Our Principal

                                           Dr. C. Sathish Kumar is an accomplished academician, administrator, and researcher who has made significant contributions to technical education in Kerala over a distinguished career spanning more than three decades. Dr. Sathish Kumar obtained his B.Tech degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from TKM College of Engineering under the University of Kerala in 1988. He later pursued his M.Tech in Electrical Engineering with specialization in Control and Instrumentation from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in 1996. He earned his Ph.D. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from PSG College of Technology under Bharathiar University.

Before entering academia, Dr. Sathish Kumar served as an Engineer at National Thermal Power Corporation for nearly two years. In 1991, he joined College of Engineering Trivandrum as a Lecturer in the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, marking the beginning of a remarkable teaching and administrative career in the Government Engineering Colleges of Kerala.

Over the years, Dr. Sathish Kumar served in several premier engineering institutions including Government Engineering Colleges at Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Idukki, and Kottayam. He held the position of Head of the Department for nearly nine years, demonstrating exceptional administrative capabilities and academic leadership. His ability to inspire faculty and students alike earned him recognition as a dedicated educator and institution builder.

Dr. Sathish Kumar served as the Principal of Government Engineering College Idukki and later Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology from 2019 to 2023. During his tenure at RIT Kottayam, the institution achieved remarkable academic progress, including significant improvement in university rankings based on pass percentage. Under his leadership, the college introduced B.Tech. in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, secured NBA accreditation for all eligible branches, and established collaborative initiatives with institutions such as Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad.

From 2023 to 2026, Dr. Sathish Kumar served as the Principal of Sree Chitra Thirunal College of Engineering. His tenure witnessed transformative developments in academics, industry collaboration, and student engagement. He initiated the M.Tech. programme in Automotive Electronics in collaboration with Tata Elxsi and facilitated strategic collaborations with prestigious institutions including Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, and BSNL. He also introduced innovative initiatives such as project exhibitions, remedial coaching, placement training from the first year onwards, graduation ceremonies, and alumni “Guruvandanam” programmes celebrating 25 years of graduation.

Apart from institutional administration, Dr. Sathish Kumar has made notable contributions to academic governance. He served as Syndicate Member, Convener of the Syndicate Standing Committee on Examinations, Member of the Board of Governors, and Academic Council Member of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University. He also served as Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Chairman of the Board of Studies under the University of Calicut, in addition to being a Senate Member of Cochin University of Science and Technology.

A respected researcher, Dr. Sathish Kumar has guided three Ph.D. scholars and published extensively in reputed SCIE and Scopus-indexed journals. His research interests include image processing, machine learning, and biomedical signal processing. His scholarly work in areas such as diabetic retinopathy detection, fish classification, disease detection in plants, and biomedical diagnostics has received wide academic recognition.

Dr. Sathish Kumar has also been actively involved in promoting research and innovation through several sponsored projects and funded academic initiatives. He has successfully secured research grants from premier agencies including All India Council for Technical Education, Indian Space Research Organisation, APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University, and the Directorate of Technical Education, Kerala. His projects have focused on advanced areas such as biomedical signal processing, image processing, communication engineering, assistive technologies, and machine learning applications in agriculture and healthcare. Notable initiatives include the development of an ultrasonic pulse echo detection system under the ISRO RESPOND programme, modernization of communication engineering laboratories through AICTE funding, and research on disease identification in horticultural crops using image processing techniques. He has also guided student innovation projects, including assistive navigation systems for visually impaired individuals, thereby encouraging socially relevant technological solutions and strengthening the research culture among students and faculty.

Through his unwavering commitment to academic quality, institutional growth, research excellence, and student development, Dr. C. Sathish Kumar has established himself as one of the distinguished academic leaders in technical education in Kerala.