The Department of Biotechnology of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras is organising a continuing medical education programme on ‘Technological interventions to standardise the indigenous system of medicine in India’, from June 20 to 25. The Ministry of Ayush is sponsoring the programme called AYURTECH 2022-CME.
Experts from the academia and industry will deliver lectures and a hands-on workshop will be held for the participants nominated by the nodal research and academic centres under the Ministry. Of the more than 350 applicants who registered, nearly 200 were selected.
The Department of Biotechnology is also organising lecture series for students, academics and industry. Manoj Nesari, adviser, Ministry of Ayush, said there was scope to integrate technology and Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga and naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy) at a time when the Ministry was working to implement the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the National Health Policy 2017.
R. Meenakumari, director of National Institute of Siddha, Chennai, appealed to startups and young researchers to focus on scientifically explaining the Indian traditional medicines.
Institute Director V. Kamakoti said focus on research would also lead to filing of more patents for Indian medicines.
Smita Srivastava, associate professor in the Department of Biotechnology, said the aim was to bring together academics, government agencies and industries working in different complementary domains to brainstorm and share their experience to facilitate standardisation and globalisation of the Indian traditional system of medicine.
The interactive lectures covered areas of applied plant biotechnology, medicinal chemistry, bioinformatics and biological sciences.
