Department Of Biotechnology
Biotechnology is radically changing the way issues related to human health, agriculture and environment are viewed. R&D ready workforce is a key domain within the rapidly growing biotechnology industry. To address the need for scientific talent to sustain the phenomenal growth in the biotech industry, JIIT in the year- 2002 set-up "Biotechnology Department" with a mission to develop- quality human resource and research infrastructure. The department offers B.Tech / B.Tech-M.Tech Dual Degree in biotechnology and doctoral program. Multi-disciplinary curricula and research informed teaching provide foundation from which students can understand and exploit the potential of biotechnology. A balanced mix of faculty drawn from both academia and industry with rich R&D exposure both in India and abroad contributes to the department academic excellence. Invited lectures from eminent speakers in diverse subject areas, conferences, and research-driven training through industrial internship, and minor and major project components in the program ensures that students are in touch with applied scientific knowledge.
The department has active research program at doctoral level supported by generous Research Fellowships from the JIIT research corpus and project research grants. The faculty research efforts in subject areas of functional genomics, microbial biotechnology, bioremediation, molecular mechanisms of therapeutic properties of Indian medicinal plants, and nanotechnology applications has resulted in research grants totalling approximately INR 412 Lakh in the last few years from premier National funding agencies of Govt. of India including Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Department of Science & Technology (DST), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and AYUSH, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
The department has been successful in carving a niche for itself on the national biotech education map. The quality of the program is reflected through its curriculum, support laboratory infrastructure, faculty background, R&D efforts, and students placement. The biotechnology program has been consistently ranked in top 10 for quality of its education, research infrastructure, and industry interaction amongst private institutions offering biotech courses in India through yearly national survey (Source: Biospectrum). The program has been successful in instilling scientific spirit and promoting creative enthusiasm among faculty and students as evidenced from publications in International/National Journals and conferences, and by the several prizes won by the students at national level competitions at prestigious institutions (British Council, IITs, NSIT, Delhi Univ. etc.) in domains as diverse as innovative technology idea, business plan, technical papers and sports. The standard of our UG/Dual degree programs is exemplified by the fact that our students have secured positions in graduate schools for MS/Ph.D at universities of international/National repute i.e., John Hopkins, Georgia Tech, Keck Graduate Institute, Penn State, Georgia Tech, Indiana University, University of Pennsylvania, Max Planck Institute, University of Calgary, Ludwigs Maxmillan University, State College Pennsylvania, Northeastern University, University of Iowa, Otto von Guericke University, IITs, NII, DIPAS, INMAS, NBRC etc. amongst others). Many students have secured employment in core biotechnology firms including apart from others Panacea Biotech, Cadilla Biotech, and Premas Biotech Ltd.
The department adequately addresses the biosafety risks associated with modern biotechnology as well as awareness generation on the biosafety aspects and regulations, through an Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBSC) comprising of expert faculty members from institution and DBT appointed nominees. Extension activities, a technical society "RIBOSE" (RESONANCE IN BIOTECHNOLOGISTS AND ENGINEERS) and an e-newsletter spread awareness about the science of Biotechnology.