MP Sribharath stresses need for cross-disciplinary approach to healthcare innovation
GITAM President and Member of Parliament M. Sribharath has said that healthcare innovation cannot progress in isolation, stressing that sustained collaboration among the medical, engineering, management and natural science disciplines was essential for real advancement.
Speaking at the BiomedBharath-2026 hackathon here on Friday, Mr. Sribharath observed that most institutions, despite having multidisciplinary campuses, continued to function in silos.
“Complex problems, especially in healthcare, cannot be solved by one discipline alone. Different fields must come together,” he said, calling upon student innovators to prioritise societal needs over institutional boundaries.
While commending the ideas presented by the participating teams, Mr. Sribharath cautioned that a hackathon marked only the beginning of the process. The real work, comprising development, validation and implementation, would begin thereafter, he said.
Citing the Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone (AMTZ) in the city as an example, he said the facility, which houses nearly 250 medical device companies, had emerged as a major hub for the medical technology sector.
S. Venkata Prasad, Managing Director, Progenics Laboratories and Aktachem Biotech Pvt. Ltd., said India’s medical technology sector offered considerable scope for innovation and entrepreneurship. He pointed out that medical device exports stood at $4.1 billion in 2024-25 and were on a growth trajectory.
Mr. Prasad called for greater emphasis on technologies addressing unmet healthcare needs, such as disease-prediction tools and artificial kidneys. He added that investors and funding agencies were increasingly favouring ideas with clear potential for market adoption.
Several student teams showcased healthcare-related innovations at the event, including a platform for early childhood development and nutrition risk screening, a system for analysing physiological data for clinical research, and a portable, app-based ENT endoscopy device designed for remote teleconsultation.
Winning teams from Delhi University, Chennai Institute of Technology, Madhav Institute of Technology and GITAM were presented with cash prizes at the valedictory function.
GIMSR Pro-Vice-Chancellor B. Geetanjali, Registrar D. Gunasekharan, GITAM School of Business Dean Raja P. Pappu, and other senior faculty members were present.