Mar 04, 2024

NIT Calicut and Aster Medcity collaborate for joint research and academics

Collaboration encompasses aspects such as joint research in Bioengineering, internships, co-teaching, and development of academic programs.

National Institute of Technology-Calicut (NIT-C) has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Aster Medcity Kochi.  With this collaboration, the National Institute of Technology Calicut is set to further strengthen its position as one of the leading bioengineering institutes in the country.

This strategic collaboration will open up numerous opportunities for faculty, researchers, and students to engage and collaborate on projects of mutual interest. The MoU will promote education, research, technology development, and its translation. 

Healthcare institutions constantly need the support of technology for upgrading medical care and treatment facilities and this gives us immense opportunities to collaborate in the field of research, said Prof. Prasad Krishna, Director of NITC. Collaboration is possible in the fields of image processing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics, he added.

Aster Medcity is a quaternary care healthcare centre with both JCI and NABH accreditation in Kochi, India. It is a part of the Aster DM Healthcare network, which has a presence in multiple countries and plays a vital role in advancing healthcare research by improving data management, analytics, remote monitoring, precision medicine, AI, robotics, drug discovery, HIE, and blockchain. 

A major issue faced by the healthcare industry in India is the high cost for equipment being imported from other countries, said Mr. Farhan Yasin, Vice President of the Indian operations of Aster DM Healthcare Group, adding that it had been resulting in a drastic increase in treatment expenses. The collaboration with top-ranked technology institutions like NITC will make healthcare more affordable and enhance the growth of Indian technology. 

The collaboration also aims to stimulate quality education and training for developing an ecosystem of shared infrastructure for research. It will also support joint research and development, academic programs, internships, and sharing of research facilities and resources. 

The MoU was inked by Dr. Jose Mathew, Chairperson, Centre for Industry-Institutional Relations, NITC, and Mr. Farhan Yasin. Dr. Uma Sankar, Research Administrator of Aster Medcity; Dr. Praveen Sankaran, Chairperson, Centre for Career Development, NITC; Dr. M S Shamasundara, Registrar of NITC; Prof A V Babu, Dean Academic; Prof. Sandhya Rani, Dean Research and Consultancy and others were present during the signing of MoU.