The Department of Biotechnology at Rajalakshmi Engineering College (REC) affiliated to Anna University, Chennai, has organized International Conference on Bioengineering (ICBE 2013), recently.

Dr V.N.Rajasekharan Pillai, Executive Vice- President and Exofficio Principal Secretary, Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment, Kerala, while inaugurating the three day conference, highlighted the importance of inter-disciplinary and application oriented research for the benefit of the society.

Dr K.Ramasamy, Vice-Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Dr P. Gunasekaran, Vice-Chancellor, Thiruvalluvar University, Vellore and Mr Jatin Vimal, President, Shasun Pharmaceuticals, Chennai were the Guests of Honour.

The ICBE Conference Programme was structured around 4 key pillars such as synthesis of bioproducts and their utilization in life science research, the development of Ayurveda, Siddha, Homeopathy and Unani drugs, technology incorporation for disease management and development of phytomedicines. This event highlighted the need for study of bioproducts from various sources such as herbs, microorganisms and animals to explore the prospects in drug discovery, health care and disease management.

The conference had brought together Engineers, Biotechnologists, Biologists, Chemists, Scientists, Industry personal and Medical practitioners to a common platform for a very prolific interaction leading to creative ideas and innovative solutions for the various challenging problems in the field of health care.

With stimulating debate and sharpening strategy, the ICBE 2013 Conference had attracted the speakers from the industry. The 3 day programme was packed with keynotes, master lectures, revered technical papers and posters, Q&A's, panel discussions and more. The participants had an opportunity to network with representatives and experts from various reputed institutions.

Over 700 delegates including speakers from USA, Singapore, Malaysia, Turkey, People Republic China and from various states of India had participated in the conference, which saw 152 papers presentations either in oral and poster format.