No, staying in the NIT Calicut hostel for a PG student is not at all compulsory. The administration will ask you to be available throughout the day on the campus and staying in the hostel comes under the residential program but it's not compulsory. No one can force you to avail of hostels. 

Staying in the other hostels or PG would be costlier and the hostels at NIT Calicut are supposed to be cheaper. There are a number of rooms with AC within 150 meters from the campus in or near Koyyapuram Apartments. 

Therefore, it depends on your will whether to stay in a hostel or anywhere outside the campus and no one can interfere in your decision.

First, you have to reach Calicut and for that, you can take a flight or train. I would suggest you take an Indigo flight from Delhi to Calicut airport. It’s a connecting flight via Mumbai and the duration is almost 5 hrs.

It's 32 km away from NIT and you can reach it either by Bus or Taxi. And it’s better to take Taxis because you will have to change the bus once you have reached Calicut city. Also, you can use the rail. It will take almost two and a half days to reach Calicut from New Delhi. NIT Calicut is 23 km which is approx 45 minutes journey from Calicut railway station. Taxis and auto-rickshaws are available to be hired at the station.

Taking a bus is the cheapest, costing only Rs 19 per adult. The bus station is just a 5-minute walk from the railway station or you can even take an auto-rickshaw to the bus station. Ola cabs also have started their service in Calicut recently.

Moreover, there is a bus stop right in front of the NIT main gate and the Taxis can take you directly to the hostel campus or the administrative building. 

You should be trying something related to Algorithms. Try better than simple Java-related projects like CMS, Library Management System, Job Portal, etc. Be focused on algorithms or machine details. If you are thinking of algorithms, you can take a look at some of the mini-projects hosted by students.

In my friend’s recent conversation with a faculty member of the department, he discussed the trend of students getting away doing simple application-level projects during their B.Tech.

Students who were ready to take up good system-level projects like those related to Linux kernel, networks, compilers, etc. are not wanting to do the same later.

It's engineering that you are trying to learn, application development can be done by anyone. So, you don't have to go through 80% of the courses for that.

The M.Tech program of Environmental Geotechnology at NIT Calicut is an interdisciplinary branch.

In the first semester, you will be taught about Geotechnological Engineering and in the second semester, you will learn about subjects that are in Environmental Engineering such as Groundwater Hydrology.

All in all, this course is more towards the Geotechnical side than the Environmental side. You also have to undertake projects. Usually, most people opt for Geotechnical projects.

Talking about the prospects of the future, L&T has been the only recruiters for some years now they recruited very few students pursuing postgraduate. 

If you want to teach this course in the future, then pursuing it will be a good idea. It is definitely a good course but not the best. Join if you are interested in the course and not for the NIT tag. 

In terms of the teaching quality, there are a few senior faculty at NIT Calicut, but the chances of getting those desired faculty are very less.

For placements, a number of core companies visit the campus. You will get decent job opportunities and roles. However, there are better NITs such as NIT Trichy and NITK Surathkal with much better placement statistics.

Check the following table for placement statistics of 2020

You will also have a great campus life with some memorable experiences and amazing opportunities by the end.

Chemical Engineering and ECE, both the branches are in demand. The major scope of Chemical Engineering is in chemical, food processing, pharma, medical industries, oil, and gas, etc.

The major scope of ECE is in android, mobile, and telecommunication. The majority of the students prefer ECE because of two reasons. The first reason being comfort. Secondly, after acquiring skills in programming languages, it is easy to switch to the IT or software field.

Here is a brief overview of CE at NIT Calicut and ECE at IIIT Jabalpur.

If you don’t have any particular inclination towards any branch you can go for ECE at IIIT Jabalpur.

All the mentioned NITs are among the top engineering institutes in the country. Out of all the NITs in India, the best choice is NIT Rourkela. As some of my friends studied there I might be able to give you some reasons. These are:

• NIT Rourkela is famous for its Chemical Branch. 
• The research culture of the institute is outstanding.
• The institute has been ranked 16th in the NIRF Ranking for Engineering 2020. It is way above all the three institutes mentioned.
• The JEE Main cut-offs are high. So, only the best students get a chance for admission. 
• The college also encourages diversity.

The fee and chemical branch placement details are as follows.

The top recruiters include L&T, Reliance, Tata, P&G, Parle, ACC Cement, Aditya Birla, IOCL, PGCIL, NTPC, GMR Energy, GlaxoSmithKline, and more.

Overall, NIT Rourkela is an excellent choice. After CSE and EC branches, the Chemical branch recorded the highest placements. The return on investment of college is decent. But you should opt for it only if you can deal with and function under strict regulations and laws.

The process of selecting a suitable branch in a decent college after the JEE counseling process is pretty hectic and important. And the ideal way of going through all this process is realizing and following your interest. 

The criteria for selecting a college should be based on the following. 

• Choice of branch
• Choice of college
• Average placement of that branch in the college
• Infrastructure and hostel facility
• Distance of the college from your hometown

One of the best things at any NIT is that you will get to interact with the best brains in the country. All the faculties at NIT are well qualified. 

I have a few from NIT Jamshedpur so I can give you some ideas about the institute. 

Pros of NIT Jamshedpur: 

• Private rooms to almost all students from the first year itself.
• Active student clubs such as Phoenix and many others. They perform greatly at national and international levels.
• Almost zero ragging.
• Very helpful seniors
• Well qualified professors
• Excellent placement records for CSE and other branches as well. In 2021 the average and highest CTC offered was 15 and 37 LPA respectively.
• Huge mess facility. The food is unmatchable and amazing.
• Huge alumni network.

Lastly, I will advise that don’t choose an institute based on ranking, as ranking tends to change frequently. 

Making a comparison between two branches is not appreciable as each branch has its own pros and cons. 

• CSE at VIT Vellore is one of the finest branches after top IITs. The college produces quality students every year who are usually leading top MNCs today or pursuing higher degrees in top US universities.
• There is a strong coding culture at VIT Vellore and technical knowledge is given to them which is one of the major requirements for this field. 
• There is a startup ecosystem that involves learning machine language and artificial intelligence that can help students to gain many opportunities for their future ahead.
• According to recent placements statistics, the total number of offers made by various prestigious companies was 717. 
• The highest package offered was INR 75 LPA, with the top recruiting companies as Dyte, PayPal, and DE Shaw.

CSE at VIT Vellore is one of the best colleges offering ample opportunities to all the students studying.

There is no particular dress code for the classes. However, there are other necessities every student has to follow otherwise. The regulations include wearing shirts and denim for the labs of the electrical department. 

Girls of the class are asked to go by the same rule, including rolling their hair up and wearing recommended shoes. While working in labs, lab coats are a must. 

In any case whatsoever, since it is an educational premise, every student is generally asked not to wear dresses that can be deemed inappropriate.