Achyuta Samanta - Photo

Prof. Achyuta Samanta

Founder, KIIT & KISS

KIIT School of Rural Management(KSRM) was established in 2007 as I always have a rural bent of mind. Coming from a quaint village in Odisha, I was inspired by my mother to give back to my society and native village. We were initially able to transform my village of Kalarabanka into a model village, and later into a smart village and panchayat. I always think of the grassroots and with this motive, I met with Professor Verghese Kurien, the father of the white revolution in India, who came to KIIT at my request, to lay the foundation stone of this school in 2006. I am glad to note that KSRM has since moved from strength to strength under the able leadership of its Founder-Director, Shri L.K Vasavani, and others who led the school subsequently.

The school is dedicated to ensuring that its students engage with the different contextual understandings, specialized management knowledge and skills necessary to address the unique challenges faced by the rural sector in India in achieving sustainable and equitable development. In the last 15 years of its existence, KSRM has emerged as one of the best schools in the country in rural management, through its imprints in teaching, research and consulting. This is aided by a robust placement process, that harnesses a massive network of nearly 400 organisations across India, that continually provides experiential learning support to the students. KSRM prioritises innovative efforts to nurture young talented managers through a well-structured and practice-oriented programme, which sets its students up to successfully acquire a robust future career working for the transformation of rural India.

I welcome the Loveable KIITians to this school of academics, activism, transformation and research – your KSRM.