Session 6

In this session we discussed bio business and talked about how technology and issues such as healthcare, genetic engineering are linked. We discussed topics such as the Life Sciences and talked about other things in bio business. One of the things that really struck me was how technology driven the field of biology has become as shown by the number of patents granted in the last few years. The prof talked about how science of biology has experienced a paradigm shift in its method of study and development, It has now become a technology driven science, with technology both being used to study and technology being developed as a result of this study.

The real interesting stuff that hit me during this class was from one of the readings. The concept of disruptive innovation really caught my eye because it speaks volumes about people's attitude towards change. Once in a while you come across innovations that can really change the way people do things. These are the kind of developments which change things at a basic level. And this is why change like this is rejected by people. Most people are slaves to routine and normality. This makes unreceptive to change that might disturb this sense of normality. I think this deals a lot with change management and how leaders introduce people to change.

Key take aways should be the realisation that biology is now a technology intensive science and should be viewed as such. It is filled with opportunities as discussed by prof and it's applications in areas such as agriculture and healthcare makes it a very good social investment.

I would have liked to discuss healthcare in developing countries and how we can provide healthcare and bring innovation in this to these places. We have home grown innovators in developing countries such as India who can drive change but they need leadership. Healthcare, sanitation and family planning are huge issues in these countries and as such we could have discussed possible solutions.

I would rate the session 9 on 10.