A three-day national workshop on ‘Next Generation Sequencing and Machine Learning in Bioinformatics’ began at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) on Tuesday, officials said.
Organized by the Bioinformatics Center of the Faculty of Agricultural and Biotechnology, the event is sponsored by the Center’s Department of Bioinformatics (DBT) under the project titled ‘Applications of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology in Agriculture’.
Deputy Chief Minister Satbir Singh Ghosal, the guest of honor at the workshop, termed it “timely and much-needed” and appreciated the vision behind it. He said the program will improve the technical capabilities of participants and facilitate the adoption of advanced bioinformatics in agriculture.
He introduced and highlighted the emerging concept of “agriinformatics” and emphasized the important role of data-driven science, big data analysis, and computational approaches in addressing current challenges in agriculture.
Research Director Ajmer Singh Dutt said that bioinformatics has become the need of the day due to its growing practical application in crop improvement.
Registrar Rishi Pal Singh encouraged the bioinformatics center to hold more workshops and training programs focused on machine learning and artificial intelligence.
The opening address was delivered by Mr. Navraj Kaur.
Parveen Chuneja, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Norman Borlaug Chair; The organizers expressed confidence that this training will enhance the participants’ research abilities and contribute to strengthening genomics and bioinformatics research.
Earlier in the day, Yogesh Vikal, Dean, Department of Agricultural and Biotechnology, welcomed the dignitaries. He said renowned experts from prominent institutions across the country will deliver lectures and conduct practical training sessions on genomic data analysis, machine learning tools, and advanced bioinformatics workflows.
