IMTECH’s One Week One Lab (OWOL) Campaign concludes in presence of DG CSIR

CSIR-IMTECH Press Release Saturday, June 24th
, 2023
IMTECH’s One Week One Lab (OWOL) Campaign concludes in
presence of DG CSIR
CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH) concluded its weeklong
celebration of One Week One Lab campaign today in presence of Director
General of CSIR Dr. (Mrs.) N. Kalaiselvi. She congratulated scientists and
researchers from IMTECH for conducting a well-coordinated week long
program from 19th to 24th June 2023 that brought a paradigm shift in
looking for scientific solutions as per the needs of the society.
MOU was also signed during the event with Punjab Biotechnology
Incubator (PBTI) for giving a thrust to startup ecosystem in the region. To
facilitate exchange of ideas, training, internship and boost Skill
Development initiatives; 2 more MOUs were signed by IMTECH with
Gujarat State Biotechnology Mission (GSBTM) & Guru Angad Dev
Veterinary and Animal Sciences University( GADVASU).
Dr Sanjeev Khosla, Director CSIR-IMTECH, presented the summary of
the week-long OWOL program to the audience and lauded the efforts of
all IMTECH staff for their efforts in making OWOL a success. He termed
One Week One Lab as a milestone in IMTECH’s glorious history of 39
years in terms of networking and taking Science to the common man.
From dedicating GMP accredited National Repository of Microbial Cell
Banks for Biopharmaceutical products facility to the nation to organizing
Industry Academia conclave that brought incredible congregation of
brilliant minds under one roof and paved the path for IMTECH to forge
new R&D partnerships and alliances. The laboratory was open to the
general public on all 5 days and several hundred people including
researchers, students, kids, scientists and media personnel visited the
lab.
Dr N Kalaiselvi said “IMTECH has also fulfilled its Scientific Social
Responsibility by organizing different Skill Development programs during
the OWOL week. Skill Vigyan Training Program in Life Science &
Biotechnology, Summer Research Internship Program, Shadow A
Scientist program, Workshop on Advances in Bioprocess Technologies
and program under Jigyasa shows IMTECH’s commitment to uplift the
skill set of researchers across the country”.
She also presented certificates to students who participated under
Jigyasa and skill development programs conducted under One Week One
Lab. Today’s student enrolled for Shadow a Scientist would be the
scientist of the future and programs like OWOL instill that scientific
temperament in budding young researchers. She exhorted the scientists
to work and mentor startups to increase their success rate in terms of
sustainability and progression of their ideas into commercialization. To
give an impetus to the startup ecosystem, IMTECH organized a life
sciences startup meet in the institute during the OWOL week that was
attended by more than 50 startups across different regions of the tricity
and Punjab. DG CSIR emphasized on building technologies that are as
per the needs of the industry and are relevant in today’s times and in line
with the needs of the society.
Dr Khosla, Director, CSIR-IMTECH said “Through a series of
programmes, brainstorming sessions, and in-depth discussions, we have
explored cutting-edge technologies, tackled complex problems, and
pushed the boundaries of knowledge in our respective fields. The insights
gained, the solutions devised, and the networks formed during this
program will undoubtedly leave a lasting impact on our future
endeavours.” Dr S. Karthikeyan, Chief Scientist and Chairman One Week
One Lab as part of his valedictory address thanked the efforts of the
organizing committee and the support staff who have worked tirelessly
behind the scenes to ensure the smooth execution of this program.
CSIR-IMTECH is a national center for excellence in microbial sciences
and was established in 1984 under the aegis of CSIR. IMTECH’s vision
and mission are to create translational ecosystem strengthened by
fundamental discoveries and to address unmet healthcare and industrial
needs with state-of-the-art processes and platforms.