During the last 6 months I’ve been exploring the Indian neuroscience market, and I have to say I’m quite impressed by all the neuroscience research going on in this amazing country. I had the chance to attend several conferences and meet key players in neuroscience. Let me provide a quick overlook of my experience during this time.
My first conference in India was the BioAsia to which I was invited as a member of the Spanish Delegation. Although this conference was about biotechnology and wasn’t so focused on neuroscience, it was very exciting to see so many researchers and also to learn about the promotion of Indo-Spanish collaboration by both the Indian and Spanish authorities.
The next conference I attended was the Neurobionics Workshop in Pondicherry. It was jointly organized by JIPMER and the University of Gottingen. I had the chance to give a lecture on neurostimulation and BCI and also to conduct a hands-on session on TMS and tDCS.
A delegate from NIT Hamirpur University invited me to give a special lecture at the NIMBUS13 Technological Festival. It was very rewarding to see young students truly motivated by the applied neuroscience research field.
While in Delhi, I also had the chance to visit different neuroscience research centres, namely the National Brain Research Institute (NBRI) where I had 2 very interesting meetings. It was great to see that some groups are working on fundamental neuroscience (animal studies, genetics, biological neuroscience, …) but also on applied neuroscience (BCI, early epileptic seizure detection, …). NBRI really is a greatand prolific research centre.
I also attended a very interesting workshop on Wireless Physiological Feedback Systems at the ANNA University at Chennai. I had the chance to give a lecture on Wireless EEG monitoring systems and I was very pleased to see many motivated students willing to follow this line of research for their master’s theses and also for their PhD studies.
After some time in India and after making interesting contacts I decided to organise a workshop, namely, the First Indian BCI Workshop. Although I was a bit sceptic at first regarding the success of such an initiative, I though it was worth a try. I am very happy to say that it has been a very interesting (and intense) experience and that the Workshop was a successl. It took place in Bangalore and more than 30 participants from all over India attended. It was great to bring together researchers interested in the field of EEG data analysis and BCI. It was a very good opportunity to interact between different groups, to share ideas, to get to know each other and also to look for collaborations.
As I will be staying in India until December, I will be probably be organising another workshop, since many people could not attend and also because the first experience was very productive. I will keep you posted on that.
As an output of the workshop, we have created a mailing group and also a Facebook group, where we share material, ideas and other related information. If anyone is interested in joining, drop me a line.
My next mission in a couple of weeks is to attend the BioQuest conference organised by the AMRITA University. There I’ll have the chance to present 2 research ideas that we have been working on over the last months: a newer approach to a BCI system based on SSVEP and also a Neurofeedback tool for the treatment of ADHD.
I am sure the next months in India will be very prolific and interesting, as it has already been. I am amazed by this fantastic country with so much potential and with so many smart people interested in research
Of course, India has also offered me a lot of personal experiences and beautiful landscapes. The thing I liked the most without any doubts is the Indian hospitality. For more information of my experience in India, you can also check my personal blog.
Incredible India!
Until next time!
