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Journalism of Courage
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras will soon offer a course on biomimicry. It would be a full semester, elective course and would teach students to imitate nature as a source of inspiration to solve complex problems, the IIT-Madras informed.
“Biomimicry is the intersection of biology and engineering. You do not have to be either a biologist or an engineer to learn biomimicry, all you need is curiosity. Curious enough to look at a lotus leaf and ask the questions like How does a lotus leaf remain clean?”, the IIT said in an official statement.
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The institute claims that ‘Shinkansen’ – the bullet train in Tokyo, Japan, are inspired by the kingfisher bird and Eastgate Centre in Harare, Zimbabwe inspired by the termite mound.
IIT-Madras claims to be among the first institutions in India to offer a full-fledged course on biomimicry. The course will be taught by MS Sivakumar – dean of students, IIT-Madras, Shiva Subramaniam, CIO, Gopalakrishnan-Deshpande Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, IIT-Madras, Satyanarayanan Seshadri, department of applied mechanics, and Srinivasa Chakravarthy a professor at Department of Biotechnology.
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IIT-Madras has also claims to have created a community of biomimicry enthusiasts who are exploring opportunities in research, entrepreneurship, new products, processes, and systems. The Institute plans to hold a biomimicry challenge to provoke bold, sustainable ideas from young minds. The UN Sustainable Development Goals can provide students with challenges for which they can design solutions using biomimicry.
