National Institute of Technology Calicut, formerly Regional Engineering College Calicut, is a public technical university and an institute of national importance governed by the NIT Act passed by the Parliament of India. The campus is situated 22 kilometres (14 mi) north east of Kozhikode, on the Kozhikode–Mukkam Road. It was established in 1961 and was known as Calicut Regional Engineering College (CREC) until 2002. It is one of the National Institutes of Technology campuses established by the Government of India for imparting high standard technical education to students from all over the country. NIT Calicut hosts a supercomputer on its campus, and has a dedicated nanotechnology department.

The National Institutes of Technology (NITs) are centrally funded technical institutes under the ownership of the Ministry of Education, Government of India. They are governed by the National Institutes of Technology, Science Education, and Research Act, 2007, which declared them institutions of national importance and laid down their powers, duties, and framework for governance. The act lists 31 NITs. Each NIT is autonomous and linked to the others through a common council known as the Council of NITSER, which oversees their administration. All NITs are funded by the Government of India.