Biotech students must step out of comfort zones, embrace multiple roles: Suchitra Ella

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Suchitra Ella, co-founder and managing director, Bharat Biotech, and CII President-Designate, in conversation with Aparajita Biswas, head of marketing, The Hindu Group, at The Hindu-VIT Chennai Biotech Conclave 2026 held at Taj Connemara in Chennai on Friday | Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

Biotechnology students should step outside their campuses, gain exposure to industry and research laboratories, and develop skills beyond their academic curriculum to prepare themselves for the rapidly evolving life sciences sector, said Suchitra Ella, co-founder and managing director of Bharat Biotech, and CII president-designate.

Interacting with students at the Biotech Conclave 2026, presented by VIT Chennai in association with The Hindu, Dr. Ella said students should seek opportunities to work in laboratories and institutions outside their immediate academic environment and not be restricted by their chosen course or specialisation.

Answering Iniya Senthil’s question on whether being a good scientist was enough, Dr. Ella said biotechnology entrepreneurs needed to understand business, commercial operations, marketing, distribution, supply chains, policy and government relations. She said an entrepreneur could not be constrained by their academic qualification and would have to wear “multiple hats” as the organisation grew.

Suchitra Ella interacts with students at The Hindu-VIT Chennai Biotech Conclave 2026 held at Taj Connemara in Chennai on Friday | Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

Dr. Ella also advised students to develop both wet-lab and computational skills.

Responding to Treya K.’s question on the growing divide between wet-lab bioprocessing and AI-driven discovery, she said both areas would remain important, with hands-on science continuing to be the starting point. She added that graduates should spend three to five years understanding how different functions within an organisation work together.

On when researchers should abandon an idea, responding to R. Nidhi, she said decisions should be guided by experimental and safety data, as well as regulatory requirements, rather than theoretical expectations. “We need to let go when we see the data,” she said, adding that projects should be stopped if safety results were not convincing.

On a question from Muhammad Umar on pitfalls to avoid for biotech researchers, Dr. Ella said it could help analyse large datasets and reduce timelines in areas such as clinical research and manufacturing, but “cannot 100% be an operational driver” in life sciences or replace scientists involved in wet-lab work.

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