Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad (IIT Palakkad or IITPkd) is one of the newest and most promising Indian Institutes of Technology, established in 2015 and proposed in the 2014 Union Budget of India in response to Kerala's long-standing demand for an IIT. It is one of India's third-generation IITs and is currently mentored by IIT Madras — India's top-ranked engineering institute — ensuring that its academic programs, research culture, and institutional practices are shaped by the very best in the country. Located in the serene and culturally rich town of Palakkad in Kerala, IIT Palakkad operates from its beautifully designed permanent campus at Kanjikode, situated at the scenic foothills of the Sahyadri mountain range (Western Ghats). The institute initially started functioning in August 2015 from a temporary site at the Ahalia Health Heritage and Knowledge Village, Palakkad. Academic activities on the Nila Campus (part of the permanent campus in Kanjikode) began in February 2019, and by August 2023, IIT Palakkad had fully relocated all its operations to the permanent campus. The permanent campus is divided into two adjacent sections separated by a village road: the Nila Campus (approximately 40 acres) and the sprawling Sahyadri Campus (approximately 504 acres). The institute operates a complimentary shuttle service between these two campuses synchronized with class and lab schedules, ensuring seamless connectivity for students. The Nila Campus houses the academic complex Samgatha, the laboratory complex Manogatha, the Institute Clinic, Amenity Center, Csquare Innovation Lab, and an Air Quality Weather Station. Student hostels Brindavani, Tilang, and Bageshri are located here. The Sahyadri Campus features the Saraswati academic block with a classroom complex capable of seating approximately 2,000 students, the APJ Abdul Kalam Block, Central Fabrication Facility, Heavy Machinery Lab, Research Complex, Infrastructure Testing Lab, the Sangraha block with four precast buildings, and two hostels — Malhar and Saveri — alongside the Kedaram dining hall. The campus is designed with an eco-friendly and sustainable philosophy, incorporating solar power systems, rainwater harvesting, and waste management, aimed at achieving net-zero environmental impact. IIT Palakkad offers programs across 8 disciplines through its departments and interdisciplinary research centres. The academic philosophy here is innovative: faculty members are permitted to hold multiple departmental affiliations, and graduate research programs (MS/PhD) are administered centrally by the Graduate Research Council. This structure promotes freedom and mobility of faculty and students across departments, fostering a deeply interdisciplinary research culture. The Csquare Innovation Lab supports student entrepreneurship and innovation, while research centres like Smart AgriTech Centre for Advanced Research and Development, GSCOE (Global Sanitation Centre of Excellence), and the Central Instrumentation Facility (CIF) provide cutting-edge infrastructure for research. At the undergraduate level, IIT Palakkad offers B.Tech in five specializations: Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Data Science and Engineering. The institute also runs M.Tech programs in six specializations, M.Sc in three science disciplines, MS by Research in engineering, and PhD programs in Engineering, Sciences, and Humanities and Social Sciences. Notably, IIT Palakkad introduced a free 12-week Applied Accelerated Artificial Intelligence course on NPTEL, reflecting its commitment to accessible quality education. The library — named Shreenivas Library — houses over 1,50,000 books, national and international journals, and digital databases, and is open from 8 AM to 1 AM, offering students extensive access hours. The campus has 6 hostels in total (4 at Nila and 2 at Sahyadri) with single, double, and triple occupancy rooms. All hostel rooms are equipped with Wi-Fi or LAN, washing machines, water heaters, and RO drinking water. The mess serves nutritious South Indian and North Indian meals at approximately INR 150 per day, overseen by a student-run Mess Council. Sports infrastructure includes a cricket and athletics ground, football ground, basketball court, volleyball court, indoor badminton courts, table tennis, carrom boards, and two well-equipped gyms. In terms of international linkages, IIT Palakkad has signed study-abroad agreements with Auckland University of Technology (AUT, New Zealand), Nanyang Technological University (NTU, Singapore), and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD, USA), allowing final-year B.Tech students to study one semester abroad. The institute also has national-level MoUs with organisations like DRDO, CSIR, and various industry partners. Placement performance at IIT Palakkad has been improving consistently. In 2024-25, 155 students were placed out of 190 registered (81.58% overall rate). The highest package was INR 52 LPA for CSE and Electrical Engineering, with CSE averaging INR 19.14 LPA (84.78% placement rate) and Civil Engineering achieving a remarkable 94.44% placement rate. In the 2023-24 season, highest package was INR 41.6 LPA, average was INR 15.88 LPA, and median was INR 12 LPA. Six international offers were made. Key recruiters include Adobe India, Accenture Japan, Goldman Sachs, Arista Networks, Tata Elxsi, MathWorks, Salesforce, HCL, Target, Paytm, Havells, Jio, and Maruti Suzuki. In rankings, IIT Palakkad holds the 64th position in Engineering by NIRF 2025, and features in the 101–150 band in the Overall NIRF 2025 category. It has been ranked among the top 100 universities globally in the Times Higher Education (THE) Interdisciplinary Science Rankings 2026 — a remarkable distinction for an institute barely a decade old. With its IIT Madras mentorship, innovative campus design, eco-sustainable infrastructure, and a philosophy of academic freedom and interdisciplinary inquiry, IIT Palakkad is rapidly building a reputation as a high-quality, research-intensive institution in India's southern academic landscape.