1. General Campus Overview

• Location & Size

  • 50‑acre coastal campus at Valiamala, near Veli Lake and the Arabian Sea

  • Lush tropical setting, gently sloping terrain, well‑drained laterite soil

• Establishment

  • Founded in 2007 by the Indian Department of Space

  • Purpose‑built as India’s first space‑science and engineering university

• Master Plan

  • Academic zone, residential zone, sports zone, guest & faculty housing

  • Internal ring road with landscaped medians and rainwater harvesting ponds

2. Academic Infrastructure

• Departments & Schools

  • Space Engineering, Physical Sciences, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Humanities & Social Sciences

• Lecture Theatres & Classrooms

  • 20+ smart classrooms with multimedia projectors and Wi‑Fi

  • Tiered auditoria seating 200–500 students, acoustically treated

• Central Library

  • Over 50,000 volumes; national & international journal subscriptions

  • Digital library with e‑resources: IEEE, ASME, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink

  • 100‑seat reading hall, 24×7 access for research scholars

• Computer Centre

  • High‑performance computing cluster (200+ cores) for simulation & modeling

  • Campus‑wide Wi‑Fi (eduroam), 1 Gbps fibre backbone

3. Research & Development Facilities

• Space Systems Lab

  • Satellite subsystem test benches (ADCS, power, thermal)

  • Clean‑room (Class 10,000) for small satellite integration

• Propulsion & Combustion Lab

  • Solid, liquid & hybrid rocket motor test stand

  • High‑speed schlieren imaging, thrust measurement rigs

• Remote Sensing & GIS Lab

  • Satellite image processing, SAR, LiDAR workstations

• Astrophysics & Space Instrumentation

  • Optical telescope (0.5 m) on‑campus for student training

  • Cryogenic chambers for detector testing

• Research Centres

  • Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (in partnership with ISRO)

  • Centre for Space Technology Applications

4. Student Housing & Dining

• Hostels

  • 6 boys’ hostels, 3 girls’ hostels; total capacity ~1,600 students

  • Air‑conditioned common rooms, study lounges, indoor game zones

• Dining

  • Central mess serving South Indian, North Indian, and continental menus

  • 3 satellite cafeterias; 24×7 snack kiosks

  • Separate vegetarian & non‑vegetarian kitchens; hygienic stainless‑steel cookware

5. Sports & Recreation

• Outdoor Facilities

  • 400 m athletics track, football/cricket ground, hockey turf

  • Basketball, tennis, volleyball, badminton courts

• Indoor Complex

  • Gymnasium with weightlifting, cardio, aerobics studio

  • Indoor badminton, table‑tennis, carrom & chess

• Adventure & Wellness

  • Trekking trails around Veli Lake

  • Yoga studio, student counseling & health center with full‑time medical officer

6. Student Life & Clubs

• Technical Clubs

  • Rocketry Club (designs high‑powered amateur rockets)

  • Satellite Development Club (CubeSat projects)

  • Robotics & Automation Club

• Cultural & Social

  • “Spandan” cultural fest; “TechTrishna” technical symposium

  • Photography, Music, Drama, Dance (classical & western) societies

• Entrepreneurship & Innovation

  • IIST Start‑up Incubation Cell (seed funding, mentorship)

  • Annual Hackathon & Ideation Challenges

7. Sustainability & Green Campus

• Water Management

  • Rainwater harvesting trenches; dual‑tank STP for reuse in gardening

• Energy

  • 500 kW rooftop solar panels; smart meters across campus

• Green Cover

  • Over 3,000 native trees (mango, jackfruit, coconut, medicinal species)

  • Botanical walk and butterfly garden

8. Connectivity & Transport

• On‑Campus

  • Shuttle buses linking hostels, academic blocks, labs, and Veli bus stop

• Off‑Campus

  • 10 km to Thiruvananthapuram downtown; 15 km to airport; 12 km to railway station

  • Public KSRTC buses, app‑based taxis, bicycle‑sharing stations

9. Partnerships & Collaborations

• ISRO

  • Joint projects, internships, faculty exchange, access to ISRO facilities

• International

  • MoUs with universities in USA (MIT, Caltech), Europe (TU Dresden), and Japan (ISAS)

• Industry

  • Airbus, Boeing, DRDO, BEL, L&T Technology Services for sponsored research

10. Key Metrics & Achievements

• Rankings

  • Consistently in top 10 engineering institutes (NIRF) for research output & innovation

• Placements

  • 100% campus placements in 2024; average CTC ₹12 LPA, highest ₹30 LPA

  • Recruiters: ISRO, NASA internships (12 students), SpaceX visits

• Alumni Impact

  • Alumni in senior roles at ISRO’s PSLV, GSLV programs; faculty positions worldwide

• Research Output

  • 200+ peer‑reviewed papers/year; 15 patents filed since 2020