Achyuta Samanta Conferred ISTE Lifetime Achievement Award; KIIT-DU Honoured Too

Bhubaneswar: KIIT and KISS Founder Dr Achyuta Samanta was conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award by Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE) at its 53rd session which commenced at KIIT Deemed to be University (KIIT-DU) here on Saturday.

The conclave of the country’s premier body of technical education is being hosted by Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) and supported by KIIT-DU.

ISTE honorary fellowship was presented to IIT Delhi Director Rangan Banerjee, VTU Regional Director Prof. Baswaraj Gadgay, AICTE Advisor Rajendra Baliram Kakde, Bihar State Disaster Management Authority Senior Advisor Dr Anil Kumar and Maj. Gen. (Retd) Maj Mahesh Kumar Hada.

KIIT-DU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Saranjit Singh was presented the ISTE National Award for Best Administrator. The ISTE Best Clean and Green Campus Award also went to KIIT-DU.

The ISTE Best Technical University Award was received by the VC of Vel Tech Rangarajan Dr Sagunthala R&D Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai.

Dr Samanta reminisced about the 24-year relationship between KIIT, KISS and ISTE, and recalled how KIIT and KISS, established in 1997 and granted deemed university status in 2004, had hosted the ISTE convention in 2001 when KIIT was merely four years old.

“When we approached the then-president of ISTE, everybody was surprised. With much reluctance, they gave me the opportunity,” Dr Samanta said, highlighting how that convention transformed the nature of ISTE conventions, marking KIIT and KISS as significant contributors to the technical education landscape.

This year’s convention, themed ‘Viksit Bharat 2047: Alignment with Higher Education Institutions,’ aims to align higher education with the vision of a developed India by 2047.

ISTE president Dr Pratapsinh Kakasaheb Desai lauded KIIT’s phenomenal and miraculous growth, and termed it as a model for other organisations.

Acknowledging the strong association between ISTE, KIIT and KISS, Desai noted this is the fourth time KIIT and KISS are hosting the ISTE convention.