A background note can be accessed here: India Launches First Engineering Biology Degree to Power Its 2035 Bioeconomy Vision
The launch of India's first undergraduate programme in Engineering Biology reflects a recognition that achieving the country's 2035 bioeconomy ambitions will require a fundamentally different talent pipeline. To what extent should specialised interdisciplinary education become the cornerstone of India's bioeconomy strategy rather than being viewed as an academic innovation alone?
The quote, “Today’s science is tomorrow’s technology”, by Edward Teller perfectly captures the relationship between the fundamental disciplines of science and engineering. India's first undergraduate programme in Engineering Biology is an important step towards achieving the 2035 bioeconomy vision, which requires a workforce capable of integrating biology with engineering, artificial intelligence, medicine and manufacturing.
However, the success of this initiative will depend not only on launching new degree programmes but also on designing a curriculum that combines strong scientific foundations with hands-on research, computational biology, bioprocess engineering, regulatory science, entrepreneurship and industry exposure.
One reason medical and pharmacy programmes have succeeded in India is the existence of a uniform national syllabus. However, even 40 years after the establishment of the Department of Biotechnology, undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in biotechnology have never had a uniform syllabus, resulting in a fragmented workforce that lacks clear direction. Thus, India should adopt a uniform syllabus for such undergraduate courses throughout the country. Furthermore, the academic institutions offering these courses must ensure timely syllabus revisions to strengthen industry linkages and meet the evolving entrepreneurial requirements of these innovative programmes.
Engineering Biology seeks to bridge scientific discovery with real-world applications across healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing, and sustainability. How should universities, industry, and government collaborate to ensure that this emerging discipline translates into innovation, entrepreneurship, and globally competitive bio-based industries?
Across the world, there is growing concern that PhD training has become heavily focused on thesis work and academic publications, with limited translation into practical applications. However, an innovative idea can come from a well-trained person even with an undergraduate or post-graduate qualification.
Although translation of research into a medical product is time-consuming and requires expertise across product development, manufacturing, and regulation, a well-framed Engineering Biology course structure can fill the gap to a large extent. It is, therefore, logical to frame the subjects in close collaboration with industrial and medical experts based on current requirements as well as potential avenues for innovation. Close partnerships among academia, research institutions, hospitals, and biotechnology companies will be essential to ensure that graduates are innovation-ready rather than merely degree holders.
India has recognised the need for such interdisciplinary education, and institutions such as the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras (in collaboration with Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore, and the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), Thiruvananthapuram), IIT Bombay, and the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela introduced similar M. Tech programmes around two decades ago, while IIT Kanpur (in collaboration with Nocca Robotics) and the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Rae Bareli, have recently introduced such programmes. Equally important is the need to extend this interdisciplinary philosophy beyond premier institutions so that universities across the country can contribute to building a robust talent pipeline. If implemented with quality, flexibility, and sustained investment, the Engineering Biology programme has the potential to become to the country’s bioeconomy what computer science became to the digital economy. Some of the best recent examples of entirely indigenous technologies developed by Indian institutions are the Noccarc V310, a low-cost ICU ventilator designed and developed by IIT Kanpur during COVID-19; NexCAR19, an indigenous chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy developed at the Department of Bioscience and Bioengineering at IIT Bombay (which later spun off as ImmunoACT); and the helium-free MRI machine developed by Bengaluru-based VoxelGrids Innovation Private Limited.
The new degree programme forms part of a broader vision to position India as a leading global bioeconomy by 2035. Beyond building talent, what complementary policy and institutional reforms will determine whether India can emerge as a global leader in engineering biology?
Building a globally competitive engineering biology ecosystem will require sustained investment in research. India's scientific community has consistently highlighted the need for higher research funding and timely disbursement of funds. Even though the percentage of GDP spent on education in India (around 4 percent) is similar to that in developed countries like China and the USA, investment in research and development remains comparatively modest. India spends around 0.7 percent of GDP on research, leaving considerable scope for expansion.
India also needs stronger industry-academia collaboration to foster product-based research and development. Government grants continue to be the primary source of funding for many academic institutions and research laboratories. However, initiatives like the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP) and IIT incubation centres have been successful, and India has produced several successful start-ups through these initiatives. Such collaborations will also strengthen India's global position by encouraging biopharmaceutical and biomanufacturing companies from other countries to form partnerships.
Scientists at academic institutions and research laboratories working on translational science should be encouraged to commercialise their expertise through start-ups, as the Government of India has significantly strengthened the start-up ecosystem over the last decade.