Indian Institute of Technology, IIT Madras has launched a course on ‘Sustainable Bio-Manufacturing of high-value Phytochemicals’. IIT M has partnered with University of Tours, France to offer this course. The course has 30 seats and the registration is underway. Interested and eligible candidates will be able to apply for the course till November 22.
This course is also open for those outside IIT Madras. Researchers, industry professionals, students (BTech, MTech, MSc, PhD) in plant biotechnology/bioprocess Engineering/biotechnology and faculty from recognized institutions can apply. Applicants are expected to have a basic knowledge of plant cell and microbial technology and fermentation, said IIT Madras.
This course is being offered through the ‘Global Initiative of Academic Networks’ (GIAN) program to promote collaboration with international universities.
The objective of this course is to introduce to the participants, current state-of-the-art available technologies to sustainably produce high-value plant metabolites (phytochemicals like drugs and cosmetics) as an alternative to natural plant extraction and total chemical synthesis.
Highlighting the need for such courses, Prof. Smita Srivastava, Department of Biotechnology, Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, IIT Madras, said, “For India to tap on the growing demand for plant based natural products and phytochemicals in the domestic as well as global market, and to become a global biomanufacturing hub in this niche segment, it is imperative to work around three pillars including Capacity building, Innovation and Entrepreneurship in this specialised domain.”
Prof. Smita Srivastava, who is also the Faculty-in-Charge for IIT Madras Bioincubator, said, “Such short-courses can be extremely useful to create awareness and interest among the budding researchers, industry professionals and entrepreneurs to develop such sustainable technologies for huge socio-economical impact both nationally and internationally”.
