LU announces new department of yoga and alternative medicine

LUCKNOW: The Lucknow University is going to start a faculty of yoga and alternative medicine most likely from the academic session 2020-21. The aim behind starting the department is to encourage study and research in the traditional fields of yoga and naturopathy.

The faculty will run self-financed courses in two constituent departments and will run undergraduate, post-graduate, PG Diploma, integrated five years programme and a PhD programme. “The undergraduate programme in the department of yoga will have 60 seats, and postgraduate and diploma courses in yoga will have 50 and 40 seats, respectively. In the department of naturopathy, the Bachelors in Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences degree will have 60 seats and the PG Diploma course will have 40 seats. The current Institute of Human Consciousness and Yoga running in the university will be merged with the new faculty,” said LU spokesperson Durgesh Srivastav.

The university is also going to start an inter-disciplinary research, teaching and training institute named Institute of Advanced Molecular Genetics and Infectious Diseases (IAMGID). The institute will have three major goals of teaching, training and research in the fields of DNA analysis, RNA analysis, understanding molecular biology of infectious diseases and training enrolled students in techniques like real time PCR (polymerase chain reaction), electrophoresis, HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography), mass spectrometry, etc.

The institute will also offer training programmes, workshops, seminars, certificate courses etc. in the area of genetics and infectious diseases. IAMGID will also offer awareness campaigns and community outreach activities, Srivastav said.