KISS Joins Hands with National ST Commission

The National Commission for Scheduled Tribe, a Constitutional Body for the development of Scheduled Tribe, joined hands with Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) to organize National Seminars in different parts of the country to highlight the role of education in the tribal welfare and development. The first ever National Seminar was organized in KISS.

Dr. Rameshwar Oraon, Chairman, NCST visited KISS on 27th March 2011 to inaugurate the National Seminar on 'Education vis-a-vis Tribal Development'. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Oraon emphasized on the importance of education in empowering the tribals in the country. Describing KISS as a role model to be replicated everywhere, Dr. Oraon showered heaps of praise on Dr. A. Samanta, Founder, KISS.

Informing about need for similar seminars, the Chairman, NCST informed that a series of seminar on this issue would be organized in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh in coming days. It is a unique honour for KISS to be associated with NCST to enlighten the tribal people about their development at national level, said Dr. A. Samanta.

The seminar was attended by the Director of the Regional Office of the NCST, Shri R. K. Mishra. Initiating the topic, Dr. S. Patnaik, Rector, KIIT University highlighted on certain issues relating to tribal education and said that these can be addressed through education alone. Prof. A. S. Kolaskar, Vice Chancellor, KIlT University also spoke on the occasion.

Ram Jethmalani Visits KISS

Mr. Ram Jethmalani, Hon'ble Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India visited KIIT & KISS on 26th March 2011. He was accompanied by Ms. Lata Krishnamurthi, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India.

They went around different campuses of KIIT and KISS and interacted with the students. Addressing 12,000 students of KISS, Mr. Jethmalani praised the initiative of its Founder, Dr. Samanta, calling him a great visionary who has done his best for the development of underprivileged sections of the society. “He is my teacher, and I am his pupil”, he said, adding that the country should acknowledge his efforts.

Speaking to the students of KIIT School of Law, he exhorted them to work hard for success in their profession. It is responsibility of the students to take care of the nation and, for this, they should get enabling education, said the 87 year old legendary lawyer, who is always full of youthful verve.

Taiwan keen on participating in Odisha’s development
Express News Service Bhubaneswar, March 22

Taiwan is keen to partner Odisha in its industrial growth even as it attempts to substantially raise the bilateral trade and investment ties with India.

The country is looking forward to invest in sectors like food processing, textiles, agri-processing, IT manufacturing and electronics in Odisha as a high level delegation led by its Ambassador to India Wenchyi Ong visits the state for the first time. Ong would meet Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and other Government off icials tomorrow to explore opportunities for economic cooperation. “We have come to understand and examine the investment potential between Odisha and  Taiwan and identify sectors of mutual benefit.” Ong told media persons here to day.

Taiwan is not looking at large investments in heavy industries like steel power or aluminium  plants instead, it is interested in small capital projects  with a huge job potential. In Tamil Nadu. which has received the  highest investment, three Taiwanese companies with a combined investment of $387 million have generated over 20,000 jobs and direct employment.

The country’s total investment in India is only  $ 1 billion and concentrated in five states of Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. Bilateral trade between the two countries  accounts for only around $ 6.4 billion,  little over 1 per cent of Taiwan’s international trade though it has registered a 40 percent increase over the previous year.

The country is also interested in developing trade ties in seafood tourism and education. Taiwan’s seafood imports last year were to the tune of $500 million from countries like the USA, Canada and Australia. “Odisha with its long coastline has tremendous potential in supplying seafood to Taiwan but the State has to have the infrastructure and quality mechanism to ensure consistent supply of  accepted standards of the consumable. This is where we can partner by helping establish storage facilities, processing and shipment. We are scheduled to hold discussions with the Odisha Seafood Exporters Association on the issue,” Ong said.

The delegation also visited KIIT University which  has signed academic partnership MoUs with two top Taiwanese universities. The delegation which includes Consul (education) James Chang and Director of Science and Technology Yuan Huei Chang have evinced interest in establishing links with other universities of the State too.

Ollywood Stars Shine at KISS Holi

Bhubaneswar: The festival of colours, Holi, was celebrated with traditional fervour in the campus of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), a sister concern of KIIT, on 19th March 2011. Stars of Ollywood, actors, directors, singers and others, joined 12,000 tribal children of the institute in the festivity.

The visiting artistes included Prafulla Kar, Pradosh Pattnaik, Muna Khan, Laxmikant Plalit, Mihir Das, Kuna Tripathy, Sritam, Anubhab, Sabyasachi, Samaresh, Sofial Alam, Mita Mohanty, Ajun Samal, Hadu, Choudhuri Bikas Das, Gargi, Akankhya, Shreya Shalini, Niki, Dr. Rajani Ranjan, Debu Brahma, Papu, Dillip Hali, Dillip Shrichandan, Sura Vai, Jnana Hota, Himansu Khatua, and Sanjay Nayak, among others.

Presence of Ollywood personalities encouraged the tribal students. They thanked Dr. A. Samanta, Founder, KIIT & KISS for his concern for the downtrodden sections of the society. Earlier, Dr. Samanta welcomed the Ollywood stars to the campus and felicitated them.

NALSA’s Year of Protection of Child Rights Declared at KISS
Mass Lunch of 250 Legal Luminaries with 12,000 Tribal Students of KISS

National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) declared 2011 as the Year of Protection of Child Rights. More than 250 legal luminaries from different parts of the country gathered at Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) on 19th March 2011 to make this declaration.

They also participated in Child Rights Protection Programme organized under the leadership of Hon’ble Mr. Justice Altamas Kabir, Judge, Supreme Court of India & Executive Chairman, NALSA and Hon’ble Mr. Justice B. P. Das, Judge, Odisha High Court & Executive Chairman, Odisha State Legal Services Authority (OSLSA). Judges of Supreme Court of India, Hon’ble Mr. Justice R.V. Raveendran and Hon’ble Mr. Justice, P. Sathasivam; Hon’ble Mr. Justice L. Mohapatra, Judge, Odisha High Court and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Deepak Mishra, Judge, Delhi High Court also graced the occasion, among others.

As a part of the programme organized at KISS, legal luminaries interacted with the tribal students of the institute and explained them about the Child Rights. Subsequently, all legal luminaries had mass lunch with 12,000 tribal students at a time and at a place. The event was one of its type in scale and memorable. Expressing satisfaction and pride after having lunch with so many children, visiting legal luminaries termed it as a unique experience.

KISS, an institute that provides food, accommodation, health care and education from KG to PG to 12,000 under-privileged tribal children absolutely free, is a pride for State of Odisha and the country. Emphasis is laid on preserving elements of tribal culture, tradition and language. This enables them to live and study here in a comfortable environment.  
 
The success of the mass lunch programme of 250 legal luminaries with 12,000 tribal students at a time and at a place was due to the direct involvement of Dr. A. Samanta, Founder, KIIT & KISS for last seven days. Total 700 staff volunteers were engaged in serving the food at this mammoth programme.

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Altamas Kabir expressed happiness over the successful conduct of the programme and congratulated Dr. Samanta for his dedication for the cause of Child Rights. He also appreciated the hard work put in by staff of KISS and KIIT for organizing it.

Symposium on Advanced Space Science and Technology at KIIT

KIIT University is organizing a symposium on ‘Advanced Space Science and Technology Programs’ on 12th March 2011 at Campus-7 auditorium of the University. Senior scientists and engineers from various ISRO Centers like ISRO Satellite Centre, ISRO Head quarters, ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network and National Remote Sensing Centre will deliver technical talks on the cutting edge technologies developed by ISRO. The deliberations will be beneficial to academic fraternity - students and faculty from different engineering schools, who will get the unique opportunity to interact with these senior scientists.

The symposium will lead to avenues of collaborative research and development programs with ISRO and may benefit the student community to have job opportunities in this premier research organization in India, informed Prof. A. S. Kolaskar, VC, KIIT.

Valuable talks on topics like “Chandrayaan and Beyond”, “Remote Sensing”, Advanced Sensors for Remote Sensing Applications” and “Space Electronics and Communications” would be delivered by eminent scientists like Shri N. S. Hegde, Mission Director, ISRO Satellite Centre Vimanapura, Bangalore, Shri P.G.Diwakar, Associate Director, Earth Observations System, ISRO Head Quarter, Bangalore; Dr. V. K. Dadhwal, Associate Director, National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad; Shri A. M. Jha, Deputy Director, RDA, ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network, Bangalore respectively. There will also an interactive session of faculty and students with ISRO scientists.

International Women’s Day Celebrated at KIIT

International Women’s Day was celebrated here in KIIT on 8th March, 2011. Inaugurating a special function organized on the occasion, Ms. Celia Thompson, Chief of American Citizen Services, US Consulate, Hyderabad said there is a lot of difference in the position of women in different cultures. A woman has to play many roles, she said, elaborating that inside the four walls of her home she is a mother and wife and outside a professional or worker.

Economic freedom is increasingly encouraging women to play an important part at national and international canvas, she said, while expressing pleasure over the status of woman in Odisha. Ms. Thompson also answered questions of woman staff and students of KIIT and KISS attending the function.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri R. N. Dash, Advisor, KIIT & KISS said prosperity prevails only where women are worshipped. Dr. A. S. Kolaskar, V.C., KIIT said, in his presidential address, that women make important contribution in creating a healthy world. Dr. Sasmita Samanta, Registrar, KIIT lamented that women’s contribution to the society is often underestimated. She also informed about tradition of celebrating this important occasion in KIIT.

Dr. A. Samanta, Founder, KIIT & KISS emphasized on education of women, stating that this would solve most of our existing problems. KIIT provides an ideal atmosphere for women for work or study, he said. Dr. Samanta thanked Ms. Thompson for her kind presence on the occasion.

Dr. Sucheta Priyabadini, Joint Registrar, KIIT University proposed the vote of thanks.

National Management Convention Inaugurated at KIIT

KIIT School of Management organized a National Management Convention on the topic ‘Business of Innovation’. The convention was inaugurated by Mr. Ajay Verma, Vice President, Asia Pacific South - Dassault Systemes in the presence of Mr. Kalyan Ganguly, Managing Director of United Breweries, Dr. A. Samanta, Founder, KIIT and KISS and Prof. Ashok Sar, Dean, KIIT School of Management on 3rd February 2011.

In his inaugural address, Mr. Verma spoke about the rapid pace of technological innovations and how it is redefining the world we live in today. Innovation is really a “six inch problem”, he said alluding to the human brain where all ideas are conceived. He said that if we are going to participate in the transformation that is happening around us, we need to “think different” and question “what there is and what it could be”.

Mr. Ganguly said Innovations are not made out of thin air and are always based on what is already there. “There can be no better example of innovation than KIIT, which is transformation of a dream into concrete reality”, he said, adding that it shows what passion of an individual can do. Organizations need to constantly innovate to make their “products and services better”. On the changes brought about in his own company, he explained how the organization repositioned itself from a plain beverage brand to a “way of life” for the youth of resurgent India.

In his welcome address, Dr. Samanta said innovation holds the key to the success of businesses. Taking the example of KISS, he said if the social value generated by the institution can be quantified, it would be a “serious social business innovation”. The Dean of KIIT School of Management, Prof. Ashok Sar introduced the convention to the audience and highlighted how “Innovation” is different from “Invention”. Inventions convert cash to ideas, whereas innovations convert ideas to cash, he said.

The inaugural session was followed by paper presentations. The three-day convention would involve research paper presentations by Academicians and Research Scholars attending from across the country. Several representatives from Corporate, Academicians, Research Scholars, Members of the Faculty and Students are attending.