The management team of the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) has taken the top accolade in a year of record submissions for Times Higher Education’s awards for Asian institutions.

KIIT bagged the prize for Asia’s Leadership and Management Team of the Year category at 2021’s ɫ��ֱ�� Awards Asia, whose winners were announced in a digital ceremony on 14 December.

The event, which is now in its third year, builds on the success of �ձᷡ’s long-running UK-focused awards, known as the “Oscars of higher education”.

The judges praised the Indian institution, which they said stood out “for the volume and range of its contributions”, including developing free Covid-19 hospitals, “its widespread distribution of masks and sanitisers, and the provision of free higher education for children of parents lost in the pandemic”.

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In other categories too, universities showed their mettle in tackling Covid-19 challenges.

The winner in the Technological or Digital Innovation of the Year category, India’s O.P. Jindal Global University, created a free, cloud-based application to help schools and universities manage data – especially useful given India’s digital divide.

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Saint Joseph University of Beirut, which is based in Lebanon, received the award for Workplace of the Year for its initiatives responding to two crises: the pandemic and the catastrophic explosion in Beirut’s port in August 2020.

�ձᷡ’s chief knowledge officer Phil Baty praised all the 2021 winners, who faced stiff competition with dozens of universities submitting entries.

“We at ɫ��ֱ�� and our distinguished group of guest experts found it a genuine privilege to immerse ourselves in these first-hand reports from all corners of the continent, detailing how universities responded speedily and ingeniously, deploying their resources to support students, staff and local communities,” he said.

Times Higher Education Awards Asia 2021 winners

Leadership and Management Team of the Year
Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT)

Workplace of the Year
Saint Joseph University of Beirut

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International Strategy of the Year
Hangzhou Dianzi University
Highly commended: Chinese University of Hong Kong

Teaching and Learning Strategy of the Year
National University of Singapore
Highly commended: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), Centre for Applied Learning and Multimedia

ɫ��ֱ�� Datapoints Social Impact Award
Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember

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ɫ��ֱ�� Datapoints Improved Performance Award
Universiti Utara Malaysia

Excellence and Innovation in the Arts
Hong Kong Baptist University

Technological or Digital Innovation of the Year
O.P. Jindal Global University

Outstanding Support for Students
Universiti Teknologi Petronas

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Student Recruitment Campaign of the Year
Hanoi University of Science and Technology
Highly commended: Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences