NAAC grants coveted ‘A’ Grade Ranking to KIIT

National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has granted 'A' grade to KIIT University. The accreditation has been given based on the report submitted by the visiting team.

The peer team of the NAAC assessed the quality standards of University, and found it in tandem with the seven criteria prescribed by the council. KIIT University in a short span of just 11 years evolved into a nationally acclaimed and quite diversified conglomerate providing a quality education through several areas of Technology, management, rural managements, engineering etc.

National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) was established by the UGC in September 1994 at Bangalore for evaluating the performance of the Universities and Colleges in the Country. NAAC's mandate includes the task of performance evaluation, assessment and accreditation of universities and colleges in the country. The philosophy of NAAC is based on objective and continuous improvement rather than being punitive or judgmental, so that all institutions of higher learning are empowered to maximize their resources, opportunities and capabilities. Accreditation refers to the certification given by NAAC which is valid for a period of five years.

NAAC has identified seven criterias to serve as the basis of its assessment procedures which include Curricular Aspects, Teaching-Learning and Evaluation Research, Consultancy and Extension, Infrastructure and Learning Resources, Student Support and Progression, Governance and Leadership, Innovative practices. In the New Methodology, NAAC grades the institutions for each Key Aspect under four categories, like: A, B, C and D, denoting Very Good, Good, Satisfactory and Unsatisfactory levels respectively. After assessing KIIT through its seven point criteria, NAAC has granted ‘A’ grade to KIIT which means in ‘Very Good’ category.

On receiving the coveted A' grade ranking from NAAC, Dr. A. Samanta, Founder, KIIT Group of Institutions attributed it as the achievement of the combined efforts of the faculty and students of various campuses of KIIT University. He also reiterated that the journey to excellence will continue.

KIIT Law School to Participate in Hong Kong Moot Court

A team of students from KIIT Law School (KLS) will be participating at a prestigious international Moot Court to be organised in Hong Kong. It is a rare honour for KLS to participate in this academic event along with other reputed law schools from across the Globe.

KIIT Law School (KLS), ever since its inception, has been receiving accolades at national and international level. The students here are trained and guided by the best legal brains in the country and abroad, including Prof. Martin Hunter, a participating Barrister in the field of international arbitration.

In spite of being only in its third year, KLS, under the guidance and advice of leading legal brains of the country like Prof. N. L. Mitra, the former Director of National Law School of India, Bangalore and former Vice-Chancellor of National Law University, Jodhpur and former Director, Prof. Faizan Mustafa, attracts legal experts from all parts of the globe. An experienced team of faculty under its Director, Prof. N. K. Chakraborty provides an energetic and creative learning environment. KLS has a number of professors and adjunct faculty members from various National and International Law Schools.

Moot Court has always been an integral part of the KLS curriculum. This has helped the students’ selection in the prestigious event in Hong Kong. KIIT Law School also has its own Students Bar Association. The students of KIIT Law School have been making the institution proud with their participations in various national and international forums. In the 3rd Annual Harvard Project for 'Asian people and Clean Energy Alternatives in Asia' held from 18th to 21st February, a 3rd year student, Nidhi Singh was adjudged as the best delegate from amongst the 150 participants from all over the world including Oxford University, California, Los Angles, Chicago, Boston Universities, Auckland University, New Zealand, National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technology University, Singapore, NLSIU Bangalore, lIT Kharagpur and MIT, USA.

KIIT Law School also holds the unique distinction of being admitted as member of the International Association of Law School, Washington, USA and Australia. It is one of the few institutions to have opened a chapter of the International Law Students' Association (ILSA).

Grandmaster student Kiran felicitated at KIIT

Third year student of IT engineering, KIIT and First person from Odisha Kiran Manisha Mohanty who, became a Grandmaster was felicitated on behalf of KIIT in its premises on 17th March, 2010. Recently she won her third 'Woman Grandmaster Norm' at the Parachute Advanced International Chess Tournament in Bangladesh.

After becoming the first Woman Grandmaster Chess Queen Kiran Manisha Mohanty not only pride for KIIT but also for Odisha and India. Dr. A. Samanta, Founder, KIIT Group of Institutions felicitated 21 years old Kiran and said as a student of KIIT, the achievement resulted in a wave of joy among students of KIIT University. It is a matter of great pride not only for Odisha but also for KIIT and women, he added. Dr. Samanta also expressed his happiness to Kiran’s father Kishor Chandra Mohanty and mother Manjubala mohanty for their encouragement. Among others Prof. (Dr) Hari Gautam, Chancellor, KIIT, newly appointed Prof. A. S. Kolaskar, VC, R. N. Das, Advisor, KIIT & KISS, Mr. H. P. Das, Pro- Chancellor, Mrs. Saswati Bal, President, Mr. L. C. Amarnathan, Rector International Programme,  Prof. Rajyalakshmi Manda were also present on the occasion. 

KPL-2010 to be held at KIIT from 20th March

KIIT Premiere League-10 (KPL-10) will be held at KIIT from 20th March, 2010. Several institutions of the state and country will be participating in this cricketing extravaganza. The teams have been divided into four groups. Group A has teams like KIIT-A, OUAT, IACR of Raigara and C. V. Raman Engineering College. Group-B features Utkal University, East Engineering College of Cuttack, RCM and IIT Bhubaneswar. Group C teams are Panipath AIPPT, IIT Kharagpur, KIIT-B and Purussottam Engineering College of Rourkela. Group D has Andhra University of Hyderabad, Ravenshaw University, All Odisha Medical Colleges and Simanta Engineering College from Baripada. 
 
All matches would be day and night matches held as per the T-20 format including 24 league matches and knockout. Each team would be playing at least three matches. All the league matches would be completed by 27th March. An exhibition match will be played on 28th March. Semifinal and Final matches will be held on 29th and 30th March respectively. Player of Team India are likely to grace the inaugural and valedictory ceremony of KPL-10.  

It’s worth mentioning here that the Champions of KPL-10 would go back with a huge prize money of Rs. 1 Lakhs while the Runners Up team would get a cash prize of Rs. 50,000. Winner team of Semi-Final match earn Rs. 10000, whereas winner of every league match would get Rs. 5000. Best batsman, bowler, wicketkeeper and fielder would get Rs. 3000 each. Similarly, Man of the Series and Man of the Final would get 7500 and 5000 respectively. Last year's edition of this tournament was a big hit.

Iconic Writer Ruskin Bond to be Ambassador of KiiT International School

Iconic writer, Padmashree Ruskin Bond has assumed the mantle of Ambassador of KiiT International School. Dr. A. Samanta, Founder, KIIT Group of Institutions had requested him to be Ambassador of KiiT International School during his visit to the school in January. He expressed his consent at a press meet here on 6th March 2010.     

KiiT International School, a constituent of KIIT Group of Institutions, is an international residential school for boys and girls offering Kindergarten, Primary and Secondary education. The school offers the National CBSE as well as International IGCSE and International Baccalaureate (IB) curricula. KiiT International School gained national and international reputation within a short span of time due to its value based education, multi-cultural ambience and world-class facilities. At present it has students from as many as 15 countries, besides all States of India.

During his visit to KiiT International School in January, Padmashree Ruskin Bond spent two days interacting with the students and staffs of the school. He was pleasantly surprised to see such a public school in Odisha and also appreciated the contribution of KIIT in the field of higher education. He was deeply impressed with the commitment and dedication of its Founder, Dr. A. Samanta. 

Padmashree Ruskin Bond, born in 1934, is an icon among Indian writers and children's authors and a top novelist. He has authored a large number of novels, books and short stories. Very popular among children, he has written more than 30 books for children during his long literary career spanning 40 years and was awarded the Padmashree in 1999 for contribution to children's literature.  

Involvement of Padmashree Ruskin Bond as Ambassador of KiiT International School will add to its sheen at national and international level. He has expressed interest to spend one week every month with the students of the school to guide the teaching-learning process, which will be an important value addition for the school. It is also expected that his involvement will attract eminent personalities from all over the world to KiiT International School.  

It is an historic milestone for KiiT International School, Dr. A. Samanta told media persons at the press conference, while expressing his gratitude to Padmashree Ruskin Bond for his kind consent to be the school's Ambassador. While it will be immensely beneficial for the students, Involvement of a personality like Padmashree Ruskin Bond in an institution of the State is a matter of great pride for Odisha also, he stated.  

‘Young EDGE-2010’ Award for Dr. Samanta

The prestigious ‘Young EDGE Award’ for the year 2010 has been conferred on Dr. A. Samanta. He received the award at a glittering ceremony organized at India Habitat Center, New Delhi on 4th March 2010 from Shri Kapil Sibal, Hon’ble Union Minister for HRD, in the presence of distinguished academicians, education policy makers, planners and national and international jury members of the EDGE forum.

The award is in recognition to his commitment to inclusive growth in the field of education and efforts to provide education to the educationally deprived section. He not only transformed a small ITI into a world-class KIIT University, but also established Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), a residential tribal institute for 10000 students. The Selection Committee held Dr. Samanta’s experiments in education as unique and felt that, if replicated, it can address some of the core issues faced by the country in the field of education.

This year’s EDGE Personality of the Year Award 2010 was conferred on Prof. Yash Pal for his significant contribution in the field of education over many decades and the Yash Pal Committee Report to bring significant change in Indian education.

Emerging Direction in Global Education (EDGE) has been bringing policy makers, industries and educationalist from India and abroad together to address issues pertaining to excellence in global education. Every year this forum awards outstanding personalities for their contributions in the field of education.

With this award, Dr. Samanta has joined the league with the previous recipients, who include Mr. Sam Pitroda and Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia.