India’s oldest IIT is all set to open an in campus Medical School in collaboration with California University, San Diego and would offer Bachelor, Masters, Doctoral and Post-Doctoral degrees along side its Engineering degrees. As per Damodar Acharya, the director of the Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur), the project is likely to kick off with the opening of a 350-bed hospital in 2011.
A memorandum to this effect was signed between the IIT and California University (CU) on 18th August’09 whereby CU would provide technical expertise and other resources for the medical school and the hospital. CU would further assist the IIT in formulating the curriculum for post and undergraduate courses to meet the accreditation requirements in both India and US. The collaboration will also include faculty, students and resident exchange programs.
Emphasizing the need for technology inclusion in medical study, the institute’s director Damodar Acharya said, “Most students give up biology while opting for Engineering and drop mathematics while opting to become doctors. But there can’t be progress in medical science without technology. Our aim is to bridge the gap.”
Initial estimates for the project suggest an expenditure of more than 200 crores and as per Acharya, a public- private participation model is being envisaged and various players from private healthcare industry are being sounded for the project.