Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has launched a Department of Medical Sciences and Technology, which will offer four-year B.S. program in medical sciences and engineering in. This course will be a first-of-its-kind in India.
The course offers an interdisciplinary approach to prepare students for designing life-saving medical devices, drug discovery, artificial intelligence in medicine, and fundamental medical research. The department will train physicians to effectively apply technology in their clinical practice and lay the foundation for physician-scientists training in India.
Top medical doctors in India and abroad, who were also closely involved in the development of the curriculum, will be ‘Professors of Practice’ in this department, which has already established tie-ups with premier hospitals and medical institutions in India.
The Department was launched on Thursday in the presence of Lakshmi Narayanan, Co-Founder, Cognizant, V Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, Medical clinicians on the Steering Committee of the Department and other stakeholders.
“Collaborative research in medical sciences can catapult India to a global leader in clinical outcomes. Our leadership in Space, nuclear, digital and biotechnology has demonstrated our research capability and potential. Extending this capability to Medicine is a natural next step,” Narayanan said.
The goal is to establish an research facility for medical sciences and technology to develop and train ‘physician-scientists’ and engineering physiologists to become the future leaders in their fields. The new department will conduct both fundamental and applied research programs that connect various medical disciplines. By providing the necessary resources and platform, IIT Madras hope to enable researchers to create innovative technologies that will improve the lives of patients for generations to come. The Institute also aims to establish an exceptional research facility for medical sciences and technology to develop and train physician-scientists and engineering physiologists to become the future leaders in their fields.
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The Institute will also conduct both fundamental and applied research programs that connect various medical disciplines. By providing the necessary resources and platform, we hope to enable our researchers to create innovative technologies that will improve the lives of patients for generations to come.
“During the COVID outbreak in India, it became evident that we needed to incorporate technology into medicine to effectively handle similar situations in the future as a country. Though we hope such challenges never arise again, this intervention will be crucial in defining our response,” Kamakoti said.
