Bhubaneswar: Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Hon’ble Union Minister of Education, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India graced the campus and inaugurated the Pushpagiri Lecture Hall Complex and Rishikulya Halls of Residence of IIT Bhubaneswar two of its new facilities on 20^th Aug, 2021 ( Friday), on his first visit to the state after assuming charge as Minister of Education. On this  occasion, an MoU was exchanged by Prof. R.V. Raja Kumar, Director, IIT Bhubaneswar and Shri Ranjan Kumar Mohapatra, Chairman, Skill Development Institute (SDI) , Bhubaneswar in the presence of Shri. Dharmendra Pradhan., for extension of expertise and support from IIT Bhubaneswar to SDI in SDI’s endeavour enhancing skill development activities for unemployed, under-employed & underprivileged youth with technical education relevant to the industry.

Speaking on the historic occasion, Shri. Dharmendra Pradhan complemented the institute for its outstanding wellness, teaching excellence and research aura the Institute had created. He expressed his happiness in inaugurating the new age Pushpagiri Lecture Hall Complex and Rishikulya Halls of Residence. He specially complemented the Director and his team for facilitating the cream of global class education through several innovations during the pandemic. He also expressed that IIT Bhubaneswar being a leading Institute in the state of Odisha should take the lead in the effective implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP-2020) put forward by Govt. of India and paving the path for holistic and multidisciplinary education and thereby helping the needy sections of the society.

Amidst the interaction, he mentioned that he is looking forward to fruitful outcomes from this collaboration between IIT and SDI in the best interest of the society and fulfilling the vision put forward by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India.  He mentioned that the collaboration will help the underprivileged sections of the society especially in the mineral rich state of Odisha for enhancing their skillset under the valuable expertise and guidance of IIT Bhubaneswar.  He further stressed the need for a greater collaboration between institutions to address the local issues and environment issues in a disaster prone state like Odisha and thereby acting as a role model for the entire nation. He further reiterated that the amalgamation of knowledge and technical skills at IIT Bhubaneswar will pave the path for innovative outcomes not only in a state like Odisha, but also across the globe. Lastly before concluding, he wished success to all the faculty and students of the institute in all their future endeavours.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad Singh, Chairman, (BoG), IIT Bhubaneswar in his message expressed satisfaction on the momentous occasion and expressed confidence that the institute will play a major role in nation building and pave the path for a modern and decisive India and complimented the Director of the Institute and his team for creating an excellent mix of teaching, learning platforms combined with world class infrastructure for attracting the best brains of the country. He also expressed his heartfelt thanks to Hon’ble Union Minister of Education for his valuable time and presence and also to all the dignitaries present on the historic occasion.

Prof. R.V. Raja Kumar, Director, IIT Bhubaneswar welcomed Shri. Dharmendra Pradhan and the esteemed guests and the Board members besides all others  present physically and virtually on this momentous occasion. He expressed his happiness on the Inauguration of state of the art Educational Landscapes at IIT Bhubaneswar which will add to the quality education and housing of the students thereby creating a global class infrastructure at the Institute. He reiterated that the Institute feels proud by constantly raising the standards on all fronts including internationalization of academic programmes, international collaborations on research of high industrial & societal relevance.  He said “the Hon’ble Minister was instrumental in bringing the Hon’ble President of India for the 6^th Convocation and Hon’ble Prime Minister to dedicate the Campus to the nation in 2018, graced the campus on both the occasions, also addressed all as the Chief Guest at 9^th Foundation Day and has always been a source of support and strength. He acknowledged the support extended by the Ministry of Education, (MoE), Govt. of India to the institute including support for  Phase-II expansion and thanked the National Building Construction Corporation Ltd. (NBCC) for their support in making this possible.

Also present on the occasion were Prof. V.R.Pedireddi, Dean Student Affairs, Prof. Sujit Roy,                     Dean ( R & D), Prof. Saroj Nayak Dean ( Faculty Planning), Dr Pravas R Sahu, Dean (Academic), Prof. P.V. Satyam, Head, School of Minerals, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering (SMMME), Dr. Sumanta Haldar, PIC Civil Works, Dr Santanu Pal, Warden, Shri. Debaraj Rath, Registrar I/c, faculty, staff and students of the institute and officials of NBCC including other important functionaries and staff of the Institute.