From where did popular business giants like Amazon and Google start their journey? It was from an in-house garage. It was not merely a touching tale of rag to riches but a story of perseverance and patience that knit the spectacular body called Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT). It also reminds the grinding phase of personal pain and painstakingness with which Dr. Achyuta Samanta, the Founder of KIIT & KISS, had several bruises with changing times and overcame.

Similar is the inception story of the KIIT. Starting small with only two teachers and 12 students, KIIT, since its inception in 1992, has come a long way, sprouting as one of the finest self-financed universities in eastern India. Why in part of India, its footprints can be traced to the international arena of learning.

The Founder, Dr. Achyuta Samanta, decided to enter the education sector with a vision to provide comprehensive education facilities and a supportive environment for tomorrow’s future. KIIT’s research portfolio extends across many areas, including rural management, physical activity, social and mental health, biotechnology, medicine, and education because of sheer dedication.

Since the inception of KIIT and KISS, the University has shown a gradual growth trajectory that caters to providing every student with a quality education and preparing them for the future. Apart from all the glory, the University is striving for more and has added many laurels to its name with its effective management.

Setting New Parameters KIIT & KISS Cruise Through

It all started with a humble note – A simple yet noble commitment towards the society to educate those who need it most and hone the others who were in the fences.

KIIT and KISS, the twin who sprang from its founder’s vision, Dr. Samanta, soon became a path-finder for millions.

Travelling through the past years, the year on the retreat, 2021, became a touchstone for negotiating the undulations like the pandemic, which remains active with the deadly remains like new variants.

Among the few, the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) are dynamic educational institutions with unparalleled yet challenging engagement with society and commitment to social service.

In 2021, with the hope of adjusting to a new normal, India soon braved a big second wave, a devastating one. In such uncertainties, the institutes worked in full swing – be it academics, social work, innovation in governance, placements, etc.

Here are a few highlights from 2021:

Rankings & Recognitions

• KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar has climbed up the leaderboard and has been ranked No. 1 amongst self-financing institutions of the country in the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA), 2021, the second time in a row.
• KIIT, Deemed to be University, was ranked among 251-300 in the Emerging Economies University rankings by the Times Higher Education.
• KIIT, Deemed to be University, ranked 30th amongst Indian universities by the Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2021 in the Overall Category. It has grabbed itself the 15th Rank in the country’s General Engineering (overall category).
• KIIT, Deemed to be University, has climbed up 200 positions worldwide to be selected in the 801 – 1000 in the prestigious Times Higher Education in World University Rankings 2022.
• KIIT, Deemed to be University, became India’s first QS 5 Stars Rated University after being awarded the 5 Stars assessment from all the categories of QS criteria.

Awards

KISS & KIIT’s Art of giving a philanthropic initiative by Founder Dr. Achyuta Samanta won the second position at the MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship, USA, recognizing its countless humanitarian services rendered in the past decades.

Leadership

• Renowned physician Dr. CBK Mohanty, a former Director of Medical Education and Training(DMET), has joined hands as a Pro-Vice-Chancellor of KIMS.
• Professor Sasmita Rani Samanta is appointed as the first woman Vice-Chancellor of KIIT Deemed to be University.
• Satya S. Tripathi, being a former Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) and is positioned as the Chancellor of KISS, is Deemed to be University. Prof. Deepak Kumar Behera, an internationally acclaimed anthropologist, has taken charge as the Vice-Chancellor. Prof. Pitabasa Sahoo has joined as the Pro-Vice-Chancellor on deputation.
• A prominent IPS officer Dr Kanhu Charan Mahali of Tamil Nadu cadre has joined as the Director-General of KISS Deemed to be University after his retirement.

Sports

KISS became the first Indian school to integrate Chess into the academic curriculum at the school level as a non-credit course with the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and Chess Federation of India.

• KISS Partnered with FIFA for the primordial initiative in India, FIFA Football for Schools – The first of its kind in the world.
• KIIT and KISS sent three athletes in various sports to Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
• KIIT was selected as the Nodal Center in India for the selection of Indian University teams for participating in the World University Games 2022.
• KIIT University Football (women) team won Silver Medal in the East Zone Inter-University Football Championship – 2021 & qualified for the All India Inter-University Football (Women) Championship – 2021. The tournament was held at KIIT University from 13th to 15th December 2021 and hosted by KISS University.
• Odisha Rugby Boys Team won Gold Medal & Girls Team won Bronze Medal in “Junior National Rugby Championship-2021” held at KIIT University from 10th to 12th December 2021. Out of 12 players, 6 Boys players are from KISS & in Girls Section, out of 12 players, seven players are from KISS.
• The Bridge, a media platform for Olympic Sports content in India, has ranked KIIT & KISS in the fourth position among India’s top 10 Athletics Academics. KIIT & KISS are the only academic institutions that educate the masses with professional sports academies.
• Thousands of delegates from various walks of life visit KIIT & KISS to participate in various academic, cultural, and sport meets during the winters, year on year. Around 20,000 sportspersons, coaches, managers, and officials visited KIIT & KISS to participate in sports events only from November to December 2021.

Placement

KIIT has achieved record campus placement with 350 plus top-notch companies doling out 5000 plus job offers for a batch size of 3500 B.Tech graduates of the 2022 graduating batch. With the same promise to the students, KIIT has invited 60 new companies to participate in the placement process this year.

KIIT had a super dream run with high-CTC companies this year. While more than 3000 students got at least a single placement offer, the top 1500 students were selected by the ‘Dream Companies’ with an average CTC of Rs. 8.10 lakh p.a. Thirty-eight corporates offered CTC of Rs. 10.00 lakh and above as annual compensation, while over 140 companies offered CTC between Rs. 5 lakh and Rs. 10 lakh. Five students of KIIT have received placement offers with the highest CTC of Rs. 52 lakh per annum. As per the statistics, the average CTC is Rs. 6.05 lakh, 30% higher than the previous year. More than 3000 students are already placed, while over 2000 students bagged multiple job offers.

KIIT-DU is the only University in India that proactively creates an interface with the leading names in the industry. This facilitates the placement of KIIT students for several national and multinational organizations. HighRadius—a FinTech company—in collaboration with KIIT, has successfully established its FinTech Lab on KIIT Campus, wherein more than 2200 students were offered a summer internship. It was followed by a one-year experiential learning internship with a stipend of Rs. Fifteen thousand per month to 1500+ students and pre-placement offers to 830 students with a minimum CTC of Rs. 8 lakh to date.

This year, ‘Day Zero’ dream campus drives resulted in the placement of about 1500 students by MNCs with an average CTC of Rs. 8.10 lakh per annum. ‘Day-One’ campus recruitment drive generated around 2000 job offers from four companies.

Unstoppable

Continuing the existing trend, KIIT is well on its way to achieving the phenomenal record placement for the graduating batch of the year 2022, despite the COVID pandemic. In 2020, KIIT achieved 100% placement in B.Tech, MBA, and Biotech, while more than 50% placement in Law, which earned record placement in 2021.

Setting New Milestones

Keeping up with the records, KIIT is on its way to achieving miracle placement for the 2021 graduating class due to the dedicated efforts of the training and placement department.

KIMS Cardiologist brought new life into a three Days old baby through complicated heart surgery.

School of Architecture & Planning, KIIT Deemed to be a University, has been ranked 4th nationally by Global Human Resource Development Centre (GHRDC), New Delhi

KIIT in collaboration with the Bar Council of India, has set up the Indian Institute of Law in India for the first time.

For the first time, doctors of KIMS achieved a milestone by successfully transplanting a kidney on the 19^th of September 2021. A new life for a 23-year old patient suffering from End-Stage Renal Disease who underwent the transplant

Working Even in the Pandemic

• KIIT and KISS adopted more than 100 orphans and provided them with comprehensive care – financial assistance, assurance of education, and job for a family member.
• Supported by KIIT University, KISS Foundation has provided free-of-cost admission to over 50 children whose parents succumbed to the pandemic.
• KISS sends monthly groceries, stationery, and other essentials items to the 30,000 of its students who were stuck at home from the start of the lockdown.
• KIIT and KISS have aided financial assistance of Rs. 5 lakhs to the families of staff who died due to Covid, besides giving a job to a family member and sponsoring the education of the deceased’s ward.

Personal Front

Dr. Achyuta Samanta released his first book, a biography on his mother, ‘My Mother My Hero’ launched by Shri Venkiah Naidu, Hon’ble Vice President of India, and Prof. Ganeshi Lal, Hon’ble Governor of Odisha.

KIIT and KISS Founder Dr. Achyuta Samanta have been awarded ‘Sandipani Maharshi Samman 2020’ through Sandipani Vidya Niketan, Gujarat, by Bhaishri Ramesh Bhai Oza.

KIIT and KISS Founder have been felicitated by 3 Honorary Doctorates this year, taking his count of Honorary Doctorates to 47.

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

Summing up, the founder of the University says, “We don’t want to bask in the glory of the past, but we constantly make an endeavour to move to better ourselves. Excellence is another milestone we have always been racing at, and that is an endless pursuit the KIIT and KISS live with waking up to new mornings.”