Trans-disciplinary research is crucial to address various problems, particularly in the area of healthcare, said Donald G. Nieman, executive vice president, Academic Affairs and provost, State University of New York at Binghamton (BU-SUNY).
Inaugurating Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (SRIHER) -- SUNY Centre for Health Systems and Medical Engineering on Saturday, he said that BU-SUNY has at least six such trans-disciplinary centres of excellence in areas like healthcare, clean energy, and human rights.
The centre that is set up through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Sri Ramachandra Engineering and Technology (SRET) at SRIHER and BU-SUNY will see collaboration between the two institutions on areas ranging from artificial intelligence, data analytics, cyber security, medical devices, and robotic surgery. Students in the engineering programmes at SRET will get opportunities for internships for six months at BU-SUNY, a statement by SRIHER said.
Stating that India was very important in BU-SUNY’s global initiatives for research collaboration, Mr. Nieman said the MoU with SRIHER was in line with its MoUs with other well-known institutions like IIT-Madras, IIT-Bombay and VIT University.
Mohammad T. Khasawneh, director, Healthcare Systems Engineering Center, BU-SUNY, said that the role of systems science and industrial engineering in improving healthcare was being increasingly recognised across the globe. He cited the example of how a top hospital in Manhattan that engaged two engineers a few years ago now had 62 engineers working for them.
Dileep N. Malkhede, advisor, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), said that the National Education Policy, which was now in draft stage, stressed on the need for removing the barriers between different disciplines in research collaboration. V.R. Venkataachalam, chancellor, SRIHER, presided over the function.
