KIIT University: Imparting Value-based Quality Education of International Standard

Set up with the vision ‘To create an advanced center of professional learning of international standing where the pursuit of knowledge and excellence shall reign supreme, unfettered by the barriers of nationality, language, cultural plurality, and religion’, KIIT Deemed to be a University is right on its path of setting new benchmarks. “On the Silver Jubilee year of the institute, I am reminded of all the struggles and challenges encountered along the way to building this institution. KIIT did not develop overnight to become one of the best-known centers of learning in India.

It was built brick-by-brick, a product of determination, and a desire to provide the best education to students coming from all sections of Odisha and beyond. I dreamt about an institution that occupied a place of pride in the firmament of education. I gave the best I had in my quest to deliver the best. As we march ahead, the task is to sustain the momentum and work in tandem to attain greater excellence”, speaks Dr. Achyuta Samanta, Founder, KIIT & KISS.

The Genesis of KIIT

Raised amid abject poverty, Dr. Samanta knew the value of education to lead a meaningful life. Odisha during his younger days was struggling to get its feet together. Hunger and poverty had stymied growth prospects. A handful of educational institutes were all that could nurture human development in the State. The idea of KIIT took root during these days. The objective was to create opportunities, fill a critical void and develop a vibrant campus that supports talents, remains at the forefront of research and technological development, and weaves a new success story for Odisha. “The task was overwhelming but not the resolve. But we dared to dream and dared to dream big!”, he says.

The KIIT Industrial Training Institute (KIIT-ITI) was the first post of Dr. Samanta’s journey ahead. It was a small beginning, but a significant event to realize larger objectives. Soon, he stepped into the higher education space and in June 1997, KIIT took shape as an institute of higher learning offering engineering, MBA, and MCA programs. The year 2004 proved a milestone for KIIT when it was declared a Deemed to be University. The decades that followed saw the incredible transformation of KIIT as one of the best educational destinations in India, wooing students from abroad in equal measures. Today, it is ranked among the 20 best universities in the country.

As KIIT is celebrating the significant milestone of completing 25 years (1997- 2022), it has become a trusted destination for professional education for students from all parts of India and over 65 countries. The institute has been consistently achieving academic accolades transforming itself into a world-class knowledge hub. The University has countless talents who not only are celebrated names in their respective domains but are also contributing to their nation’s growth as successful bureaucrats, professionals, entrepreneurs, and start-up leaders.

The KISS Story

Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) was born out of a commitment to mainstreaming the uninitiated indigenous children. Today, KISS is home to 30,000 students and enjoys the reputation of being the largest institute and the first-ever university exclusively for Indigenous children in the world. It is a residential campus from end to end and offers education, boarding, and all amenities to children free of cost from the UG to PG. For many, it is more than an institute. It is a center that gives wings to their dreams.

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KIIT did not develop overnight to become one of the best-known centers of learning in India. It was built brick-by-brick, a product of determination, & a desire to provide the best education to students
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Since its inception, KISS has been respecting the diversity of indigenous languages and dialects. It has consistently focused on imparting classroom teaching in the mother tongue at elementary levels before transitioning to a common language. This one of its kind pioneering effort of KISS took a concrete shape in the form of Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education in 2013.

The high point for KISS came very recently when it won the prestigious UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize 2022 for its outstanding literacy program. There cannot be any bigger achievement for KISS than this.

KIIT-led Economic Growth

Today, the institute is a pioneer in research, development, and innovation. The KIIT Technology Business Incubator (KIIT-TBI) is one of its kind in Odisha. It has incubated many hundred business entities out of which 160 have graduated to set up full-scale commercial enterprises generating 5000 direct jobs. Unknown to many, KIIT is also among only seven institutions in India selected by Boeing India for its Boeing University Innovation Leadership Development (BUILD) program to boost aerospace entrepreneurship.

Research and innovation are important hallmarks of a world-class university. KIIT has established 19 Centers of Excellence with industry to promote collaborative research. KIIT Faculty are actively involved in research and consultancy works attracting financial support to the tune of a few million dollars every year. Currently, nearly 100 research and consultancy projects funded by various national and international funding agencies like UBS Promedica Foundation, Switzerland; Karolinska Institute, Sweden; DST, DBT, MNRE, Govt. of India, Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences, and more, are ongoing with substantial budget outlay.

In a unique direct development action, KIIT has transformed a remote village (Kalarabank) in Odisha into a ‘Smart Village’ with all the modern amenities of a city. The Panchayat (Manpur) has also been developed as a Model Panchayat. The University is also spearheading women empowerment initiatives like ‘Kanya Kiran’, at the state level, and Kalinga Fellowship, at the national level.

It is actively engaged in the Skilling India drive and has successfully merged academics with skill training to enhance the employability of the youth. The institute has provided skill training – both vocational and high-end – in a wide range of disciplines to over a lakh youths and facilitated their gainful employment and self-employment. Among its numerous community outreach projects, KIIT is facilitating developmental work in one aspirational district of Odisha.

The University has also contributed immensely in the field of art, literature, culture, film, media, and spiritualism. Additionally, both KIIT and KISS have produced students who have gone on to represent India in major sporting events such as the Olympics, Asiad, and the Commonwealth Games. “We have produced champions, gold medallists, and record-setting athletes. Our KISS Rugby team has even won the Junior Rugby World Cup”, adds Dr. Samanta.

Today, from these small beginnings, KIIT has developed into a leading university with a strong interdisciplinary culture and a commitment to teaching excellence.