IIT-Madras launches new department to combine medical education, engineering

In a bid to combine medical education and engineering to further bring innovative practices into the educational setting, the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, also known as IIT-Madras has launched a new department for the students of medical sciences and technology. As stated on the institution’s website, the department has been launched with the purpose to provide clinicians and scientists, and engineers, with a skillset to advance medical research while taking an engineering approach to the human body and giving a clinical understanding of engineering respectively. In line with this purpose, the department has already collaborated with premier hospitals and medical institutions across the country and will top medical professionals from over the world who have also contributed to the development of the curriculum. Notably, the department was inaugurated recently in the presence of Cognizant co-founder Lakshmi Narayanan, IIT-Madras director Prof V Kamakoti, and other stakeholders. Speaking on the same, Prof Kamakoti said that the institution’s mission through the new department is to unite professionals from the fields of medicine and technology to create groundbreaking solutions for medical issues that were once unsolvable. “Continuing our mission of ‘IITM for all’, we aspire to provide technological interventions in the field of medicine that shall enable quality and affordable medicare to reach every citizen of our country,” he added. Courses under IIT-Madras’ new department According to the institution’s website, the department will provide a series of courses including a BS in medical sciences and engineering (four-year programme), a PhD programme for doctors, an MS by research for doctors, an MS in medical sciences and engineering, and finally a PhD programme for science and engineering graduates. The four-year course will offer students with a specialisation in a number of areas and will also cover emerging areas. Claiming it to be the “first-of-its-kind course” in India, the PhD programme aims to train physician-scientists who will lead innovation in healthcare and boost research in vital fields of medicine. Those who want to get into the department will have to go through the IISER Aptitude Test (IAT). Candidates having passed their Class XII examination with a specialisation in Science stream in 2022 or 2023 from any recognised board. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.