The availability of high-speed internet and technology has radically changed how education is delivered. We are entering a new era of online education parallel to traditional education. The school of biological sciences will take this opportunity to develop robust online courses to meet the demands of a much larger student community. The courses will be designed with scheduling flexibility and geographic diversity in mind and can be pursued in comfortable learning environments beyond regular work hours. Students of Universities/colleges and other institutions can also enrol in these courses to earn credits in their college/University curriculum. The courses can be offered in a purely online mode or a combination of online/offline (hybrid) mode. The courses will be offered in a three-tier system, including basic, intermediate, and advanced courses. While the basic and intermediate courses can be pursued towards a Certification, a student can obtain a Diploma degree by completing a specific set of courses with minimum credit points. Initially, online courses will be offered in the following areas:

• Big Data Biology
• Bioinformatics
• Genomics
• Systems biology