Established in the year 2001, named after Meenakshi Hegde, wife of the Founder of Nitte Education Trust, Justice K.S. Hegde, NMIT is affiliated to VTU Belagavi and one of the youngest Engineering colleges in the Country to be conferred the prestigious Autonomous Status by the UGC in the year 2007 itself, and is accredited with NBA (Tier-1) and NAAC ‘A+’ Grade and ranked in the 151–200 band in the Engineering category by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in 2024.

Emphasizing strong focus on research, leading to benefits for the common man and society at large, resulting in the improvement of living standards, NMIT houses 11 UG Branches in BTech courses, PG programs in 5 MTech, MBA, MCA; 12 recognized Research Centres under VTU and 11 ‘Research Centres‘ in the area of- Design and Development of Small Satellites, Robotics, Nano Materials & MEMS, Design Engineering and Process Simulation, Aerospace Engineering and IoT, Power Engineering, Quantum Computing, Cyber Security, Women Empowerment, Additive Manufacturing and Centre on Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning, attracting young research talents from all over the country and abroad. NMIT is one of the first Institutions in the country to offer NCC as an ‘elective subject’ starting in the academic year 2013-14, to promote fitness and discipline among students.