The NI Institute of Engineering traces its origins to 1954, when the first Industrial Training Institute (ITI) was founded at Amaravilai under the Madras Government Technical Education (MGTE). The institution was established with a visionary goal — to uplift the rural and educationally backward communities of the region through accessible and high-quality technical education.

In 1957, the institution came under KGTE, and by 1961, during the tenure of the Government of Kerala, it received official approval to establish the first Industrial Training Institute in the state under the Directorate of Technical Examinations.

From its inception, NI Institute of Engineering stood as a pioneer in practical, skill-based education, setting benchmarks in technical training that would inspire and shape the evolution of Kerala’s technical education landscape long before similar initiatives gained prominence across the region.