SOA University News & Events ,Bhubaneswar

SOA Among 4 Institutes In India In World Reputation Rankings

February 24, 2025: Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University (SOA) has found a place among four institutions in India in the Times Higher Education (THE) World Reputation Rankings 2025. The list, which includes Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi and Indian Institute of Technology-Madras besides SOA, was published on Tuesday.

Only four institutions in India have been included in the list of which SOA is the lone private institution. All the four institutions were positioned in the 201-300 bracket in the ranking. THE had ranked 300 institutions from 38 countries this year using a revamped methodology.

SOA Alumni Reunite at ‘Grand Home Coming’

February 20, 2025: Alumni of an educational institution should keep in touch with their alma mater and always strive to contribute so that its standard could go up, Prof. Damodar Acharya, Chairman of the Advisory Committee of Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University (SOA) here said. “After passing out of the institute, the student’s relationship continues with the institution and the student has a responsibility towards his or her alma mater,” Prof. Acharya, former Chairman of AICTE and former Director of IIT-Kharagpur, said while addressing a gathering of SOA alumnis on Saturday.

The gathering, dubbed as ‘Grand Home Coming’, was also addressed by Dipanwit Dashmohapatra, actor and former student of the Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER), faculty of engineering and technology of SOA, as guest of honour. SOA Vice-Chancellor Prof. Pradipta Kumar Nanda, presided. Prof. Acharya described himself as a ‘former student’ of SOA recalling that he had received an honorary doctorate from the university at its first convocation. Students who had passed out from the university since 2001 attended the event organised by SOA Alumniz. Mohapatra, who passed out of ITER in 2013, said that the foundation of his career in acting had been laid while he was a student of SOA. He was an active member of SOA drama club ‘Toneelstuk’ and it led him to choose a career in acting. Dashmohapatra’s role in the Odia film ‘Daman’ was highly acclaimed and he has since acted in other films including in ‘Pratiksha’. He has won several accolades for his acting skills. Twenty of the prominent alumnis of the university were felicitated on the occasion. Mr. Abhishek Pattnaik, Convenor of SOA Alumniz, proposed the vote of thanks.

SOA signs MoU with University of Nebraska-Lincoln for academic and research collaboration

February 20, 2025: Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University (SOA) on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), USA, with the intention to facilitate academic and research collaboration between the two institutions. UNL is a comprehensive, public university listed as a Carnegie Research Institution offering academic programs at the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels in many disciplines including Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Architecture, Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, Engineering, Education and Human Sciences, Law, Fine and Performing Arts and Journalism and Mass Communications.

The US University is also a member of the Big Ten Academic Alliance, a consortium of world class research institutions which have advanced their academic missions, generated unique opportunities for students and faculty and served the common good by sharing expertise, leveraging campus resources and collaborating in innovative programs. The MoU was signed by UNL’s Chancellor Dr. Rodney D. Bennett and SOA Vice-Chancellor Prof. Pradipta Kumar Nanda. Prof. Chittaranjan Ray, Director, Nebraska Water Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA, reperesented the US university. The MoU, which would be subject to applicable US export control laws and regulations controlling the transfer of technical information, would establish the cooperative relationship between the institutions to facilitate collaboration in one or more academic activities including teaching, research, student and faculty exchange, technology transfer, publication, curriculum development, joint projects and training.

SOA Hosts International Hybrid Conference on Metaheuristics and Engineering Research, Organized by ITER

February 20, 2025: The two-day 2nd International Conference on Metaheuristics in Engineering and its Applications (Metasoft-2024) concluded at Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University (SOA) on Saturday with experts expressing the view that metaheuristic algorithms could be deployed to get quicker results in research within reasonable time with good accuracy. Metaheuristic algorithms are computational intelligence paradigms often used for sophisticated solving optimization problems.

The conference was organised in hybrid mode by the Department of Computer Application of Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER), faculty of engineering and technology of SOA. It was attended by academics, researchers, research scholars and students from across the globe. Prof. Sahu underlined the importance of the conference saying metaheuristic application helped researchers to get results quickly with good accuracy. The conference had received 157 high quality research papers, he said. Prof.Perumalla  focused on multi-disiciplinary engineering research saying organization of such conferences was the need of the hour.

School of Hotel Management Organises Cake Mixing Ceremony Ahead of Christmas

November 14, 2023: As Christmas is nearing, a Cake Mixing Ceremony was recently organised at the School of Hotel Management (SHM), SOA's college of hospitality and tourism management. Cake mixing is a traditional European rite that dates back to the 17th century and is regarded as a forerunner of good times and happiness.

Cake Mixing ceremony also heralds the beginning of harvest season, when many fruits and nuts are collected and utilised to make plum cake.The traditional Christmas cake is made up of a lot of dry fruits that are held together by eggs and flour. It is sometimes spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and other spices and soaked with molasses. Prof. Nachieketa K. Sharma, SOA’s Director, University Outreach Program, faculty members of SHM and students attended the program.

Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA) Organises state-level NSS Cultural Fest

May 31, 2023: Tuesday marked the grand finale of the three-day state-level NSS Cultural Fest, which was hosted at Siksha 'O' Anusandhan (SOA) and featured a rich tapestry of the nation's unique and vibrant culture. Around 200 NSS volunteers and programme officers from 19 various state institutions participated in the event, which started on Sunday. On the morning of the final day, participants drew a map of Odisha state in the SOA campus, giving the event a memorable beginning. At the concluding ceremony, Dr Ramesh Chandra Behera, a State NSS officer and Deputy Secretary to the state government, attended as a guest of honour in addition to SOA Vice-Chancellor Prof. Pradipta Kumar Nanda, who served as the event's chief guest. During the closing ceremony, ten of the volunteers who had participated spoke about their festival experiences while Prof. Nachieketa K. Sharma, director of the university outreach programme and programme coordinator for the NSS bureau at SOA, gave a report on the camp. The attendees were greeted by Prof. Jyoti Ranjan Das, Dean of SOA (Students' Welfare). 

The closing ceremony was preceded by a talk show when Dr Mohammed Imran Ali, Managing Director, Salam Jeevan, emphasized on the importance of staying away from addictions involving drugs, alcohol and smoking and the need for de-addiction if anyone was drawn to such habits. Prizes were presented to winners of different competitions before Dr. Mou Roy, NSS Programme Officer at the School of Hotel Management, SOA’s faculty of hospitality and tourism management, proposed the vote of thanks.

SOA and the Rotary Club of Bhubaneswar Flamingo Jointly Organised Lecture on “India Awakening, Now An Unstoppable Force”

January 19, 2023: According to senior diplomat and special advisor to the prime minister Dr Deepak Vohra, an emerging India that is brimming with self-confidence and new energy has grown to be the world's fifth largest economy with a gross domestic product (GDP) of 3.5 trillion dollars. This India is now an unstoppable force for change in the world.

Dr Vohra, who advises the Prime Minister on two African countries and the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, said during a motivational session for students at the SOA Deemed to be University here on Thursday that "India today is the most preferred destination for investment and it's for the young generation to seize the moment to write their future and determine their destiny."

The lecture was jointly organised by SOA and the Rotary Club of Bhubaneswar Flamingo to mark Swami Vivekananda’s birth day. SOA’s Pro-Chancellor Prof. (Dr) Amit Banerjee, Vice-Chancellor Prof. Bijay Kumar Sahoo, Dean (Students’ Welfare) Prof. Jyoti Ranjan Das, Director, University Outreach Program, Prof. Nachieketa K. Sharma and President of Bhubaneswar Rotary Club Flamingo Dr Smita Sinha were present.

Dr.Vohra remembered Swami Vivekananda's statement from 125 years ago that the awakened ancient India would be greater than the India of the future.

He claimed that a survey on the attitudes of the millennial generation (those born between 1981 and 1996) by Deloitte had revealed that Indians were the most upbeat. The world's top financial institution, Goldman Sachs Group, has referred to India's tale as the most engaging in the entire globe.

Founder President of Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA) Receives Distinguished Alumnus Award of IIT Kharagpur for 2022

January 06, 2023: Founder and President of Siksha 'O' Anusandhan (SOA), Prof. (Dr.) Manojranjan Nayak, received the esteemed Distinguished Alumnus Award of IIT Kharagpur for 2022 on Saturday.

At the 68th convocation event of IIT Kharagpur, Prof. (Dr.) Nayak was presented with the honour while not present. Pro-Vice Chancellor of SOA Prof. Pradipta Kumar Nanda accepted the honour on behalf of Prof. (Dr.) Nayak.

In a letter Prof. (Dr.) Nayak received from IIT Kharagpur, the institute stated, "As your Alma Mater, the institute applauds and takes great pride to bestow this honour in recognition of your professional achievements that made significant contributions in various fields of academia and research, industries, community-society, and the institute at large."

Prof. (Dr.) Nayak is a former educator who is now an entrepreneur. He earned an electrical engineering degree from the Regional Engineering College (now NIT) in Rourkela and an M.Tech. in computer science from IIT, Kharagpur. The Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), Bhubaneswar, is where he earned his doctorate.

He established SOA and 10 schools of professional learning in Bhubaneswar after serving as a professor at OUAT. The institutions that fall under the SOA Deemed to be University banner have been dispensing instruction in engineering and technology, medical and dental sciences, pharmaceutical and management sciences, nursing, legal studies, and agricultural, veterinary, and animal husbandry sciences. Around 15,000 students, some of them are international, attend SOA. According to the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), The Deemed to be University was rated 16th in the nation in 2022.

SOA Becomes ‘Best Promising University In Asia For Research’

November 26, 2022: At the 4th annual Asia Pacific Education and Technology Awards Summit 2022 (APETA-2022), which was held in Goa on Friday, Siksha 'O' Anusandhan (SOA) Deemed to be University was named the "Best Promising University in Asia for Research."

At the summit with the topic "Future Technology in Higher Education—the New Education Policy (NEP) Perspective," Dr Mahendra Prasad, Director of SOA, accepted the award.

According to a review by Education Post, universities and colleges received awards during the summit for their contributions to various academic categories.

Speaking at the event, Gill emphasised how urgently good elementary, secondary, and upper secondary schools, which serve as the cornerstone of education, must be improved. He expressed his happiness at universities and colleges being recognised for criteria like developing students' entrepreneurship and leadership skills as well as strong industry connections.

A multidisciplinary institution recognised to be a university, SOA, was placed 16th by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in 2022, while 16 of its researchers appeared on Stanford University's list of the top 2% of scientists in the world this year.

SOA Researchers In 2 Per Cent Stanford World Ranking Felicitated

November 25, 2022: Researchers from Siksha 'O' Anusandhan (SOA), who were listed in the top 2% of scientists in the world according to Stanford University's 2022 rankings, were honoured on Friday by the Deemed to be University.

The Chancellor Prof. DP Ray presided over the felicitation ceremony and 12 of the 16 SOA researchers were in attendance. He complimented them for their successes and said that it would inspire future research scholars to work hard in their various fields.

Prof. Ray praised the researchers for their excellent work in a variety of fields, noting that SOA, a multidisciplinary university that was ranked 16th in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) this year, offered a fantastic setting for cross-disciplinary research. He said, "It is up to the researchers to advance it.

Senior officials, including Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Registrar Prof. B.B. Pradhan, were present.

SUMUM Doctors Turn Around Critical Elderly Patient

November 24, 2022: A 79-year-old man suffering from acute pneumonia was successfully treated after 57 days of hard work by medical professionals at SUM Ultimate Medicare.

On September 23, Nikunja Kishore Das was admitted to the hospital with a fever, breathing difficulties, and bilateral pneumonia.

The patient was immediately placed on non-invasive ventilation and admitted to the intensive care unit. It was difficult to manage the case because he already had several co-morbidities, including diabetes, hypertension, hypothyroidism, chronic kidney disease (CKD), arterial fibrillation, and angioplasty.

The patient was treated by a multidisciplinary team of medical professionals, including intensivists, cardiologists, nephrologists, pulmonologists, and plastic surgeons.

He added that it was difficult to wean the patient from the ventilator due to his co-morbid cardiac and renal conditions, but it was gradually accomplished over the following few days, and the tracheostomy was closed. Unexpected complications during the course of treatment made it more difficult, he said.

After a 57-day stay, the patient was finally let out from the hospital.

The multidisciplinary team's daily care plan and the ICU team's round-the-clock surveillance helped to win the war, but repeated, upbeat family therapy was the key to the treatment's success, according to Dr Mishra.

SOA, SUM Ultimate get Positivity Awards

November 19, 2022: Anusandhan's Siksha (SOA) Deemed to be University has been given the "Sakaratmak Ratna Award" for improving society and significantly contributing to the process of constructing the country.

The "Sakaratmak Netrutwa Award" was given to SUM Ultimate Medicare (SUMUM), which has excelled in the field of health care in Odisha.

The Society for Initiatives held its second national conference on Friday at the Civil Services Officers' Institute in New Delhi to recognise groups and people for their contributions to the nation's positive movement. Former President Ram Nath Kovind performed the ceremony's inauguration.

The former President expressed his gratitude to the organisations that were given the honour, adding that they had made significant contributions to improving society and fostering the development of the country. Singh, the deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha, praised SOA and SUMUM on this occasion for their contributions to society's advancement.

Patil, an NAAC advisor, underlined the importance of introducing optimism into higher education curricula. He stated that he would suggest that it be implemented in universities to the union government. He claimed that this will have a profound effect on the brains of college students and inspire them to plan their futures. Cultural programmes were held following the ceremony.