POSSESSING A FAR-REACHING VISION
Prof. Sasmita has undertaken several initiatives and business innovations in congruence with her belief that ‘Leadership is the responsibility to contribute for the success of others.’ She launched the ‘Education for All’ programme that supported one million students to participate in higher education. Recognising the psychological impact of socio-economic disadvantages, she organised the ‘Lead For Life’ confidence-building exercise for underprivileged children. She strives to maintain a student centric ambiance in the campus. Her vision is to create an ecosystem that supports researches for finding effective solutions to social issues. She is working dedicatedly towards making KIIT rank amongst the top 100 universities in the world. She is gearing up to introduce online certification courses to expand the horizon of KIIT.
UPHOLDING SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
She has been vehemently advocating social welfare through education. A voracious public speaker, Prof. Sasmita has participated in various conferences, and even organised an international webinar on National Education Policy 2020. It was presided by Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank,’ the former Minister of Education, and had more than 25000 participants globally. Under her counsel, KIIT has been taking active part in outreach activities. They conduct programmes for holistic development, provide free medical services, hold awareness camps and occupational safety and health workshops for agricultural and construction workers at Kandhamal and other rural areas. Moreover, they facilitate Rural Capacity Building by conducting skill set training programmes on behalf of the Department of Science and Technology, the Government of India.
EFFICIENTLY BATTLING THE PANDEMIC
Under her guidance, KIIT managed its academic calendar without any disruption by conducting virtual lessons and COVID-19 awareness programs on TV and other mass media channels to reach remote parts of the state. They aided the healthcare infrastructure by distributing 50,000 PPE kits amongst healthcare workers and, setting up 4 specialized COVID-19 hospitals in Bhubaneswar, and in the districts of Balangir, Mayurbhanj and Kandhamal. Along with 1250 hospital beds in total, they have also built quarantine centres, isolation and post COVID care facilities. Under her leadership, KIIT distributed dry and essential food items, groceries, sanitizers, masks and sanitary napkins to 3 lakh + people, and set up a tele-counseling cell to provide support for stress management and emotional wellness during the pandemic. Their tele-medicine facility also made online healthcare consultancy available to the public. KIIT has also started the initiative to provide free education to children who lost their guardians to COVID-19 in Odisha. For all their contribution, KIIT was awarded the Utkrisht Sansthan Vishwakarma Award-2020 by the AICTE, Ministry of Human Resource Development, for post COVID-19 redevelopment and rehabilitation plan and ‘Leadership and Management Team of the Year’ by THE Awards Asia 2021.
A DYNAMIC CAREER
She is the ambassador of UGC Paramarsh Scheme, KIIT-DU, which helps many institutes to get NAAC accreditation and good ranking nationally. She is the Assessor and Committee Member, NAAC. She is the Founder-President of World Leadership Academy, which serves as a platform for global leaders to address issues from diverse domains. She has immensely contributed to professional bodies such as the Indian Science Congress, Indian Academy of Social Sciences, Indian Commerce Association, Odisha Commerce Association, and others.
