PhD Degree Programme Download: PhD Curriculum
Research Focus
VLSI Design, Signal Processing, Machine Learning, Communication Systems and Networks
Admission is based on Eligibility Degree, Qualifying Test and Interview.
Eligibility
- Master’s Degree: The prescribed qualifying examination for PhD in Engineering / Technology is Master’s degree in relevant field.
- Bachelor’s Degree: Under direct admission to PhD, the prescribed qualifying examination is BTech / BE / BArch / BPlan / BDes / BS (Four-year degree program) in relevant discipline within five years of obtaining the qualifying undergraduate degree.
Types of Seats (Admission types)
A. Scholarship Seats
- A1. Candidates with ME / MTech or equivalent degree with / without GATE
- A2. Candidates with BE / BTech or equivalent degree with / without GATE
B. Non-Scholarship Seats
- B1. QIP seats (Full-time)
- B2. Full-time - Sponsored seats from Industry, Educational Institution or other organizations
- B3. Internal Registrants - sponsored Institute or Project staff of NITK (Part-time)
- B4. Full-time Non-sponsored / Non-scholarship
- B5. External Registrants - Sponsored seats from Industry, Educational Institution or other organizations (Part-time)
Written Test and Interview
For PhD admissions under all categories (scholarship and non-scholarship), candidate should qualify the national level written test and a technical interview, both conducted by the
ECE Department in physical mode at NITK. The syllabus for the written test is same as the BTech ECE curriculum.
General Guidelines
- For scholarship seats under A1, candidates with ME /MTech or Equivalent degree as the qualifying degree are eligible with / without GATE score.
- Scholarship seats under A2, are direct admission for candidates with BTech / BE / BArch / BPlan / BDes / BS (Four-year degree program) in relevant discipline within five years of obtaining the qualifying undergraduate degree. Such candidates must possess a qualifying GATE score. However, the candidates who have obtained their undergraduate degree from a centrally funded Institute are exempted from the mandatory requirement of a qualifying GATE score.
- Under non-scholarship seat, students of type B1 are admitted under quality improvement program (QIP), being implemented and monitored by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). Under “QIP”, only sponsored teachers who are permanent faculty members of AICTE recognized degree / diploma level colleges are eligible to apply.
- Under non-scholarship seat, students of type B2 are sponsored and financed by the sponsoring organization. The candidate must have minimum of two years of full-time work experience in the sponsoring organization. Candidate should produce a sponsorship-cum-clearance certificate in the format provided by the NITK along with the application.
- Student of the type B3 are internal registrants who are sponsored institute or project staff of NITK and are required to produce a sponsorship-cum-clearance certificate from the Director, NITK.
- Under non-scholarship seats of type B4 are full-time Non-sponsored students. The number of admissions under this shall be restricted to the number of vacant seats in type A, against the sanctioned intake.
- Under non-scholarship seat, students of type B5 are external registrants, sponsored by Industry / Educational Institutions. The candidate must have minimum of 2 years of full-time work experience in the sponsoring organization / Institution. Candidate should produce a sponsorship-cum- clearance certificate in the format provided by the NITK, along with the application. Candidates are expected to carry-out their research work in their parent organization after fulfilling certain prerequisites in the Institute and may have an additional Research Guide from the sponsoring organization. Residential requirement may be waived for such candidates and they are expected to complete their course work by opting for (pre-approved by the DRPC) certified courses (DRPC: Doctoral Research Programme Committee).
For detailed information on the PhD research admission, refer to the PG and Research admission INFORMATION BULLETIN of the NITK Surathkal.
Research Discipline
VLSI DESIGN: Digital, analog and mixed signal design, Advanced computer architectures, Semiconductor devices and modelling, Nanophotonic devices and sensors, 2-D Materials and devices.
SIGNAL PROCESSING, MACHINE LEARNING: Digital signal and image processing, Computer Vision, Machine learning, Deep learning and applications, Biomedical signal and image processing, Medical imaging, Medical-clinical-pathological data informatics and decision support systems, radiology and microscopic image processing, Remote sensed image analysis and GIS applications, Photogrammetry, Speech-audio-music video-multimedia information processing.
COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING AND NETWORKS: Design, synthesis and performance verification of channel codes for flash memory devices, magnetic storage devices, IPV6 protocol, deep space communications and underwater optical communications, RF and microwave engineering, Antenna systems, Artificial electromagnetic surfaces, Millimeter wave and THz circuits and components, Radar signal processing, 5G networks.
Opportunity to work on sponsored projects
Research students are provided an opportunity to work on the research problems of the sponsored projects. Here are some funded cutting-edge research and development projects but not limited to:
- Speech technologies for Indian languages, National Language Translation Mission - Bhashini.
- Programmable photonic microwave signal generation using on-chip spectral shaper for satellite communication, ISRO.
- Nanophotonic porous-silicon based nanostructures for ultra-fast methanol sensing at room temperature, SERB.
- Development of low-phase noise optoelectronic oscillator with phase compensation approach for radar application, DRDO.
- Design and fabrication of on-chip vertical hybrid plasmonic waveguide based nanograting gas sensor, CSIR.
- Engineering novel label free multi-layer plasmonic nano-biosensor for DNA hybridization, DBT.
- Multi-functional metasurface design for amplitude, polarization and wave-front control for 6G communication systems, SERB.
- Quantitative retrieval and spatiotemporal analysis of soil quality parameters using geospatial datasets and machine learning techniques in Western Plains and Ghat regions of Karnataka, VGST GoK.