Dr. Sucheta Priyabadini, Director, Student Counseling, KIIT-DU was invited at the fourth annual celebration of International Linkages Week (ILW) on 25th October 2021 as one of the three speakers on the theme “Education for Sustainable Development,” jointly organized by ASEAN Learning Network and San Beda University, Philippines.
The celebration was graced by Prof. Emeritus Dato’ir.ts Dr Zainai Bin Mohamed, Chair, ASEAN Linkages Network, Founding Vice Chancellor, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan; Rev Fr Aloysius Ma.A.Maranan, Rector-President, San Beda University, Philippines; Prof. Dr. Fatin Aliah Phang, Chair, School of Education, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Teknologi, Malaysia; and Prof. Djonet Santosos, Director, SDGs Center, Universitas Bengkulu, Bengkulu, Indonesia.
Narrating the journey of KIIT, Dr. Priyabadini said, all along KIIT had a defined social commitment which is largely due to the philanthropic philosophy of its founder Dr. Achyuta Samanta, who firmly believes that educating a child is empowering a family. His mission of “Art of Giving” manifests in providing help and assistance to those in need. This vision led to the creation of KISS University, a home for 30000 underprivileged tribal students. This University is the first of its kind in the world exclusively meant for tribal students, she informed.
Making continuous progress in quality education, she said, KIIT has improved its world rankings. She also spoke about the ongoing research projects undertaken by various schools of KIIT under ESD goals, some of the community engagement and community outreach programmes, etc. In her address, she explained at length the progress made by KIIT and KISS in promoting the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in Education enunciated by the UN.