History

Being located in a predominantly rural milieu, where substantial population consisting of tribals and villages, Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences is bestowed with an opportunity to make positive changes in the rural community who are still steeped in the feudalistic ways of life riddled with casteism, untouchability amidst dwindling natural resources negatively impacting their standard of life. Since its inception Karunya University has been taking proactive steps in reaching out to the less privileged sections of the society and marginal farmers in its proximity. In addition to being the biggest employer of the local community, Karunya has an active social engagement with the communities around it in education, healthcare and Self Help Groups through SEESHA . Its community welfare arm is a registered society. 

KITS established the Centre for Extension Activities with the aim of transforming the youth into dynamic and socially responsible personalities. Extension activities are particularly focused on the four mission areas of KITS viz, food, energy, water and health care relevant to the societal needs.The CEA adopts a three-pronged approach viz 

• Conducting research to understand the need of the society in the vicinity of the University
• Reaching out to the underprivileged in the society through student community and sensitizing students about their social responsibility
• Providing opportunity to youth to acquire different skills which contribute to their overall personality development through training, extension and co-curricular activities.

Thinking beyond academics – Establishment

The Centre for Extension Activities (Department of Extension and Continuing Education) was established on 11th August, 2007 with the aim of transforming the youth into dynamic and socially responsible personalities and extending the knowledge, technologies for the benefit of the society.  

Objectives 

Objectives of offering Non Academic Activities by Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences:

• To bring all the activities of Clubs under one umbrella in order to serve the local community more effectively.
• To develop the fifteen adopted villages in the immediate vicinity of Karunya to take up developmental activities.
• To conduct Participatory Rural Appraisal and to prepare a database on the villages (involving the computer Centre. The database will include the socioeconomic status of the inhabitants, natural resources, traditional knowledge systems, cropping patterns etc.)
• To focus on the development of women, youth, children and dalits.
• To identify the extension and training needs of the target group.
• To facilitate the implementation of government welfare programmes in collaboration with government agencies such as District Rural Development Agency.
• To provide vocational training to marginal farmers to overcome the problem of seasonal unemployment. Some of the areas identified are goat farming, mushroom cultivation, vermicomposting, bee keeping, ornamental fisheries, organic farming and medicinal plant cultivation.
• To help develop social commitment and to expose the students to get sensitized to social realities and to build a link between the student community and the wider community
• To enhance the social interaction, interpersonal communication skills and develop emotional maturity of students
• To help students in total and integrated personality development.
• To prepare the students for future life, by developing qualities such as cooperation, team spirit, leadership, discipline and development of creative talents
• To boost the self-confidence of students