About INCP2

Photonics Research Initiatives

INCP2: Photonics4Health

Interdisciplinary Synergy between Photonics and Innovation to tackle Global Health Challenges

Summary

The WHO highlights the need for affordable and scalable healthcare technologies to achieve global health equity. Photonics-based technologies offer precise, non-invasive solutions for screening, diagnostics, and disease monitoring. However, a gap remains in higher education between innovators, technology developers and clinical users.

Bridging this gap requires the integration of biotechnology, engineering, biology, and medicine, along with efforts in innovation and commercialization. Photonics4Health addresses this by creating an interdisciplinary, internationally collaborative curriculum that integrates biotechnology, engineering, medicine, physics, and AI, with a focus on cancer screening, infertility and in-vitro fertilization (IVF).

This proposal seeks to enhance education quality through collaborative initiatives, preparing candidates to address global societal challenges. The initiative connects Norwegian and Indian universities, hospitals, and innovation hubs to strengthen translational research, support student mobility, and translate research into proof-of-concept medical devices, while enhancing and contributing to advanced educational programs in health technology and medical device innovation.

The scope of the project includes:

Establish a virtual interdisciplinary center for joint training and student co-supervision
Facilitate mobility and access to advanced research infrastructure
Develop and enhance interdisciplinary courses and study programs
Host summer schools and workshops at five partner locations
Coordinate 18 international student exchanges to bridge disciplinary gaps
Provide hands-on experience at leading research facilities and training events

Funding source: INCP

Institutes, PIs and partners

Sl.	Country	Institute	PI / Partners
1	Norway	UiT The Arctic University of Norway	Prof. Balpreet Singh Ahluwalia (PI)
2	India	Indian Institute of Technology Delhi	Prof. Joby Joseph (PI)
3	India	Indian Institute of Technology Madras	Prof. Sivarama Krishnan
4	India	Center for Healthcare Entrepreneurship	Prof. Renu John
5	Norway	SINTEF AS	Dr. Firehun Tsige Dullo
6	Norway	Universitetssykehuset Nord-Norge Hf	Dr. Mona Nystad
7	Norway	Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences	Prof. Rafi Ahmad
8	India	Apollo Cancer Institutes	Dr. Shruti Venkitachalam
9	India	Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad	Prof. Renu John
10	India	Kamineni	Dr. Annie Qurratulain Hasan
11	Norway	Norinnova	Lars Sørensen

Key Activities

Establishing a virtual interdisciplinary training center to enable joint supervision, shared teaching, and continuous academic interaction across partners.
Facilitating mobility and access to advanced research infrastructure, clinical environments, and innovation hubs.
Developing and enhancing interdisciplinary courses aligned with translational research and medical device innovation
Hosting focused summer schools and workshops at five partner locations.
Coordinating 18 structured international student exchanges to bridge gaps between technology development and clinical application.

Together, these efforts will provide students with hands-on experience and exposure to the full pathway from research to healthcare implementation.