M’lore: Biotechnology Finishing School at St. Aloysius College
By John V. Tauro
Bellevision Media Network
Mangalore, 01 August 2012: Karnataka Government in collaboration with IT, BT & S&T is sponsoring a Post Graduate Diploma course called Biotechnology finishing School (BTFS). This course is being offered at 12 different colleges in the state. The course is a year old and students are well placed in leading industries across the state for their internship following which they will be recruited into the companies. St. Aloysius College (Autonomous) is also offering, the course in two disciplines, viz., Fermentation and Bioprocessing and Plant Tissue Culture. Fermentation and Bioprocessing was offered in the college during the last academic year and the students have been placed in Biocon, India. The other industrial partners are Navya Biologicals and ABL Biotechnologies. This year the college is open for even Plant Tissue Culture.
Admissions have started via online mode, the last date for applications being 2nd August, 2012. Candidates who have cleared their Master degree in Life Science Biotechnology, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Bioinformatics or any other Life science related courses or BE/BTech in Biotechnology, Bioinformatic, Bachelor of Pharmacy, Agriculture, Veterinary Sciences, MBBS and BDS are eligible for the course and may apply. Candidates awaiting their results in the above mentioned courses may also apply. Students who apply for the course will face an online entrance test (Karnataka Biotechnology Aptitude Test – KBAT) on 6th and 7th August, 2012 followed by an interview which will be held in Bangalore. Selected candidates will be allowed to select the college and course of their choice and will be awarded a fellowship of Rs. 5000 per month by the Dept. of Biotechnology. Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India during the coursework. Details of the course and fee structure are available at www.btfskarnataka.org or may contact 0824-2449700/01.
St. Aloysius College (Autonomous) is a 132 year old college offering quality education to millions of diverse students over the years. The BTFS course is registered under the Post Graduate Dept. of Biotechnology of the College. The Dept is in its tenth year of offering sound education and a strong value base to the students who pass through its portals. Laboratories in the Dept are equipped with world class equipment and the Government of Karnataka has granted a sum of Rs. 1 crore to the dept for settling up specialized laboratories for the course.