The Department of Biotechnology was established in 2004. It offers three years B.Sc. Biotechnology Course and two years M.Sc. Biotechnology course designed by Savitribai Phule Pune University. Biotechnology is a multi-disciplinary branch of science, which offers various job opportunities for the students in the upcoming years.The Department at the level of masters is highly competitive and enjoys significant demand in Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Agro based industries.The intake capacity of the department for graduation course is 45 students. In 2008, it was further expanded with post graduate level with 24 student’s intake capacity.
This department since its inception emphasizes on appointing and inculcating meritorious faculty in various specialized branches in Biotechnology. The faculty members are excellent academics and research oriented. Currently, it has08faculty members in which 01faculty qualified NET-JRF,02faculty members has qualifiedSETexam and04faculty members pursuing PhD. Department has its credit a major project on Star College Schemeof about77 lakhsanctioned by Department of Biotechnology, Government of India in the year 2010-13 and82 publicationsin prestigious national and international journals with good impact factor. Department currently has four active MoUs with various industries & institutes.
Department has well equipped & separate Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Plant and Animal Tissue Culture, Microbiology, Bioscience and Bioinformatics laboratories with broadband internet facility. Department is well equipped with sophisticated instruments such as PCR, Gradient PCR, Gel Documentation, CO2 Incubator, Florescent & Inverted Microscope, UV-Visible Spectrophotometer, ELISA Reader, Lyophilizer, Orbital Incubator Shaker, Flame Photometer, the required instruments needed for conducting regular practical as well as research work. Use of ICT facilities, LCDs, Models, Charts, is regularly carried out to enhance understanding of subject. Departmental library has115 reference books, 27 journals, 49 charts, 968 e-books as well as192+ project reportsdatabase.
Department provides hands on training for specialized / sophisticated instruments, Bioinformatics softwares, educational kits to the students. This helps in improving the experimental skill & instrument handling capabilityof the students. Department encourages curiosity & confidence among the students by conducting workshops and seminars and also by organizing group discussions, students seminars & Educational tours. Our curriculum also includes projects involving different techniques which equipping students with the skills needed to excel in today's technologically driven biotech landscape.
Department has organized different workshops, Science exhibition, National Science Day Celebrations, and Biotechnology Reunion alumni meets.
Department has recently organized two workshops, one national workshop on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) & Patents and Designs Process on 3rd October 2022 in association with RGNIIPM, Nagpur & other workshop on Entrepreneurship Opportunity in Biotechnology on 9th Aril 2022 with alumni Mr. Hrtishikesh Autade. Every national Science day is celebrated in form of different competitions & events. Mega National Science Day Celebration-2020 on 28th February 2020. About 11 non technical colleges were participated in this mega event & about 190 students were participated and presented their 108 posters and 41 models. This mega exhibition was visited by various Pravara campus schools and colleges. Department also organized an online "COVID-19 General Awareness Quiz" via Google form on 5th May 2020. The quiz aims at making people aware about pandemic, preventing the spread of disease and saving the lives of people. This awareness of Corona Virus quiz activity is performed online. Total 1680 participant participated in event making it huge success.
Department has committed faculty with stability & good team spirit with good field experience. Former Head of the department Dr. A. M. Bhosale is recognized Ph D guide in Botany & Academic Council member of Science & Technology, SPPU, Pune. Seven students completed their PhD under his guidance & currently 6 students are working under him. He has published 6 books & completed 5 minor research projects & worked in various university committees. Current Head of the department Mr. R. K. Lodha worked as selection committee member as well as coordinator, paper setter & moderator at SPPU, Pune. He also delivered guest lectures at various colleges and guided many students for research projects as well as AVISHKAR. The staff members have published their research papers in UGC approved research journals, presented posters in International, National and University level Seminars, conferences and workshops. Mr. S. L. Kakad received Young Researcher Award 2021 from InSc, Banglore.
We nurture a culture of participation and excellence, encouraging students to engage in various programs. Furthermore, we provide comprehensive guidance to students preparing for competitive exams, resulting in a commendable number of qualifiers in exams like NET, SET, GATE, GAT-B, IITJAM, DBT, JNU and university entrance examinations.
Among the students,01student qualifiedSET,01student qualifiedDBT-JRFand04students qualifiedGATE, 03students qualifiedGAT-B, 03 students qualifiedJNU-JAM in last five years. Our students participate in AVISHKAR: State Level Research Competition every year & reached up to at University level in 2019-20, 2022-23 & 2023-24. Mr. Tushar Patare & Mr. Shubham Supekar reached to Zonal level i-2-e cluster level competition organized by SPPU centre for innovation, incubation & enterprise in association with College of Pharmacy, Loni in 2019. Many students of UG & PG participated in State, National as well as International Conferences, Seminars & workshop. 07 students participated & presented research paper in conferences also one of them won prize for oral presentation. 10 students won prizes in PRAVARA SCIENCE FIESTA. Mr. Nitin Gagare participated in 12 different debate competitions across State & won 09 of them including State level Sharad Karandak & K.B. Rohmare Smrutikarandak.
Students excelling various sports reflecting in total of 8 Gold, 4 Silver & 4 Bronze medals. Mr. Rohan Parkhe won state level Gold medal in Men’s single Ball Badminton competition organized by Masters Games Association, Maharashtra Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune in 2019. Miss. Nikita Jankar won consolidated prize in National Level Immunology Rangoli competition in 2019. Mr. Tejas Parkhe won 6 medals in different sports.
One of the strengths of the department is its strong entrepreneurial culture and many students have successfully involved themselves in creating entrepreneurial ventures some of which have gone fully commercial within a short span of time. Department has excellent placement record & despite pandemic, our department has placed students in highly reputed companies like Serum Institute, Pune, Wockhardt Biotech Park, Aurangabad, Bharat Biotech Ltd., Pune etc. Total 7 students placed in Serum Institute, Pune in 2020-21. Two students in Bharat Biotech Ltd., Pune.