Biotech Education In India: A Long Way To Go
EmPower Research
August 30, 2007
By Roopa S
The current state of biotechnology education in Bangalore, the biotech hub, leaves far too much to be desired. Serious attention needs to be paid by authorities to offer meaningful education that fulfills the needs of industry and also the aspirations of the scores of students.
The key question facing the biotech academia is the suitability of current biotech education and its utility to the industry. While a few education heads opine that the courses are job-oriented to some extent, there are far too many graduates and postgraduates with inadequate training, even in basics, in order to bag a job. In many cases, the courses do not have the scope to train the students enough -- even in basic laboratory aspects. The hype that surrounds this industry has led to a dilution in quality of education and has increased the industry’s dependence on Ph.D. candidates or has required it to invest an enormous amount of time and resources to train postgraduates.
A serious shortcoming in the existing system of biotechnology education in India is the lack of exposure to students in laboratory bio-techniques. This is due to limited laboratory sessions during the course, non-availability of necessary expensive instruments and reagents in institutions offering the course and lack of expertise in the field.
The current syllabi are inadequate in today’s context with regard to subject knowledge and its ever-increasing applications. Besides, the academic curricula to a large extent not consider ground realities. They do not leave scope for highlighting the issues that are currently in demand. Currently, projects, practicals and on-the-job training are not feasible with a large intake of students that the educational institutions admit each year.
This perplexing state of affairs has led to an anomaly where students are compelled to run around seeking placements, and on many occasions spend money on a host of courses offered by institutions. The end result is one where most of the students do not find suitable employment opportunities, and institutions are reluctant to impart training at their own expense.
What fuels this rush?
Bangalore is also emerging as a biotech capital, even as it boasts of being the country’s software capital. According to the latest Association of Biotechnology-Led Enterprises-BioSpectrum survey, of the 340 biotech companies in India, 183 (53%) are in the southern state of Karnataka, of which 137 are in Bangalore, its capital. Nine of the 21 new biotech companies set up in India in 2006-07 are in Bangalore.
The biotech industry's upbeat mood was evident at the Bangalore Bio-2007, a three-day annual event that showcases the biotech industry's potential. The event witnessed participation from 15 countries. It played host to more than 600 conference delegates, about 150 exhibitors, 85 national and international speakers, and an estimated 20,000 business visitors.
At Bangalore Bio, Biocon, the country’s largest biotech company, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Deakin University in Australia for joint multi-disciplinary research focused on biotechnology and biosciences. Among other things, the MoU provides for joint development of a mammalian-cell bio-processing facility in Australia and research in metabolic diseases that Deakin will undertake for Biocon.
Global biotech players have shown increasing interest in partnering with Indian companies, and this was stressed by several company chief executive officers participating at the event in Bangalore.
This year saw Biogen Idec set up an Indian subsidiary for research and development and integrating India into its global clinical development programs. Amgen is said to be planning a direct presence in India with its own clinical development center. Other global majors such as Genentech, Genzyme, Pall Life Sciences, Agilent Technologies' biotech division, and HistoGenetics have either set up base in India or are in the process of doing so, according to media reports.
Industry watchers say that the Indian biotech industry has the potential to grow and occupy an important place in the global biotech business.
What is needed?
To fill in this gap between what is offered by the academic institutions and what industry needs, closer tie-ups with academia and industry are the need of the hour. But who is to lead this initiative?
The industry faces bottlenecks as biotech companies remain starved for early-stage funding and venture fund companies like ICICI, APIDC, the N S Raghavan Foundation and Kotak Private Equity are still not supporting start-ups extensively.
According to Utkarsh Palnitkar of Business Advisory Services at Ernst & Young in Hyderabad, venture capital’s reluctance to invest in biotech reflects the nascent stage of the industry in India. The type of products and the relatively small size of biotech enterprises contribute to this reluctance.
On one hand the industry is fighting its own battles while on the other education as such has emerged as a very attractive business, even as it is offered now. There does not seem to be enough incentive for academia and the industry to meet. So, to the thousands of biotech graduates and post-graduates walking out of college each year, a dream career in the biotechnology industry may continue to remain a dream.
Sources:
Foundation for Biotechnology Awareness and Education
Pharmabiz.com
The Hindu Online
Asia Times Online
The current state of biotechnology education in Bangalore, the biotech hub, leaves far too much to be desired. Serious attention needs to be paid by authorities to offer meaningful education that fulfills the needs of industry and also the aspirations of the scores of students.
The key question facing the biotech academia is the suitability of current biotech education and its utility to the industry. While a few education heads opine that the courses are job-oriented to some extent, there are far too many graduates and postgraduates with inadequate training, even in basics, in order to bag a job. In many cases, the courses do not have the scope to train the students enough -- even in basic laboratory aspects. The hype that surrounds this industry has led to a dilution in quality of education and has increased the industry’s dependence on Ph.D. candidates or has required it to invest an enormous amount of time and resources to train postgraduates.
A serious shortcoming in the existing system of biotechnology education in India is the lack of exposure to students in laboratory bio-techniques. This is due to limited laboratory sessions during the course, non-availability of necessary expensive instruments and reagents in institutions offering the course and lack of expertise in the field.
The current syllabi are inadequate in today’s context with regard to subject knowledge and its ever-increasing applications. Besides, the academic curricula to a large extent not consider ground realities. They do not leave scope for highlighting the issues that are currently in demand. Currently, projects, practicals and on-the-job training are not feasible with a large intake of students that the educational institutions admit each year.
This perplexing state of affairs has led to an anomaly where students are compelled to run around seeking placements, and on many occasions spend money on a host of courses offered by institutions. The end result is one where most of the students do not find suitable employment opportunities, and institutions are reluctant to impart training at their own expense.
What fuels this rush?
Bangalore is also emerging as a biotech capital, even as it boasts of being the country’s software capital. According to the latest Association of Biotechnology-Led Enterprises-BioSpectrum survey, of the 340 biotech companies in India, 183 (53%) are in the southern state of Karnataka, of which 137 are in Bangalore, its capital. Nine of the 21 new biotech companies set up in India in 2006-07 are in Bangalore.
The biotech industry's upbeat mood was evident at the Bangalore Bio-2007, a three-day annual event that showcases the biotech industry's potential. The event witnessed participation from 15 countries. It played host to more than 600 conference delegates, about 150 exhibitors, 85 national and international speakers, and an estimated 20,000 business visitors.
At Bangalore Bio, Biocon, the country’s largest biotech company, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Deakin University in Australia for joint multi-disciplinary research focused on biotechnology and biosciences. Among other things, the MoU provides for joint development of a mammalian-cell bio-processing facility in Australia and research in metabolic diseases that Deakin will undertake for Biocon.
Global biotech players have shown increasing interest in partnering with Indian companies, and this was stressed by several company chief executive officers participating at the event in Bangalore.
This year saw Biogen Idec set up an Indian subsidiary for research and development and integrating India into its global clinical development programs. Amgen is said to be planning a direct presence in India with its own clinical development center. Other global majors such as Genentech, Genzyme, Pall Life Sciences, Agilent Technologies' biotech division, and HistoGenetics have either set up base in India or are in the process of doing so, according to media reports.
Industry watchers say that the Indian biotech industry has the potential to grow and occupy an important place in the global biotech business.
What is needed?
To fill in this gap between what is offered by the academic institutions and what industry needs, closer tie-ups with academia and industry are the need of the hour. But who is to lead this initiative?
The industry faces bottlenecks as biotech companies remain starved for early-stage funding and venture fund companies like ICICI, APIDC, the N S Raghavan Foundation and Kotak Private Equity are still not supporting start-ups extensively.
According to Utkarsh Palnitkar of Business Advisory Services at Ernst & Young in Hyderabad, venture capital’s reluctance to invest in biotech reflects the nascent stage of the industry in India. The type of products and the relatively small size of biotech enterprises contribute to this reluctance.
On one hand the industry is fighting its own battles while on the other education as such has emerged as a very attractive business, even as it is offered now. There does not seem to be enough incentive for academia and the industry to meet. So, to the thousands of biotech graduates and post-graduates walking out of college each year, a dream career in the biotechnology industry may continue to remain a dream.
Sources:
Foundation for Biotechnology Awareness and Education
Pharmabiz.com
The Hindu Online
Asia Times Online
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