Kumar Bahukhandi
Apollo Knowledge and the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS Pilani) have come together to work on healthcare research, education and workforce development. The two signed a Memorandum of Understanding today in the presence of Dr. Prathap C. Reddy, Founder-Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group, Dr. Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited, and Prof. V. Ramgopal Rao, Group Vice-Chancellor, BITS Pilani.
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Collaboration will cover joint research, Work Integrated Learning, and specialised healthcare
The collaboration brings together the clinical environment of the Apollo network and BITS Pilani’s strengths in engineering, technology and data science. Clinicians and BITS Pilani researchers will explore joint research on clinical and healthcare problems, with specific areas to be identified as the collaboration develops.
The two institutions will collaborate to develop Work Integrated Learning programmes for healthcare professionals. These programmes allow doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and healthcare managers to earn a qualification while continuing in their jobs. Potential areas include healthcare logistics and supply chain, pharmacy, and hospital finance, with the curriculum built around the work these professionals actually do.
The partners will also explore technology learning for students, built around the role each student is training for. This would extend to learners at The Apollo University, at the medical and nursing colleges in the Apollo network, and at Apollo Healthcare Academy’s partner institutions.
Specialised programmes in allied health and healthcare technology are a further area the two institutions will explore, combining BITS Pilani’s competency centres with clinical training in Apollo hospitals.
Dr. Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Group, said, “Healthcare is entering an extraordinary era, where technology is opening new possibilities and widening the horizons of diagnosis, treatment and care. Yet the future of healthcare will be shaped not by technology alone, but by our ability to bring high tech and high touch together, combining innovation with the human connection that lies at the heart of healing. This landmark partnership brings together two pioneering institutions, Apollo Hospitals and BITS Pilani, each with a legacy of transforming its field and a shared belief in the power of knowledge to shape the future. Together, we can enable healthcare professionals to learn while they continue to care, build capabilities for a rapidly changing world, and advance research rooted in the challenges clinicians encounter every day. In doing so, we hope to nurture a generation of healthcare professionals ready not only for the future of healthcare, but ready to shape it.”
Prof. V. Ramgopal Rao, Group Vice-Chancellor, BITS Pilani, said, “Healthcare is one of the areas where good engineering makes a direct difference to people’s lives. The collaboration creates opportunities to work with Apollo’s clinical ecosystem and with a large base of healthcare professionals and students. We bring the technology, data science and a proven model of teaching people who are already working. We expect this collaboration to produce both research and trained professionals.”
About Apollo Knowledge
Apollo Knowledge is a higher education, skilling and workforce development group backed by the promoters of Apollo Hospitals, working across medicine, nursing, allied health, technology and management. Its institutions include The Apollo University, Apollo Institute of Medical Science and Research, Apollo Nursing Colleges, Apollo Healthcare Academy, Medvarsity and Global Workforce Development. More than 10,000 students are on campus today, undergoing clinical training in the hospitals. More than 5,000 healthcare professionals have been placed in roles in India and abroad, including over 400 radiographers who joined the National Health Service in the United Kingdom in the last three years.
About BITS Pilani
The Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS Pilani) is a leading private deemed-to-be university in India, founded in 1964 under the patronage of the Birla family. It was among the first six institutions in India to be declared an Institution of Eminence by the Government of India. BITS Pilani operates campuses at Pilani, Goa, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Dubai. Its Work Integrated Learning Programmes division has offered degree programmes for working professionals since 1979. More than 1,36,000 professionals have graduated through these programmes, and over 50,000 are currently enrolled across India and more than 32 countries. Over 350 companies work with BITS Pilani for workforce development.
