The Skill Development Centre, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad (UoH) has received funding to conduct training programs in the area of modern biology to train personnel (students and teachers) belonging to rural areas. Post graduate students of biology stream produced from Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) located in disadvantaged areas do not necessarily receive intensive training on laboratory skills, thus disabling them to compete in academia and industry both at global and Indian levels. Gaps in the expected skill sets and the qualification of a student are ever increasing. There is an urgent need to fill these gaps.
The aim is to train personnel from rural areas and to empower them to forge into either academia or industry. An amount of Rs. 55,62,500 was sanctioned by the Department of Health Research (DHR), Government of India for a period of three years, with a possible extension depending on the success of the training programs. The application was submitted to DHR under the Support to Institutions for Imparting Training (SIIT) program. Further, an amount of Rs. 26,00,000 was sanctioned by the University of Hyderabad under its Institute of Eminence (IoE) grant.
The Skill Development Centre at UoH will conduct at least three training programs per year as per the mandate of the funding agencies. The participants of the training programs will not be charged any registration fee. Boarding and lodging will be provided free of cost as far as possible.
Prof. Suresh Yenugu, coordinator of the Skill Development Centre thanked the university and the funding agencies and said, “This generous funding will help many students from rural areas who do not have access to quality hands-on experience in the areas of modern biology”.