In a major effort to increase the job opportunities for post graduate candidates in the country, Bangalore-based Garden City College, has now geared up to integrate the nanotechnology subject with the biotechnology two-year Post Graduate course.

The key objective of the integrated six months course is to increase the focus on nanotechnology applications in the areas of diagnostics, drug discovery, imaging and security which are viewed as critical areas and the need of the hour for India. The convergence of these diverse technologies, nanotech and biotech can now bring in revolutionary changes not only in healthcare but also create intelligent environment in medical technology, Dr Ravi Pottathil, CEO, AccuDx Inc told Pharmabiz.

Nanotechnology is the future for the life sciences and the medical industry sector. With India making considerable headway in the area of biotechnology, there is a need to increase its focus in the area of nanotechnology. In this regard, the government should look at the integration of nanotechnology with biotechnology. India has the potential to become the leaders in the field. The country has a solid base of its research institutions supported by a technical workforce, he added.

Comprehending the importance and indispensability of nanotech and biotech, Dr Pottathil was in a discussion with the Garden City College to introduce the course. The course which is the first-of-its-kind in the country is expected to take off in five weeks to provide more job opportunities to the candidates.

Nanotechnology is engineering expertise and software skills. The country already has the world's largest pool of advanced software talent. It also has a great engineering talent base available. Since we have the basic strength which is a blend of both biotech and nanotech, this could put us on the growth trajectory, creating major opportunities for India, he said.

While a lot of resources are required to set up a biotech facility, there is hardly any investment needed in the area of nanotechnology. This makes it one of the most-sought- after areas of business development for start-ups. The time to market a technology or product is faster and venture capitalists could be more interested in supporting such ventures. These knowledge based synergies are vital for India as the country is now at the helm of accelerated growth, said Dr Pottathil.