Mita Mukherjee

St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata has decided to introduce three new postgraduate courses in biological sciences from this year, Father Dominic Savio, principal of the college said.

 The institution will offer the three one-year postgraduate diploma courses in molecular medical microbiology, medical physics and nuclear medicine in collaboration with Tata Medical Center, the principal said.

The Tata Medical Center recently approached the college and expressed its willingness to offer the three courses in joint collaboration with the institution, the principal said.

  “The proposal of the Tata Medical Center was discussed among senior faculty members and we finally decided to accept the offer considering the potential future scope and career opportunities for graduates with a background in molecular medical microbiology, medical physics and nuclear medicine. The Tata Medical Center and our college are preparing the syllabus and other details of the course. We will be in a position to announce the date of commencement of the courses after preparing the syllabus,” Father Savio told EducationWorld.

The courses are likely to start from October this year, an official said. Since the institution will need to have a radioactive laboratory for the courses, it will have to seek permission from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.

“The course will act as a finishing degree in the fields of microbiology, physics and biotechnology and will definitely increase the employability of students. These courses will also involve placement assistance and paid internship,” Father Savio said.  

According to Arup Mitra, a senior teacher and controller of examinations of the autonomous college, after completion of the courses, students can work in biotechnology companies, pharmaceutical firms, diagnostic laboratories and healthcare organizations.

While the new molecular medical microbiology and the medical physics courses will be developed and run in association with the departments of physics and microbiology departments of the college, the course in nuclear medicine will be delivered in collaboration with the physics department of the college. The institution’s statistics department will also provide inputs for the course, the principal said.

 The target audience of the courses will be students having postgraduate degrees in the fields of microbiology, biotechnology, physics and many other areas related to biological sciences like bio-chemistry, bio-physics, zoology and botany, Mitra said.

To start with, the three courses will have eight seats each.

There will be two semesters in each of the courses which will be conducted in blended mode at the main Park Street campus of St. Xavier’s College Kolkata and at Tata Medical Center, New Town Kolkata.

According to Father Savio, the courses will be “a blend of theory and practical components involving cutting edge technology in the fields of biological sciences and nuclear physics”. There will also be a compulsory dissertation paper followed by an internship.

The degrees will be awarded to the students jointly by the college and Tata Medical Center.

According to Mitra the three courses are of high demand among students in the city as very few institutions in the state offer these courses.

Also read: St Xavier’s University Kolkata to start four-year UG programme from 2023