9 fellows selected for inauguralSIB-SHnE fellowship programme

Kanpur: In continuation of the spirit of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav on 75 years of India’s Independence and with the aim to mark advancement towards India’s self-reliance in health-tech innovations, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur and King George’s medical university (KGMU) Lucknow have announced the list of 9 fellows for the inaugural batch of theDBT School of InternationalBiodesign--SynergizingHealthcare Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SIB-SHInE) fellowship programme.
These fellows will work towards developing indigenized MedTech devices and systems to uplift the healthcare ecosystem in India.
School of International Biodesign-Synergizing Healthcare Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SIB-SHInE) programme is an exciting year-long full time dedicated residential fellowship programme aimed at creating the next generation of biomedical entrepreneurs. The objective is to create a dynamic ecosystem to identify and nurture the next generation of biodesign innovators.
Prof. Abhay Karandikar, director, IIT-Kanpur said, “IIT-Kanpur has been relentlessly contributing to create multi-stakeholder avenues for the growth of the MedTech sector in India. However, we also need to have a dynamic force of trained innovators and entrepreneurs who can lead a revolution in making India self-reliant when it comes to medical devices and supplies”.
Prof. Rishi Sethi, of cardiology department, KGMU and SIB SHInE programme head said, “The chosen SIB SHInE fellows will serve as warriors in breaking the shackles of India’s dependence on imported medical devices and equipment.” The SIB-SHInE programme is sponsored by the department of biotechnology, Government of India. It was launched on 6 July, 2022, and received an overwhelming number of applications. IIT Kanpur and KGMU Lucknow are the second set of institutes after IITDelhi and AIIMS Delhi to launch this programme.
The programme is based on the philosophy of 4Cs--- Clinical Immersion, Conception, Creation and Corroboration. The batch of the selected nine innovation enthusiasts will scout critical biomedical problems by shadowing doctors, nurses and patients at KGMU Lucknow in first three months of the program, which will constitute the Clinical Immersion segment. The later three stages will be carried forward at IIT Kanpur.
Upon moving to the IIT Kanpur campus, the fellows will go through the conception stage, where the conceptual basis will be formed based on the identified problems. In the creation stage, the fellows will be guided to develop the prototypes based on the findings. This will be followed by the final stage-corroboration, where the prototypes will go through clinical trials for ascertaining the efficacy. The programme also envisages to make an impact in the global medical device market by promoting development of India-specific, globally relevant medical devices, thereby making a huge impact on the Global medical device market, in the long run.