Rekindling Hope

KIIT and KISS have continuously redefined excellence with quality education

The year 2021 started on a humble note and with a commitment to educate those in the society who needed it the most. Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), both springing from the vision of their founder, Dr. Achyuta Samanta, are dynamic educational institutions that have become a pathfinder for millions, providing unparalleled yet challenging engagement with the society, coupled with a commitment for social service.

The past year has been a daunting experience as the nation had to endure a second, more devastating wave of the pandemic. In such uncertain circumstances, our work went on in full swing — be it academics, social work, innovation in governance, placements, among others. Here are a few highlights from 2021:

RANKINGS AND RECOGNITION

• KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar has been ranked number one among self-financing institutions of the country in the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA), 2021 for the second time in a row

• KIIT Deemed to be University was ranked 251-300 in the Emerging Economies University rankings by Times Higher Education (THE)

• KIIT Deemed to be University has been ranked 30th in the Overall Category among Indian universities by the Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2021. It has achieved 15th rank in the General Engineering (overall category) in the country

• KIIT Deemed to be University has jumped up 200 positions globally to be placed in the cohort of 801 – 1000 in the prestigious Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2022

• KIIT Deemed to be University becomes India's first QS 5 Stars Rated University by being awarded five stars assessing from all the categories of QS criteria

• KIIT Deemed to be University was ranked 201-300 in the Impact Rankings - 2021 by Times Higher Education and 86th in 'Reduced Inequalities' globally

• KIIT Deemed to be University was ranked 21 among Indian Universities by National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) Government of India - 2021

• KIIT Deemed to be University was acknowledged as the Leadership and Management Team of the Year in the Times Higher Education Awards Asia, for its zeal to respond to the unknown and involvement in serving society — expanding free Covid hospitals, distributing masks and sanitiser and community education

AWARDS

KISS and KIIT’s Art of Giving philanthropic initiative by its founder, Dr. Samanta won second position at the prestigious MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship, USA, in recognition of its countless humanitarian services rendered in past decades.

LEADERSHIP

• Renowned physician Dr. CBK Mohanty, former Director of Medical Education and Training has joined as Pro Vice-Chancellor of KIMS

• Professor Sasmita Rani Samanta has been appointed as the first woman Vice-Chancellor of KIIT Deemed to be University

• Satya S Tripathi, a former Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), has taken over as the Chancellor of KISS deemed to be university

• Professor Deepak Kumar Behera, an internationally acclaimed anthropologist, has taken charge as the Vice-Chancellor

• Professor Pitabasa Sahoo, has joined as the Pro-Vice Chancellor on deputation. IPS officer Dr. Kanhu Charan Mahali of Tamil Nadu cadre, has joined as the Director-General of KISS deemed to be university post-retirement

SPORTS

• KISS became the first school in India to integrate chess in the academic curriculum at school level as a non-credit course in collaboration with International Chess Federation (FIDE) and Chess Federation of India

• KISS partnered with FIFA for the first initiative of its kind in India and the world — FIFA Football for Schools

• KIIT and KISS sent a contingent of three sportspersons in different sports to Tokyo Olympics 2020

• KIIT was selected as one of two nodal centres in India for the selection of Indian university teams for participation at the World University Games 2022

• KIIT hosted the 69th Senior National Volleyball Championship 2020-21, which was organised by the Odisha Volleyball Association (OVA) under the patronage of the Volleyball Federation of India (VFI)

• KIIT University’s women football team won the silver medal in the East Zone Inter University Football Championship – 2021 and also qualified for the All-India Women Inter University Football Championship – 2021. The tournament was held at KIIT University from 13-15 December, 2021, and was hosted by KISS University

• Odisha rugby boys team won the gold medal and the girls team won the bronze medal in the junior National Rugby Championship – 2021, held at KIIT University from 10-12 December, 2021. Out of 12 players, six male players are from KISS. In the female section, out of the 12 players, seven players are from KISS

• The Bridge, a media platform that covers olympic sports content of India, has placed KIIT and KISS at the fourth position among the top ten athletics academics in India. KIIT and KISS are the only academic institutions on this list of professional sports academies

• Thousands of delegates from myriad walks of life visit KIIT and KISS to participate in various academic, cultural, and sport meets during the winters every year. This year, over 20,000 sportspersons, coaches, managers, and officials visited KIIT and KISS to participate in sports events from November to December

BREAKING RECORD OF PREVIOUS YEARS — MILESTONES

• Keeping up with our past trend, KIIT is on its way to achieving the desired placement for the 2021 graduating batch due to the dedicated efforts of our training and placement department

• KIMS cardiologist gave a second life to a three-days old baby by performing a difficult heart surgery

• KIIT deemed to be university’s School of Architecture and Planning has been ranked fourth nationally by Global Human Resource Development Centre (GHRDC), New Delhi

• The Indian Institute of Law was set up for the first time in India in collaboration with the Bar Council of India and supported by KIIT

• Doctors of KIMS made a landmark achievement by successfully conducting a kidney transplant for the first time on September 19, 2021. Through the operation, they were able to give a new life to a 23-year old patient suffering from end stage renal disease

• ONGOING WORK DURING THE PANDEMIC

• KIIT and KISS have adopted more than 100 orphans by providing comprehensive care — financial assistance, assurance of education and job for a family member

• KISS Foundation supported by KIIT University has provided free of cost admission to over 50 children whose parents succumbed to pandemic

• KISS is sending monthly groceries, stationery and essentials to the 30,000 students of KISS who have been at home from the beginning of the lockdown

• KIIT and KISS have provided financial assistance of Rs five lakhs to the families of staff who died due to Covid-19 besides giving job to a family member and sponsoring education of the deceaseds' ward

PERSONAL FRONT

• Dr. Samanta released his first book, a biography on his mother, titled ‘My Mother My Hero’, which was launched by Shri Venkiah Naidu, Vice President of India, and Professor Ganeshi Lal, Governor of Odisha

• KIIT and KISS Founder Dr. Samanta was awarded ‘Sandipani Maharshi Samman 2020’ by Sandipani Vidya Niketan, Gujarat, by Bhaishri Ramesh Bhai Oza

• KIIT and KISS founder was awarded three honourary doctorates this year, taking his tally of honourary doctorate degrees to 47

• Dr. Samanta, President, Volleyball Federation of India has been nominated to the Central Asian Volleyball Association (CAVA) as a Member of Board of Administrations (BOA)

• Summing up, we don’t want to bask in the glory of the past, but are constantly seeking to better ourselves. At KIIT and KISS, excellence is another milestone in our endless pursuit for perfection.

PLACEMENT 2021

• KIIT has achieved record campus placement with 270 plus top-notch companies doling out 4,200 plus job offers for a batch size of 3,500 eligible B.Tech students of 2022 graduating batch. This year, 50 new companies have participated in the placement process so far

• The commencement of the campus placement season for the 2022 graduating batch started from May 2021 and KIIT is already well-poised to achieve cent per cent campus placement for yet another year. More than 3,000 students got single placement offers, while the top 1,500 students were placed in 'Dream Companies' with an average CTC of Rs. 8.10 lakh p.a. Thirty-five companies offered CTC of Rs. 10 lakh and above per annum, while over 130 companies offered CTC of Rs. 5 lakh

• Five students of KIIT have got placement offers with the highest CTC of Rs. 52 lakh per annum. The average CTC is Rs. 6.05 lakh, which is 30 per cent higher than the previous year. More than 3,000 students are already placed and over 1,200 students bagged multiple job offers

• KIIT-DU is the only university in India to proactively create an interface with the leading names in the industry. This is facilitating the placement of KIIT students in various national and multinational companies. For instance, HighRadius, a fintech company, in collaboration with KIIT has established a fintech lab in KIIT Campus wherein, more than 2,000 students are getting one-year experiential learning internship with a stipend of Rs. 15,000 per month. HighRadius has provided placement to 710 plus students of KIIT with Rs. 8 lakh package

• This year, ‘Day Zero’ dream campus drives alone resulted in the placement of about 1,500 students by MNCs with an average CTC of Rs. 8.10 lakh per annum. ‘Day-One’ campus recruitment drive generated about 2,000 job offers from four companies

• Keeping up with our past trend, KIIT is well on its way to achieving phenomenal record placement for the 2022 graduating batch despite the Covid pandemic. In 2020, KIIT achieved cent per cent placement in B.Tech, MBA, and Biotech, while more than 50 per cent placement in Law. It also achieved record placement in 2021