| |9 JUNE 2023HIGHERReviewprovided to Biotechnology in Indian Universities. The Department of Biotechnology was set up as early as 1986. Apart from this, a large number of other Government bodies have been building up this base continuously ­ in terms of strengthening of infrastructure, research funding, human resource development, mobility of scientists etc. In fact, this was one of the reasons why a knowledge base and skilled hands were available for us to combat the COVID-19 crisis. Research is also very much dependent on individual motivation and ideas. Even in smaller places with constraints, many of my colleagues are finding ways to drive their research by sheer force of willpower. Institutions have a very large role to play in developing and facilitating faculty research by providing sufficient infrastructure, time, and most importantly recognition. Research may take away from the teaching time, but adds to the depth of the faculty's teaching, and finally the student experience. There has to be a conscious effort not to overload the faculty with teaching or administrative responsibilities if we want to foster research excellence. Exposure to the research environment is necessary for students ­ not just to learn hands on, but also in terms of scientific culture and temperament. There is a lot of open access and spirit of sharing in this domain that helps in skill-building. One of the ways interested students can tap into this is to invest in finding and contributing to the work of mentors outside their parent institutions. Time for such activities is usually integrated into the curriculum as internships and industry projects, but it need not really be restricted by the degree requirements.Having skilled faculty is another major challenge. Teach-ing biotechnology requires education and experience in a range of disciplines. Many universities in India do not have faculty with expertise across multiple disciplines. What solution do you propose for this?In fact, some of the most highly educated and experienced faculty is already available in the country in a range of disciplines. There are also a number of schemes whereby skilled scientists in emerging areas of Biotechnology based in foreign countries can come back to India. There have been some holdups because of the recruitment rules, which vary from place to place but I do believe that too has been changed recently to allow recruitment of meritorious faculty more easily.All over the world, Universities make an effort to attract and retain good faculty - as this is an unbeatable asset to any Institution. That doesn't just include salaries, but also the right environment, consideration for individual requirements, and flexibility. In the end, a trained scientist's mind is a great human resource.Valuable human resource is also available as eminent retired scientists and guest or visiting faculty. Learning has become so open with online hosted courses and virtual laboratories. However, all of this is no substitute for having in-house expertise in any faculty department. With that in place, I have no doubt that faculty-led research and entrepreneurship can lead India into a new economy. It is challenging for students living in rural areas or those having limited access to urban educational infrastructures to gain access to biotechnology education. Even in top institutes, the challenge of accessibility exists since the number of seats offered is limited. How can biotechnology education be democratized? One of the best things has been the introduction of a single centralized test for undergraduate entrance to central as well as private universities. The common university entrance test will be held in multiple cities and languages all over India, making it very easy for meritorious students all over India to access the best education.Now there are many new Government initiatives as well as Private institutions for making Biotechnology education easier to access. Ranging from fellowships and internships to travel support, these definitely help students and faculty get better exposure. However, given a country, the size of India, the numbers for these can always be increased.Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a huge growth in domestic diagnostic kits and vaccine technologies. At present, in Biotechnology education, student quality and productivity is more important than quantity. The idea is not to churn out hordes of students for the foreign shores, but a couple of home-grown problem solvers that can provide solutions for the Indian markets.What is also wonderful is the number of patents and technology transfers driven by Government initiatives to boost translational research along with entrepreneurship. Many places are still developing a synergy between industry and academia. With increased entrepreneurial flavour, the demand for specialized and skilled manpower is bound to get stronger. I expect that Biotechnology education will grow even more hand-in-hand with the market.
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