IIT Madras, Sri Ramachandra Institute Introduces Dual MD-PhD For Medical Engineering Aspirants

Students from the Sri Ramachandra Institute for Higher Education and Research (SRIHER) who are pursuing their M.D. course will now have an extraordinary opportunity to pursue a Ph.D. at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M).

The two esteemed institutions formalized this groundbreaking collaboration through the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MoU) on Thursday, November 16, 2023.

The signing event was held at the premises of IIT Madras. This collaboration will introduce a unique M.D.-Ph.D. dual degree program, which is all set to commence from the next academic year.

According to the institutions, the objective behind this M.D.-Ph.D. dual degree program is to produce trained research scientists who can help develop equipment indigenously, for the healthcare sector. It would also help in creating researchers who could concentrate on preventive healthcare.

Students pursuing their M.D. currently can apply for the Ph.D. programme at IIT Madras. A panel of professors from the Department of Medical Sciences and Technology at IIT-M will select students from among those who have completed the first year in M.D. The students who are successfully selected will be provided with a fellowship to complete their Ph.D.

It is mandatory for the students to qualify in the postgraduate (PG) NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test).

According to The Hindu, IIT Madras director V. Kamakoti said,"when engineering and medicine go together, affordable, quality healthcare can become a reality. Almost 22 of the top 100 from among the 1.2 lakh students that opted for Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER) test to qualify for the B.S. Medical Engineering course, had joined IIT Madras."

It is also worth noting that IIT Madras had recently launched it's Department of Medical Sciences and Technology in the month of May this year. It has already enrolled upto 150 students each for their undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.