Biotechnology offers scope for a better tomorrow

Biotechnology offers scope for a better tomorrow


Biotechnology programmes at Bennett University aim to provide a learner-centric environment and lab facilities with modern equipment, writes Prof Latha Narayanan
We live in exciting times where there are amazing discoveries, new applications and innovative products in the market every day. With the onset of global wave of a new industrial revolution, India’s Bioeconomy is on the cusp of entering a new era by developing innovative solutions and deploying scientific temper. With a significant economic growth, India’s Bioeconomy has crossed the $80 billion mark in 2021 and the nation has set an ambitious target for the Bioeconomy to touch the $300 billion threshold by 2030. India is rated as one of the top destinations in Biotechnology in the world and is thus recognised as a sunrise sector owing to fast-expanding bioeconomy.
The application of Biotechnology is vast as it caters not only to healthcare solutions but also finds its application in various industrial sectors like food security, agriculture, environment and more. Students today have a varied range of career options to choose from, including bench research, product development, marketing, policymaking, regulatory affairs, strategic planning, technical writing, science communication and more.
The Biotechnology programme at Bennett University (BU), backed by The Times Group, is industry-oriented and focused on key upcoming areas in Biotechnology. The Department of Biotechnology, BU, offers 4-year BTech, 5 years Integrated MTech and PhD programmes in Biotechnology. The BTech programme in Biotechnology is uniquely designed with 5 specialisations offered at UG level which include, Biomedical Technologies, Drug Discovery, Industrial Biotechnology, Nanotechnology, Genetic Counselling & Precision Medicine. To provide an interdisciplinary approach, students also opt for minors and open elective from different schools across university.
The lab infrastructure at BU is aligned with futuristic trends in industry and academia, offering specialised state-of-the-art laboratories, equipped with modern instruments to carry out teaching and research activities in different areas of Biotechnology. Research formulates an integral part of Biotech curriculum and students are encouraged to publish and present their research work at academic conferences and workshops.
The Department emphasises networking with reputed academic institutions and the Biotechnology industrial sector, offering a good learning experience for the students to interact with eminent scientists, educationists, and policy makers. Industrial visits to Dabur Research Foundation, Mahajan Imaging & Diagnostics R&D Centre are planned to provide the first point of interaction between a student and industry operations.
Eminent speakers from academia and industry from India and abroad are invited to Bennett University campus. In Feb 2023, Padmashri awardee Dr Randeep Guleria, former director of AIIMS and current director of Medical Education Medanta visited the campus to deliver a talk and inspire Biotech students. Other notable invited speakers include scientists from CSIR-IGIB, Dabur Research Foundation, Venom Aid Diagnostics, Ayurvet Foundation, the University of Nebraska Medical Centre, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, the National University of Singapore and the University of Nebraska Omaha.
Biotech students at Bennett University are placed for postgraduate programmes in reputed academic institutes like the Institute of Genomics & Integrative Biology (IGIB), IITs, University of Oxford, New York University (NYU), University of Greenwich, North-Eastern University, Monash University, to name a few.
Faculty at BU are highly qualified with postdoctoral expertise from reputed institutes in India and abroad, committed to teaching and active in research with extramural funding received from funding agencies like the Department of Science and Technologies (DST) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT).
Overall, the Biotechnology programmes at BU aim to provide a learner-centric environment with a focused curriculum, lab facilities with modern equipment, well-qualified faculty, quality teaching and research to tailor the student’s need for life skills and employability.
Please visit www.Bennett.edu.in for admissions-related queries.
(The author is Head, Department of Biotechnology, Bennett University)