The 44th edition of ‘Incident’, a festival of students organised by the National Institute of Technology – Karnataka (NIT-K), kickstarted at Surathkal for four days on Thursday.

Capt. Brijesh Chowta, MP, Dakshina Kannada inaugurated the event with the theme ‘Udbhav’.

Speaking on the occasion Capt. Chowta said that he expects NIT-K to take lead to promote startup ecosystem in Mangaluru.

“Let’s unite institutions and universities around Mangaluru to make it Karnataka’s next startup capital,” he said.

The MP said NITK Academy for Defence, Adventure, and Leadership should become a premier academy for grooming leaders.

He said that the ‘Back to Ooru’ initiative launched by him to encourage those from the coastal belt who have excelled elsewhere to return and contribute to the region’s growth by grooming talent or creating opportunities is bearing fruit.

He said that two companies, under the initiative, have committed to invest in Mangalore SEZ in the field of sustainability.

Capt. Ganesh Karnik, former MLC, and B. Ravi, Director, NIT-K spoke.

The national level festival features a plethora of events and competitions across various domains, a release from NIT-K said.