Dr. Snigdharani Panda, Chairperson Council of Deans, Director, IQAC and Head, Center for Indigenous Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE), Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) Deemed to be University was invited as a Panelist on Day – 3 of the 10th International Conference on Human Values in Higher Education aligning with the theme “Empowering Youth through Value-Driven Education” from 19th to 21st December 2025 organized by the UHV Foundation New Delhi.
The theme of day 3 was “Implementing the Vision for Value-Driven Education”. Addressing the gathering virtually, Dr. Panda shared her vision on Holistic Value -Based Education in Practice. She emphasized how Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) has embedded Value Based Education since 2009 by imparting Life Skills Education. KISS Deemed to be University also offers Value Added Courses on Environmental Education, Disaster Management, Human Values and Professional Ethics as Credit based courses for Undergraduate and Post Graduate students. Furthermore, she also shared how KISS promotes Ethical Values like integrity, honesty, and accountability; Human Values like empathy, compassion, and respect for diversity; Social Values like justice, inclusivity, and civic responsibility; Personal Values like self-discipline, resilience, and purpose. “Higher education must function as a moral ecosystem, where values are modeled by faculty, reinforced by curriculum, and practiced through institutional culture. KISS also provides holistic education as one of its best practices.”, Dr. Panda added.
Dr. Panda said that without values, education risks producing skilled individuals who lack social consciousness, however with values, education nurtures responsible citizens, ethical professionals, and compassionate leaders. She also stressed on integrating Ethics, Human Values and Sustainability in the Curricula and embracing Inclusivity, Equity as part fo the Campus Culture and Ethos. “Let us work collectively to ensure that our institutions become centers of excellence not only in knowledge, but also in human value-based Education”, she concluded.
