AsiaNet 90312

BHUBANESWAR, India, June 25, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Founded in 1992-93, Odisha-based KISS Deemed to be University

[https://kiss.ac.in/] will hold its first convocation for passing students on

27th June 2021. The ceremony will be held in a hybrid mode - both physical and

virtual - taking into consideration the COVID-19 protocols. 143 students will

be conferred degrees for completing their Masters and M. Phil courses

successfully. The brightest and the most promising graduates will be conferred

with Founder's Gold Medals, Chancellor's Gold Medals and Vice Chancellor's

Silver Medals at the ceremony.

Focusing on its formula of 3E's - Enable, Educate and Empower, Kalinga

Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) is a residential educational institution

providing free education, accommodation, medical care, vocational, athletic and

artistic training to 60,000 indigenous children from the eastern state of

Odisha, India.

The students come from 62 different tribal communities within the region, of

which 13 are Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). Of these, 30,000

students study at the main campus in Bhubaneswar.

A Milestone

KISS has a strong alumni base of 30,000 empowered boys and girls and soon over

10,000 students will study at 10 satellite centers of KISS across Odisha. KISS

has indirectly impacted over a million tribal children and youth, which is in

itself a milestone in the history of tribal children who could wriggle out of

the years old backwardness.

Dream come true

"It is indeed a pleasure throwback of the memory when I recall the days I had

conceived the idea about stepping into the field of social service with a

signature nature. That is reaching out to the unreachable," said KIIT and KISS

founder Prof. (Dr.) Achyuta Samanta.

"And today, I feel extremely grateful to the Almighty and humbled and overjoyed

when I recall the day I had started the Kalinga Institute of Social Science

(KISS). It all started like a garden and it didn't take much for the flowers to

smile. KISS was kick-started as a small sapling and within a few years, it grew

into a gigantic tree spreading shadow to many and with an extraordinary

outreach of the huge canopy-like spread giving protection to millions today,"

added Prof (Dr.) Samanta.  

"It's the story of a dream-come-true which took off with 125 students on board

in 1992-93 and rose like a phoenix, an inspiring tale of transformation now

really beyond my imagination. As a common man, when I laid the foundation of

KISS, I simply had the confidence but it was not in the wildest of my

imagination that its growth would be so exponential, impact considerably and

revolutionize the pattern of education for tribal boys and girls, never

detaching from its core belief - Education empowers," further added Prof (Dr.)

Samanta.

An Instrument of Empowerment

While dropouts still remain an aching sore in the country's educational system,

KISS in its course of existence, for over 30 years, has substantially checked

dropouts, child marriage, gender-based harassment, left-wing extremism,

proselytization, ignorance and superstition on a massive scale with its passive

intervention through education and empowerment.

It has stimulated awareness on the importance of education, girl-child

empowerment, upskilling and vocational empowerment, entrepreneurship, and in

collaboration with the tribal communities, KISS made them real caretakers of

the ecosystem, nature and fulfilling its SDGs.

Scaling New Global Highs

For its unimpeachable record, KISS became the world's first exclusive tribal

Deemed to be University in 2017 - a status given by the Ministry of erstwhile

Human Resource Development, Government of India. "With its growth, I always

aspired for University status for KISS to elevate its credibility as an

institution committed to research for tribal studies by tribal scholars," said

Prof (Dr.) Samanta.

KISS scaled a new high when in 2015 it received international recognition and

support. Since 2015, it has been accorded Special Consultative Status by

UN-ECOSOC. Then on a record spree of climbing up, it found itself among the

comity of topmost organizations. It has worked in collaboration with many UN

agencies and bodies like UNFPA, UNEP, UNDP, UNICEF, UN Women, US Consulate and

so on various capacity-building projects and its implementation.

Knowledge Destination

Achievement speaks for itself and soon profound appreciation poured in from

Nobel Laureates, Legal Luminaries, Academicians, Policymakers, Statesmen,

Writers and celebrities who visited KISS and felt so after an immersive

experience. KISS has also institutionalized the KISS Humanitarian Award for

awarding men and women of distinction for their service to humanity.

Soon, KISS became a destination and its giant leaps helped it scale new highs.

For the achievement of KISS it grew to be phenomenally a point of attraction

and a very distinguished panel has joined KISS Deemed to be University at the

helms.

Mr. Satya S. Tripathi has joined as the Chancellor. He was the former Assistant

Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Head of the New York Office of the

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Other distinguished members in the panel of leadership are - Dr. Upendra

Tripathy, IAS (Retd) as Pro-Chancellor; Dr. Deepak Behera as Vice-Chancellor;

Dr. Pitabasa Sahoo as Pro-Vice Chancellor; Dr. Kanhu Charan Mahali as

Director-General. Under their tenure, KISS Deemed to be University will

certainly scale new heights in terms of student achievements, research,

collaboration and academic excellence.

The first is first and always special, and so is the first convocation of KISS

Deemed to be University. The virtual ceremony will be graced by his Excellency

the Governor of Odisha, most affable and erudite, Prof. Ganeshi Lal, who will

be conferred with Honoris Causa, Doctor of Letters at the first convocation of

KISS Deemed to be University.

The other Honoris Causa degree recipients, Odia men of high standing,

achievements and accolades, are Shri Girish Chandra Murmu, Hon'ble Comptroller

and Auditor General of India, pride of tribals, Odisha and India; Hon. Swarup

Ranjan Mishra, Member of Parliament for Kesses Constituency, Kenya and Founding

Chairman, Mediheal Group of Hospitals, Kenya; and Mr. Bibhu Mohapatra, Fashion

Designer and Costume Designer, New York.

"On this historic occasion, I express my heartfelt gratitude to all the

stakeholders of KIIT for their unflinching support. I would like to express my

thanks to all the well-wishers of KISS for their love, affection and belief in

our cause. I owe a debt of gratitude to the staff and students of KIIT and KISS

for their untiring efforts to help KISS reach the level it is today," said Prof

(Dr.) Samanta.

"KISS, which started as an idea turned into a revolution calling for the

creation of more prototypes, has always vouched to provide a local solution to

a global problem. We envisage the KISS Deemed to be University to stand as a

think tank for tribal related issues of importance, to academic debate, discuss

and critically analyse the tribal policies, laws, culture and importance and

offer solutions to KISS for its continuous improvement in course of evolution

in particular and to the wider society in general," added Prof (Dr.) Samanta.

"And as Earnest Hemingway puts, 'There is nothing noble in being superior to

your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self'. KISS

Deemed to be University will always go forward and get better with all humility

in its endeavor towards excellence," concluded Prof (Dr.) Samanta.

Contact:

Dr. Shradhanjali Nayak

shradhanjali@kiit.ac.in

+91-674-2725113

Director, PR

KIIT Deemed to be University

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1507512/KISS_Logo.jpg

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1551653/Achyuta_Samanta.jpg

Source: Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences