HYDERABAD: The Skill Development Centre at UoH secured funding of Rs 81.62 lakh to organise training programmes in modern biology for students and teachers from rural regions. The objective of the programme is to empower people from rural backgrounds and enable them to pursue their careers in academia or industry and provide specialised training to them.
The Department of Health Research (DHR), Government of India, granted Rs 55.62 lakh for a period of three years with a potential extension based on the programme’s success. The application for funding was submitted under the Support to Institutions for Imparting Training (SIIT) programme to DHR. UoH also allocated Rs 26 lakh from its Institute of Eminence (IoE) grant.
The centre will conduct a minimum of three training programmes annually as per the funding agencies’ requirements. There will be no registration fees for participants and efforts will be made to provide free boarding and lodging wherever possible.
Graduates studying biology in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) situated in backward areas often lack comprehensive laboratory training, which hinders their competitiveness in both global and Indian academia and industry. The gaps between expected skill levels and students’ qualifications are continuously widening, calling for immediate action to bridge these disparities.
Prof Suresh Yenugu, the coordinator of the Centre, expressed gratitude to the university and the funding agencies, acknowledging that their support would benefit students from rural areas who lack access to quality hands-on experience in modern biology.