Prof. Sasmita Rani Samanta is working as the Professor and Vice Chancellor at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology. She has received 25 awards from different national and international organizations for her outstanding contribution to the field of education and leadership. She is a Stanford Lead Alumni and Stanford Distinguished Scholar, an academician and academic leader of repute, a researcher in the field of human development, education, leadership, spiritualism, an author, editor, institution builder. She has given speeches for 200 conferences, seminars, conclaves, public gatherings, discussion forums as Chief Guest, Keynote Speaker, Session Chair, Resource Person, Inaugurator, Presenter and Panelist in India and abroad. 

KIIT

What are the key factors that keep you connected with the education sector?

“Thrust to grow at every level and passion to contribute back to society by educating youths”

I have always been associated with KIIT since its early days. The biggest driving factor to be associated with this institution is when I joined here the growth was enormous and I got the opportunities to grow here at a personal level. But as far as association with the education industry is concerned, this is perhaps the only field where we can visually see the impact of our work. We get enormous opportunities to get involved in social activities. 

Being the Vice Chancellor of the University, what is your philosophy of leadership?

“I believe in teamwork and growth of everyone”

What I have understood in my experience till date is that a leader is considered a good leader if he thinks about the growth and comfort of his colleagues as well. I believe in a humanitarian attitude of leadership and it should be participative in nature. I always ensure that the dignity and self-esteem of each and every person must be respected. 

What are some of the biggest challenges your institute faced to uplift education? 

“We faced various concerns at different levels but striving our best to combat them”

We face many challenges including external, internal and administrative challenges. Because as I said I have been associated with KIIT since the very beginning so I know for a fact that when an organization grows we face many issues to setting up new processes or in policy implementation. But thanks to Mr. Samanta, he always guides us to do the best possible thing. And because of that only we could have reached the level where we are today.

Check KIIT Bhubaneswar Courses & Fees

What do you see as the greatest strengths of the University’s curriculum?

“Students have full freedom to choose subjects and professional lectures are organized for them to keep a pace with industry trends and needs”

Our institute started with an engineering program only but in such a short period of time, we are running more than 200 courses. So under the open elective system, a student can choose any other stream where they want to excel or implement their expertise. We also have associated with some companies closely like with TATA Steel, Tech Mahindra, etc. and the industry people come here to stay for two to three months and teach our students, they give training also to our faculty members. We also have tied up with many edutech platforms to keep us updated with the changes in existing and upcoming techniques.

What are the qualities should a student have in order to succeed in life and become a good leader in the future? 

“Keep yourself updated with the issue about your surroundings and form a strong network of people”

I feel the education system has been designed in such a way that inside the classroom you meet people of different strata. Now coming to your other point that what students should do then in nutshell I would say that they should be properly aware of the requirements and necessity of the society, then only they will be able to train themselves in the best possible way. Because nowadays technology is changing at a very high rate. Evolve yourself so that you can be relevant every time.

How do you establish a healthy relationship with students in your college?

“We do organize regular talks with management to provide the best guidance and solve student’s issues on the spot”

We have developed a new process where the higher authority member interacts with every student at least once a semester. We call it “Chai pe Charcha”. There we discuss with them their requirements, aspirations, and experience in KIIT. And based on their feedback we modify our system so that we can have a very student-centric policy and process.

How do you look at the growth of students through placement opportunities?

“Expert sessions are organized for students before placements to prepare them in the best possible way”

Nowadays we see a different kind of trend than what we used to see before 7-8 years back. Now each and every student has different aspirations and goals. So every institution should have very diversified opportunities for students. And that’s why at KIIT we call many academic dignitaries to talk to our students so that they get insight on market reality.

What do you think should be your University’s top priority over the next 10 years?

“We are in process of providing various growth opportunities for students”

We have developed multiple research and technology cells where students are guided and given adequate support to do multiple projects, how the technology developed by them can be turned into a business. We are also planning to start online certification courses while keeping the current situation in mind.

Click KIIT Bhubaneswar Placements

Any suggestions you would like to give to the current youth?

“Be focused and always make best use of every learning opportunity that comes your way”

I personally feel that this pandemic has brought lots of changes in our lifestyle and has also given us the opportunity to connect with the globe. So I want every student to learn from this situation that you just need to be focused. You will always find ways to conquer the challenge. And this will make you the leader of the industry.