Harshvardhan Rao's Review on School of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics - D.Y. Patil University, Navi Mumbai

To bolster my Curriculum Vitae and have a multi-dimensional experience I did an internship at R.P.G Life science and attended annual conferences and several hands-on training programs from reputed institutes like Haffkine, iGenetics Diagnostic laboratory etc . Concomitantly, many students get involved in various training and internship program by the time they become Junior (3rd Year) and many of the studies including my batchmates have been selected for their final Semester project at from reputed institutes like TIFR, ACTREC, CCMB etc.

The college has been successful in placing students in very good companies, some of them are listed below:

• Abdos Laboratory ware
• Ajanta Pharmaceuticals
• Asian Heart Institute
• Novartis India
• ATGC Solutions (P) Ltd., Anand, Gujarat
• Aurigene Discovery Technologies Ltd., Bangalore
• Bayer Crop Sciences Ltd., Mumbai
• BD Biosciences Ltd.
• Bharat Serums and Vaccines Ltd., Thane
• Biocon
• Cipla
• Roche
• Cognizant Technologies
• Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Navi Mumbai
• Godavari Biorefineries Ltd., Mumbai
• Grail Research Ltd., Noida
• LifeCell International Pvt. Ltd., Chennai
• Lupin Pharma Ltd., Tarapur and Pune
• Novartis India
• Persistent Systems Ltd., Pune
• Piramal Diagnostic Services India Ltd., Mumbai
• Piramal Life Sciences Ltd., Mumbai
• Ranbaxy Laboratories
• Reliance Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd.
• Stemade Biotech (P) Ltd., Mumbai
• Sun Pharma Ltd., Baroda
• Synergy Diagnostics (P) Ltd., Mumbai
• Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.
• Thyrocare Technologies Ltd.
• Wipro Technologies Ltd., Bangalore.
• Wockhardt Biotech Ltd., Aurangabad
• Xcelris Laboratory s (P) Ltd., Ahmedabad
• Zydus Cadila Ltd., Ahmedabad

and many more....

The overall motive of the college is to equip the students with extraordinary skills for life, making them not just job seekers but also job creators.

The college does provide hostel service and there are a lot of community hostels like Jain hostel and Paying-Guest option in the Belapur area. There is no person I ever heard of in the past 3 years complaining that he has to travel long distances since he was unable to get any accommodation nearby. 

The food in our college is provided by canteen service that runs on a contract basis. The current scenario is too good, the food is cheap, hygienic and healthy. Currently, a Full meal would cost you around 90-110 bucks and light snacks would cost you 25-70 bucks. 

There is a lab for almost every specialization, For eg: the college has Plant tissue culture lab, Animal tissue culture lab, Molecular biology lab, Food biotechnology lab, etc. Apart from this the college also maintains a greenhouse and an Animal storage unit to keep model organisms.

Dr. D.Y. Patil University -School of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics was established in 2003 and it is the only college in whole Mumbai which has a separate dedicated facility for Biotechnology and its related branches. The Department is a prominent and impressive 12-storeyed landmark with a campus size of 64,000 sq. feet situated in Sector 15, CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai. The Department houses 12 state of the art laboratories and 14 lecture halls augmented with sophisticated audio-visual aids. The college is Accredited by NAAC with 'A' grade due to the high standards of exposure it provides to niche and upcoming fields in India. Over the years the school has paved a way to success in academia due to the fertile environment provided to the students for getting involved in projects and internship programs for getting a better insight of the industry and as well as the research world. Apart from Biotechnology the college hosts multitude of degree programs for other fields like Bioinformatics, Genetic engineering, Food Biotechnology, Biomedical engineering, etc. Apart from its usual degree program, the college is very well known M.tech Integrated (Biotechnology) program which provides dual Bachelor's and Master's degree in 5 years. More information on the facility provided by the college can be found on (http://www.shiksha.com/getListingDetail/31420/institute/college-D-Y-Patil-University-Navi-Mumbai-School-Of-Biotechnology-And-Bioinformatics-Navi-Mumbai-India)

Looking at the current rise of expertise required in the field of Biotechnology, the number of student enrollment has increased tremendously recently. The college conducts an All India Biotechnology common entrance test (AIBTCET) for admission to B.tech (Biotechnology/Medical Biotechnology) and M.tech (Biotechnology) at Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai. The exam pattern consists of 100 Multiple choice type of questions in the subject of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (Zoology and Botany) carrying 100 marks in total and 25 marks each subject. Although, NRI/PO/ FN category are not required to appear for AIBTCET. Further information on seat reservations and other miscellaneous information regarding test eligibility criteria can be found on (http://www.winentrance.com/engineering_entrance_exam/dr_dy_patil/).

The daily lecture routine for each batch is designed with care so that no conflict arises. Apart from that, the professors are provided with flexibility to adjust their lecture timings as per student's comfort. The whole routine is absolutely light and stress-free. Every academic year the lecture timings for each batch keeps changing. As a part of the curriculum, every student enrolled in B.Tech program has to clear 6 theory papers and 2 practicals so as to be eligible for attending next semester. The curriculum also includes internals which majorly consists of assignments for each subject appointed by the professors.

The professors are quite dynamic and creative when it comes to teaching. Almost every professor uses audio-visual representation to better explain the concepts to the students where and when necessary. Professors are open to post lecture doubt session and at times they also assign case study problems to the students as a homework so that they remember the concepts taught on that day in an immersive way.

The overall experience of the college is rejoicing and the curriculum designed for each semester is quite enticing. 

The Tuition fee for B.tech in Biotechnology, Bioinformatics, and Biomedical engineering is 1,85,000 Indian Rupees for the first year and 1,75,000 Indian Rupees for the successive year. On an overall,  the college justifies the need for such high tuition fee. For students requiring financial aid, the college provides assistance to students in granting loans from the banks and also makes it less tedious as well.

Based on AIBTCET test rankings the college provides priority seat reservations for rank holders. Every semester, the top 2 students from each department who have shown exemplary performance in their academics gets a scholarship prize of 6000/-. 

This is by far the best part. The college has grown in terms of cultural and sports event year by year. Our cultural festival Species have touched new heights this year and it has created the benchmark for other cultural events hosted by colleges around that area. Every year our annual sports event Biowar gets bigger and better in terms of participation and new sports events keeps on adding every year. All this experience definitely boost your social interaction skills and gives you an opportunity to get involved in community events and also enhances your management skills.

There are various clubs, some of them mentioned are:

• Dance club
• Documentary club
• Music Club
• Literary Club
• Sports Club

Many More..........

The college doesn't have any strict rule as such, although it provides liberty to students only under limits.