spanning technology, motorsport, aerospace, environment, music, and social service.

FESTS AND CULTURAL EVENTS

CET's festival calendar fills the academic year with energy, creativity, and nationwide competition, headlined by the flagship College Union festivals known as THE THREE Ds & SARGAM:

Department Technical Symposia & Fests by Department Associations

FACILITIES AND CAMPUS LIFE

The 80-acre CET campus is lush, green, and walkable — a rare luxury in Thiruvananthapuram city. The campus hosts academic blocks, department buildings, research blocks, laboratories, workshops, seminar halls, a central computing facility, a well-stocked technical library, and a canteen that is as much a social institution as a food facility.

Hostel facilities are available for both men and women students. The campus also has sports facilities including grounds for football, cricket, basketball, volleyball, and badminton. CET students regularly represent the college in KTU's inter-zone and inter-collegiate sports tournaments, and have won championships in badminton, volleyball, and cricket in recent years.

The Technical Library houses thousands of books, journals, and e-resources across all engineering and management disciplines. Access to e-journals through platforms like Knimbus provides students and researchers with global academic literature at their fingertips.

The Central Computing Facility (CCF) provides computing infrastructure to departments that need shared high-performance computing resources. The HPC facility goes further, offering GPU-based computing power for machine learning and simulation research.

IN SUMMARY

College of Engineering Trivandrum is more than a place of learning — it is a community, a culture, and a legacy. From 21 students in three disciplines in 1939 to 5000 students in 31 programmes today, from a rented building in Thiruvananthapuram city to an 80-acre green campus, from producing engineers for Travancore State to sending graduates to ISRO, Silicon Valley, IITs, and boardrooms around the world — CET's journey is extraordinary.

What makes CET special is not any single ranking or accreditation but the totality of the experience it offers: rigorous academics, exceptional faculty, a rich club and festival culture, strong placements, deep research infrastructure, and an alumni legacy that continues to open doors for every new generation of students who walk through its gates.

For anyone entering CET, one truth holds across all departments and all years: the opportunities are vast, the culture is alive, and the legacy is yours to carry forward.

College of Engineering Trivandrum

Sreekariyam, Thiruvananthapuram – 695 016, Kerala

Phone: 0471 2998310  |  Email: principal@cet.ac.in  |  Website: www.cet.ac.in