TKM College of Engineering, the oldest engineering college in private sector in the state of Kerala, was established in 1958 by Janab Thangal Kunju Musaliar, a reformer, philanthropist and businessman under the aegis of the TKM College Trust, in Kollam district of Kerala. The institution has been a torchbearer for social and technological transformation since its inception and has touched the lives of countless individuals from around the nation, both directly and indirectly. Over a period of six decades, the college produced thousands of brilliant engineers, many of whom are stalwarts in their fields across the globe.

Having started with a humble beginning of 120 students in three basic streams of engineering, the college today stands with the highest intake of 1000 plus students per year in nine UG programs and about 250 students in 10 PG programs. All the departments are approved research centres of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University and about 100 scholars pursue their doctoral studies in these departments. The college has received funding from TEQIP-II, which was launched in 2012 and the fund utilization is completed in 2023. A total of 12.88 Cr funding was received which was utilized in two phases with 10.05 crore in phase -1 (2012-17) and remaining during the extended period (phase -2 during 2017-23) and TKM College is the only engineering college which became eligible for RUSA funding.

The college has been selected by the AICTE as the “Margadarshan” Institute for mentoring three neighboring institutions, including two engineering colleges and one polytechnic. Additionally, a Technology Business Incubation Centre, named “SEEDS-97” (Startup Enabled Entrepreneurship Development Centre), was established by the 1997 Alumni batch.

The institution today has become a temple of learning and is equated with excellence in technical education having six accredited UG programs and two PG programs by National Board of Accreditation (NBA). Also, the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has accredited the college with A grade. The Institution is governed by the Governing Body under TKM College Trust.

The 57th Governing Body meeting had decided to apply to UGC for autonomous status. The institution was conferred with autonomous status by the UGC on 26th May 2022, and the same was formally notified by APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University on 2nd September 2022 (U.O.No. KTU/ASST11(ADMIN)/3212/2022). First Governing Body meeting under autonomous status held on 15th September 2022, Second Governing Body meeting was held on 19th August 2023 and Third Governing Body meeting was held on 12th October 2024.