Soon, IIT will also produce doctors alongwith engineers

New Delhi, June 22: Soon, IIT Kharagpur will also be known for producing doctors as it is planning to go beyond engineering. In sometime, alongwith engineering courses, it would also start offering MBBS courses.

On a three-acre plot on the edge of the campus, the 400-bedded super-speciality hospital, Dr B C Roy Institute of Medical Science & Research, would be ready by the end of 2017.

"The government has already sanctioned a grant of Rs 230 crore last year for this purpose. Construction work will start soon and is expected to be completed within 26 months," IIT-Kgp director Partha Pratim Chakrabarti said.

The authorities have already sought approval from the Medical Council of India (MCI) for providing undergraduate medical education courses like MBBS.

IIT Kharagpur, known around the world for its engineering courses, would be the first one in the IIT system to venture into medical education.

Besides serving the local populace, the hospital will also work on biomedical, clinical and translational research.

Drug design and delivery will be other key research areas to which the hospital will contribute.

"It will bring the two diverse disciplines of engineering and medicine together in education and research. Technology will be used to access and treat large number of patients through satellite centres and secondary hospitals," the director said.

OneIndia News

(With inputs from agencies)