Hyderabad, August 12, 2025- Telangana has taken a giant leap in shaping the future of India’s life sciences workforce by successfully launching and executing a pioneering Life Sciences Skilling Initiative through the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR Telangana). This first-of-its-kind program delivered transformational outcomes, achieving 100% placement in full-time or internship roles for all students who appeared for interviews.

The program, led in collaboration with top life sciences companies including Sai Life Sciences, Aragen Life Sciences, Syngene, Aurigene, ThermoFisher Scientific and NewAtom Labs, has set a new national benchmark in workforce transformation. In a powerful demonstration of how classroom learning can be seamlessly integrated with industry needs, the pilot program reached over 2,000 students across 40 colleges in just 45 days through intensive in-person engagement. From a competitive pool of more than 1,500 applicants, 140 students were carefully selected through an industry-vetted assessment and interview process. These students underwent 64 hours of focused technical training and 40 hours of soft skills development, led by experts from top pharmaceutical companies and prestigious academic institutions, including ICT Mumbai, NIPER, and the University of Hyderabad.

Speaking on the impact of the program, Mr. D. Sridhar Babu, Minister for Industries & IT, Government of Telangana, remarked, “We didn’t wait for the future. We acted. Through C4IR Telangana, we swiftly translated policy into practice and delivered a results-driven pilot that has trained and placed students in record time. This is just the beginning of our roadmap to skill 50,000 youth and build India’s most future-ready workforce.”

For the pilot batch, 85% of the training fee was subsidized by C4IR Telangana with support from industry partners. The initiative enabled participation from students facing financial constraint with 68% coming from families earning less than ₹25,000 per month, 83% were women, 49% were first-generation graduates and 43% belonged to rural or semi-urban areas. Notably, 25% of the students supported their families through part-time work, while 51% had received educational support from government or NGO schemes.

Hands-on learning formed a core part of the curriculum, with students receiving 8 days of laboratory training on real-world equipment at the University of Hyderabad. Site visits to industry facilities like Sai Life Sciences, Aragen, and Aurigene provided valuable exposure, while students also worked on applied mini-projects which were evaluated by joint academic and industry panels. The impact was tangible. A remarkable 77% of students successfully completed the program, underscoring the strong job-readiness and industry relevance of the curriculum. The majority of the remaining students chose to pursue higher education or PhD programs. Six leading companies participated in on-campus recruitment, collectively offering 105 opportunities, including 39 full-time roles and 66 internships.

Mr. Sanjay Kumar, IAS, Special Chief Secretary, Industries & IT, Government of Telangana said, “We have a robust Life Sciences ecosystem in Telangana with a close collaboration between the government, industry partners and the academic institutions to foster growth. This program with C4IR Telangana is designed to help bridge the gap between the academia and industry requirement. We are pleased at the outcome where all enrolled students were successfully placed."

Mr. Shakthi Nagappan, CEO, Telangana Life Sciences and Head, C4IR Telangana said, “This program is a shining example of academia-industry-government synergy. Students were not just trained, they were transformed into confident, job-ready professionals with global skills and mindset. At C4IR Telangana, we believe that true progress is measured by how many lives we uplift, and this is a meaningful stride towards building a skilled, future-ready, and inclusive workforce for the life sciences ecosystem in the state.”

Following this successful pilot, the Government of Telangana is poised to scale the initiative further. Plans are underway to reach over 2,000 more students across emerging domains in life sciences, in partnership with Young India Skills University. The expansion will include foundational learning tracks, along with new programs focused on AI/ML in life sciences, digital health, regulatory tech, pharmacovigilance, medical writing, and clinical data management—paving the way for the next generation of skilled professionals in India’s knowledge economy.