One of my friends studying at NIT Surathkal has provided the information about the college timings. As he is a BTech 1st year student he is only able to share his particular timetable. Though there might not be vast differences.

• National Institute of Technology Surathkal 1st year B.Tech class starts at 8 AM-5 PM.
• There is a one-hour lunch break from 12 noon to 1 PM
• NIT Surathkal easily gets two-three free hours during their class, depending on the schedule. 
• Free lectures also depend on class shifts and faculty mood. 
• For staff members, the timings are from 9 AM-1 PM and 2 PM-5:30 PM. 
• The timings for the library are usually extended till nights but it changes as per the demand of students. 
• Labs are usually scheduled from 2 PM-5 PM.

Therefore, the National Institute of Technology Surathkal schedule is not that hectic. Students easily manage their own time table between the lectures.

For a candidate with a GATE score of 611 and a rank of 5900, admission in design or thermal mechanics at NIT Surathkal is not possible in general. But, there are chances of admission of such a candidate in the present years as most candidates with similar ranks are either from IITs or NITs. 

The points below give some insights regarding the scenario of admission.

• A candidate with a rank of 5900 has some chances of admission in design or thermal mechanics but in the spot counseling rounds.
• There are usually zero to very few placements in such departments at all institutes in India, whether it is an IIT, NIT, or any private college. The GATE coaching centers mislead students by telling them about fake placement records and so, students jump into its preparation. There are very few jobs in PSUs for such subjects, which is an added disadvantage.
• For students interested in applied mechanics or design mechanics, BARC is a better option than M.Tech. But, there are instances of injustice in interviews and very little selection of candidates, which leads to excessive competition.

These are some key highlights regarding the admission in design/thermal/applied mechanics at institutes like NIT Surathkal and MNNIT Allahabad and the outcome of such courses.

IT department is nothing less than just excellent. The faculty here is immensely experienced and talented with Ph.D. degrees from IISC Bangalore or some reputed foreign institute. 

• The heads of the department are well established and experienced in the field of Information Technology.
• A number of passed-out students from NIT Surathkal have gone abroad for future studies from the top international universities such as MIT, Stanford University, Yale University to name a few.
• The placement statistics of 2019 are a sight to the eyes! The highest package offered was 42 LPA and the company was Deshaw based in Hyderabad.
• Their claim of 100% placements is absolutely correct in every batch that passes out. Roughly 280 companies visited the campus recruitment with the average package being 18 LPA. 
• Some of the top recruiters here are Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Uber, Sprinkler, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan.

23 students were also selected from NIT Surathkal for the google summer of code (GSOC) and it also scored 13th rank in the ICPC Asia contest. One of the most successful startups is PRACTO, which is a venture of NIT Surathkal alumini.

There are several reasons supporting the cause that NIT Trichy is better than NIT Surathkal, with the fact that there are unemployed M.Tech graduates even from NIT Surathkal. The table below gives a brief overview of the institutes.

One of my friends got ousted from M.Tech in NIT Surathkal due to poor marks in the beginning semester. In the next year, he got into NIT Trichy and successfully secured a PSU job in placement. On the other hand, there were several students from that batch of NIT Surathkal who remained unemployed.

In the batch of 2012-14, about 29 students from M.Tech were unplaced in NIT Surathkal. Even the training and placement cell and the department did not care about the failure of so many students.

There are students from NIT Surathkal who are still struggling with odd jobs in hand, and some are even unable to settle in life.

So, if you have to choose between NIT Surathkal and NIT Trichy, prefer NIT Trichy. You will get better placement and opportunities at NIT Trichy as compared to NIT Surathkal.

Considering different factors like placements, activities, infrastructure, Electrical and Electronics Engineering at NIT Surathkal will be a better option. The table below gives a brief level of comparison among ECE at RVCE and EE at NIT Surathkal.

Key Highlights - NIT Surathkal: 

• NIT Surathkal, being one of the top NITs, is a premier institute in India. In NITs, infrastructure and placements are always top-notch and even compared to IITs sometimes.
• The placement in Electrical and Electronics Engineering at NIT Surathkal is excellent. There are many core companies, IT-based companies, and even some PSUs coming for placement.
• The campus of NIT Surathkal has a serene environment, close to the shore, which is worth living for four years.
• In NITs, there is a lot of involvement in extracurricular activities and several technical and cultural events are organized inside the campus.

Considering the above points, it is evident that EE at NIT Surathkal is the better choice.

NIT Surathkal and NIT Calicut both are considered among the top NITs. According to the overall NIRF Ranking NIT Surathkal has been better than NIT Calicut. Having some friends studying in both these institutes, I can say that It totally depends on the aspect you are looking for. 

• Both of them are NIT and hence the degree value will be the same. 
• NIT Calicut has the better CSE department out of the two. 
• If you look at placement records, almost 95% of the students from NIT Calicut get placed with the best companies. 
• While almost 85% of students get placed in NIT Surathkal.
• If looking at the academic and placement criteria then NIT Calicut is better than NIT Surathkal. 
• The faculties are almost the same in both the institutes. 

In terms of education and placement students prefer to go to NIT Calicut and hence it would be the better option of the two.