-Paromita Sengupta (Bengaluru)

Ramachandran: enthusiastic response

Balu Ramachandran is founder-promoter of the Bengaluru-based Omnicuris Academy Pvt. Ltd (OCA, estb. 2023), an online edtech platform providing a wide range of programmes to medical practitioners to contemporise their knowledge and upskill their practice of healing sciences. Within one year since OCA’s promotion, 2,200 medical practitioners countrywide have signed up for one or more of OCA’s 100-plus upskilling programmes of 1-12 months duration. The academic content is delivered online with practical clinical training provided in association with top hospitals. Price range: Rs.5,000-30 lakh.

Newspeg. Last December, OCA launched postgraduate diploma and degree programs of the UK-based Queen Mary, Buckingham and South Wales universities. Under this initiative, academic content will be provided online by the British universities with internship and practical training in Indian hospitals supervised and certified by OCA. Moreover last month, the academy introduced a hybrid course that enables MBBS doctors to acquire fellowships in a range of specialities offered by Royal College (UK) examinations. Under the programme, OCA has partnered with the Kerala-based StudyMedic Academy to prepare MBBS graduates for these additional qualifications.

History. An engineering and business management alum of CUSAT (Cochin University of Science & Technology) and the top-ranked ISB (Indian School of Business), Hyderabad, Ramachandran acquired over two decades of business management experience in several blue-chip companies including Tech Mahindra, Nokia Siemens, Cleartrip, and Simpl, a fintech company, before he decided to go solo and promote OCA last year. Within 12 months, the company has clocked topline sales of Rs.13 crore and employs over 100 people including 60 consulting faculty.

Direct talk. “In the new age of the Internet and ICT (information communication technology), engineering, business management, law and arts professionals have access to a wide range of online learning and upskilling programmes. I discerned a lack of similar opportunities for the crucially important medical profession. Modern medicine and practice is a fast-evolving profession which requires doctors to keep abreast of latest developments in this critically important life-and-death vocation,” says Ramachandran.

Future plans. Encouraged by enthusiastic response of the medical practitioners’ fraternity to OCA’s upskilling courses, Ramachandran is drawing up ambitious plans to augment and diversify the courses offered by the company. “With online teaching-learning becoming increasingly accessible and reliable, we intend to introduce a number of long-term (12-24 month) courses to enable doctors easy access to the best medical education and practices worldwide. India’s 1.4 billion citizens are served by a mere 2.2 million qualified doctors obliged to work long hours. OCA’s upskilling programmes delivered in collaboration with the world’s best medical universities and medical institutions will enable doctors to learn at their own pace and convenience and enhance their skills for the benefit of their patients. I envisage a huge opportunity for OCA to work not only in India, but also enable doctors globally,” says Ramachandran.

When physicians upskill, none will complain.