JOIN USTo promote biotechnology sector in the State, the Department of IT and BT has decided to establish finishing schools at 10 institutions across the State. The finishing schools will equip graduate and post-graduate students with skills necessary to make them employable and industry-ready.
The 10 institutes, chosen by a committee chaired by former IISc Director Prof G Padmanabhan, will receive upto Rs one crore from the State. The State government will provide financial assistance upto 25 percent of the cost of equipment and instruments for the BT finishing schools, subject to a maximum of Rs one crore.
The courses will be conducted over a duration of one year, which includes six months of coursework and six months of internship. The fees for these courses cannot exceed
Rs 50,000 per student as per the guidelines issued by the government.
The institutes will be initially allowed to procure equipment and other gadgets relevant to the course. Later, the selection committee will scrutinise the procurement details and inspect the institutes for release of funds.
Monitoring by ABLE
The finishing schools will be monitored by the Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE) and will need to be accredited by an university. Some of the subjects that the finishing schools will train students in, include bio-processing, bio-informatics, bio-sensors and cellular and molecular diagnostics. The institutes were chosen after Karnataka Biotechnology and Information Technology Services (KBITS) invited applications from the institutes. Out of the 25 applications received, 19 made presentations to the selection committee. The ten institutes were chosen from the 19 shortlisted institutes after evaluation.
The finishing schools have been established as part of the state government's revised Millennium Biotechnology Policy announced in 2009. Besides the newly approved 10 institutions, two finishing schools at Manipal Life Sciences Centre, Manipal and Dayanand Sagar Institutions, Bangalore, have already been established.
* Siddaganga Institute of Technology, Tumkur
* Probiosys Marketing Office, Bangalore
* PES Institute of Technology, Bangalore
* JSS College of Arts, Commerce and Science, Mysore
* St Aloysius College, Mangalore
* Padmashree Institute of Management, Bangalore
* The Oxford College of Science, Bangalore
* Maharani Lakshmi Ammanni College for Women, Bangalore
* MM Arts and Science College, Sirsi
* Visvesvaraya College of Applied Sciences, Gulbarga