The premier engineering institute IIT Kanpur is taking steps not only to train engineers but also to create a new type of specialist—'hybrid doctors.' In an exclusive interview with 'India Today Digital,' the institute revealed several significant details regarding its ambitious medical project.
It is important to note that IIT Kanpur will not be offering an MBBS degree yet. Instead, the institute's plan involves starting education with higher medical degrees such as DM and MCh, as well as advanced medical qualifications.
The newly appointed director of IIT Kanpur, Professor Anil K. Lalwani, explained that the country does not just need another medical college, but an institution capable of merging medicine and engineering. He stated that it will take another three to four years to launch the MBBS program.
IIT Kanpur's strategy is to build a 'top-down' system. Initially, the institute aims to train specialists who will provide a strong diagnostic base for the hospital before undergraduate students are given white coats.
Work on the Gangwal School of Medical Sciences and Technology at the institute is actively underway, parallel to the formation of a modern hospital. The Yadupati Singhania Super-Speciality Hospital, designed for 500 beds, is planned to open by the end of this year.
According to Director Lalwani, the first patient is expected to be admitted in March 2027. Furthermore, a 50-bed cancer treatment and research center is being built next to the hospital. To manage this large medical division, IIT Kanpur has received preliminary approval to hire 60 new faculty members, including experts in both clinical medicine and research.
Director Professor Anil K. Lalwani himself is a living example of how a doctor and an engineer can work together. He worked for about three decades as a professor of otolaryngology at Columbia University while simultaneously teaching mechanical engineering.
IIT Kanpur aims to create a physician who can not only be present with the patient but also dedicate as much time to engineering work. This will allow problems identified at the bedside to be addressed directly at the engineer's desk through the corridor.
It should be noted that IIT Kanpur is not alone in this direction. The Director of IIT Madras, Professor V. Kamakoti, has also confirmed his plans to offer a medical degree. Moreover, IIT Kharagpur has already begun moving in this direction.
Director Lalwani predicts that every IIT will open its own medical school in the future, which will completely change the landscape of higher education in India, similar to how the IITs transformed engineering.