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Vijayawada: Dr NTR University of Health Sciences vice-chancellor Pullala Chandrasekhar on Monday said the university will establish an AI-based disease modelling and decision center (DMDC) to enhance disease forecasting, prevention, and response systems.
The centre, to be developed with support from Gates Foundation and in collaboration with the National University of Singapore’s Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, is expected to cost Rs 5.73 crore in the first year and Rs 3.7 crore annually thereafter.
Disclosing the decisions taken by the executive council, Chandrasekhar said the university will allocate special funds to encourage research activities and sports among students and faculty. The initiatives will be applicable not only to Allopathy but also to Ayush, Dental, Physiotherapy, Nursing, and Allied Sciences courses.
“To promote research among students, the university will provide scholarships of Rs 30,000 each to at least 1,000 students annually. This marks a substantial increase from the existing scheme, which offered Rs 10,000 to 500 undergraduate students for two months. Over a three-year period, nearly 3,000 students are expected to benefit,” he said.
Faculty research will also receive a boost, with the number of beneficiaries increasing from 25 to 200. The research grant per faculty member will be enhanced from Rs 2 lakh to a range of Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. Importantly, the scheme will now include faculty from Ayush streams alongside Allopathy and Dental disciplines.
In addition, the university plans to strengthen alumni engagement by creating a unified platform for former students of govt medical colleges. Each college will receive Rs 10 lakh annually for three years to facilitate alumni-driven development activities.
To encourage physical well-being, Rs 10 lakh per year will be allocated to each govt medical college for sports infrastructure and events. Further, a 24/7 e-resource platform under the NTR Med-Net consortium has been introduced, providing access to journals, videos, and research materials for students and faculty. The platform has been developed at a cost of Rs 3 crore.
The decisions were taken during the university’s 244th Governing Council meeting and will be implemented over a three-year period, with an annual expenditure of approximately Rs 22.13 crore. Efforts are underway to secure 25 acres of land in Amaravati for the university’s expansion, Chandrasekhar added.
