ABOUT IBAB

Education, research and entrepreneurship in Bioinformatics and Biotechnology

The Department of IT & BT, Government of Karnataka, in association with ICICI Bank has established the Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology. Programmes began in 2002.

Highlights of the institute's progress.

The institute has received overwhelming support from academic and industry scientists, primarily those in Bangalore. It's programmes would not be possible without this ongoing support.

MSc in bioinformatics and biotechnology started in 2011. The students of the 1^st batch of this 2-year course are now doing their course work. The degree is granted by IGNOU, New Delhi.

Postgraduate diploma in bioinformatics started in 2002. The 11^th batch of this 18-month course are now doing their course work. Overall, 75% of these students have found jobs in industry.

Postgraduate laboratory course in bio-techniques started in 2003. The 8 ^th batch of this 9-month programme have finished their coursework. Overall, 95% of these students have found jobs in industry. This popular course has been temporarily suspended due to shortage of faculty and the new MSc programme.

Entrepreneurship: In 2004, IBAB (along with BITS-Pilani, IIM-A, IIT-B and SPJIMR) was selected by the Wadhwani Foundation for funding related to entrepreneurship. These activities have ramped up and resulted in  some students registering their companies. Research in this area has led  to several publications, including in Nature Biotechnology.

Corporate education was ramped up in 2005 and several modules are offered each year.

Research by the faculty has led to several publications in international journals. It has also led to several bioinformatics tools and databases.

Government support: IBAB receives continuing strong support from the Government of Karnataka. In addition, it has received grant support from the Government of India's Department of S&T (DST), Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Department of IT (DIT).

Corporate support: In 2004, Biocon endowed a Faculty Chair. In 2006 AstraZeneca Research Foundation India endowed a Faculty Chair in Cheminformatics. In 2007, Merck & Co (MSD Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd. India) endowed a faculty chair and several scholarships. The Government of Karnataka has endowed the Chief Minister's scholarships for the best male and female students. In addition, Millipore India has endowed two scholarships for women, and Sartorius one scholarship. Sudha Murty has endowed two medals. An annonymous donor has endowed the Nabanita Ghosh scholarship and Prof. Avi Chaudhuri has endowed the Purnima Chaudhuri scholarship. Several companies and individuals have supported the student entrepreneurship cell, Pracint.

Several companies have availed the incubation services of IBAB.

Details about individual programmes are to be found elsewhere in this site.