KISS - Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences
Soumendra Choudhury is currently serving as the Associate Director at Palladium: Make It Possible since January 2023. Prior to this role, Choudhury held positions as the Director of Skill & Vocational Education at KISS - Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences and as the Regional Head at IL&FS Education and Technology Services Limited. Choudhury also served as the State Head at Ikya Human Capital Solutions Pvt. Ltd, CEO at ORMAS, and Young Professional at the Ministry of Rural Development. Choudhury holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Management from Xavier Institute of Management (XIM Bhubaneswar).
KISS - Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences
We are an educational institute, 60,000 strong, powered by the belief that a better world - free from hunger, poverty & illiteracy - is possible. We provide free of cost education, accommodation, food and healthcare to over 30,000 indigenous students currently studying at our main campus in Bhubaneswar, in addition to 15,000 alumni and an additional 15,000 students spread across our satellite centres. Our students are educated and empowered through a holistic approach involving academia, sports and vocational training from Class I to PhD. We also prioritise efforts to preserve the varied tribal cultures, heritage and languages from over 62 tribes represented in our student body. We have also been granted 'Deemed to be University' status by the University Grants Commission, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, since 2017. We were founded by Dr. Achyuta Samanta, who also founded our sister organisation - the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT University), which is now recognised by the Government of India as an Institution of Eminence. KISS was established in 1993, with 125 tribal children at a rented house in Bhubaneswar. Now, more than two and half decades later, it stands as a unique model of empowerment for tribal students.