IIT-M among core group to educate researchers on Bio Big Data Science

The Institutes include IIT Madras, IIT Guwahati, IIT Kanpur, University of Allahabad, University of Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University. They are partnering with Heidelberg University, Germany, and Department of Biotechnology (DBT).

The Research Training Group will set up as many as 50 PhD projects, which will be supervised by Research tandems consisting of leading Indian and German scientists. The first funding of the program will be between 2019 and 2025 with an investment of three million Euro from each of the two organizing partners (Heidelberg University and DBT).

Dr Karthik Raman, Associate Professor and Coordinator, Initiative for Biological Systems Engineering, IIT Madras, said given the rich expertise in data science at the Initiative for Biological Systems Engineering (IBSE) and Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (RBCDSAI) at IIT Madras, this initiative will be catalytic in developing strong collaborations with the University of Heidelberg in frontier areas of biological data analysis, and to train future leaders in these emerging areas.

The program organises its first Summer School at Allahabad University, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, from April 1 to 5. Participating scientists will gather to train postgraduate students on topics ranging from bio-molecular modelling to visualization of large data frames. During this event, the partners will sign the bilateral MoUs, which will officially mark the beginning of the cooperation.

Prof. Dieter W. Heermann, Vice Rector International Affairs, Heidelberg University, said, “Heidelberg University has a long tradition of academic cooperation with India. This program opens up new perspectives, specifically in mathematics and natural sciences.”

Parallel to the summer school a networking workshop will be held to foster the formation of research tandems and the definition of new research projects.