The project to impart industry-specific skills to biotechnology students has been taken up with the support of the Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE). The government will also provide funds to young researchers who want to set up their own enterprise, Principal Secretary of IT and BT Department Ashok Kumar Manoli said here on Wednesday. He was speaking at the national conference on Molecular Medicine and Nanotechnology.
A BT finishing school is similar to an IT finishing school and imparts training to make students more employable. Currently, there are two BT finishing schools in the State.
Raising concerns
The proposal comes at a time when there is growing concern among academicians as well as parents about the future of students who have opted for the course. The recent statistics provided by Bangalore University indicated dwindling number of students for the course, which was hugely sought after in the recent past.
"There was a huge drop in demand for biotechnology courses in the recent counselling for PG courses," said Bangalore University vice-chancellor N Prabhu Dev.
He announced that the varsity was planning to set up a nanobiotechnology park in the campus.
The inaugural session of the conference was attended by physicians, biotechnologists, academicians as well as representatives from the industry.
Vishal, one of the students enrolled for the conference noted that there were very few programmes which gave authentic information on career opportunities as well as various challenges involved in the field.
The two-day conference comprises panel discussions, workshops, poster sessions on the latest trends and developments in molecular medicine and nanobiotechnolgy.