The Department of Bioinformatics was established in the academic year 2004-2005 in an endeavor to offer Master's Degree in Bioinformatics. A 6-month Diploma in Bioinformatics has also been conducted from the academic year 2007-2008 onwards. Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary field which includes Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences and Information Technology. Bioinformatics includes but is not limited to Genomics, Computational Biology, Proteomics, Systems Biology, Drug Design, Pharmacogenomics, Structural and Functional Genomics. The Department of Bioinformatics of the college strives to develop Bioinformatics skills among the students in order to equip them to compete in the global Bioinformatics market. The Department is also very proud to proclaim that it has been securing 100% result continuously for two academic years. The curriculum is designed to encompass latest advancements and updates in the field by revamping the syllabi annually. The Courses like Nanofabrication and its applications, Programming in R, Chemoinformatics, etc are introduced in the curriculum for the first time in India.

The Department has 2 hi-tech laboratories, 2 classrooms and a staff room. One of the laboratories has 6 Sun-based workstations and a server worth Rs.14,00,000 equivalent to a supercomputing facility. The other Lab has 40 Windows-based personal computers, each with 80GB memory, Pentium Dual Core processor; 2.79Ghz 1GB Ram worth Rs. 2,00,000 and 2 Laser Printers. The Department Library has more that 200 volumes, comprising of the recent editions of Bioinformatics books. To aid in teaching, the Department uses a Laptop with an LCD worth Rs. 1, 00,000. Hi- speed Internet facility is available in the Labs and the Department round the clock. All the latest Bioinformatics software for academic and research are installed in all the computers. The student has access to the Laboratory from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. More....

Due to the constant encouragement and support of the staff, the students have been selected to pursue their projects in highly reputed Institutions like Max Planck University, Germany, National University of Singapore, Singapore and North- Eastern Hill University, Shillong with stipend even before completion of the course. More....

The scope for bioinformatics is growing exponentially. Bioinformatics personnel can seek opportunities as Bioinformatics professionals at Bioinformatics companies, Software companies, Research Institutes and academic Institutions. More....
According to a report `Building blocks of bioinformatics: Human resource requirements In India,' prepared by the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Department of Information Technology (DIT), a majority of the Indian bioinformatics companies are planning to increase their scale of operations. The total annual manpower required by the Bioinformatics industry to achieve growth in the field would be 6,484 professionals in 2008-09 and 26,362 professionals in 2012-13. Further, the report estimates that nearly 670 teachers would be required in the formal education sector in 2008-09 and 2,723 by 2012-13. The Department has a very good placement record. The successful students of the Department are well placed in highly reputed Institutions like:

• Genseq, Malaysia,
• Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore,
• Tamilnadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore,
• National University of Singapore, Singapore,
• Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), Chennai,
• St. Aloysius College, Thrissur,
• University of Kerala, Trivandrum,
• Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasargod,
• A few of the students are also pursuing their higher studies at various National and International Institutes.

Bioxplorer, the faculty association of the Department of Bioinformatics has been actively involved in conducting various guest Lecturers and seminars for the benefit of the students. The Department has organized a National level workshop “Emerging thrust areas in the field of Bioinformatics” sponsored by The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), India during October 2005. The guest speakers of the workshop were scientists from reputed research institutions like Center for Cell and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, Central Leather Research Instituion (CLRI), Chennai, University of Madras, Chennai, St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore and Helix Infosystems, Chennai. More than 100 students from different educational institutions participated in the workshop. During February 2008, the Department organized a National level conference on “Research & Development in Computational Biology & Bioinformatics”. Experts from Pondicherry University, Bharathidasan University, Bharathiar University, PSG College of Arts & Science, Avinashilingam University, Indian Institute of Science, National center for Biological Sciences delivered lectures. In conjunction with the Dept. of Computer Science, Kongunadu Arts and Science College, a National level conference was held on "Computational Algorithms for Bioinformatics" sponsored by the University Grants Commission (UGC), India during 27th and 29th November 2008.

• 100% result during the academic years 2005-2006 and 2006-2007.
• Implementation of e-learning technique along with traditional teaching methods.
• Stipend by National and International agencies for pursuing Project to students even before completion of the course.
• Recognized by the Management and awarded the meritorious award with a cash prize of Rs. 5000/= each for the academic years 2006-2007 and 2007-2008.
• Five of the students of the Department were awarded a scholarship of Rs. 2500/= each for pursuing a project by the Management.
• Recognized by the Management by a cash prize of Rs. 5000/= and Rs. 1000/= for conducting a DBT Sponsored National level workshop during October 2005 and National level Conference during February 2008 respectively.
• The members of the staff are appreciated by the management by a cash award of Rs. 1000/= and Rs. 2000/= for 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 respectively for publication of papers in International Journals.
• Good Placement Record.
• State of art laboratory facilities.

The Department has highly proficient and qualified members of faculty who are actively involved in delivering guest lectures, serving as resource persons in the various National/International Seminars/Conferences. They constantly update themselves by participating and presenting papers in various National/ International conferences. To their credit they have also published their research articles in peer reviewed International Journals. One member of the members of staff has presented a paper in the 4th Indo-Australian Conference on Biotechnology conducted by the Queensland University of Medical Research, Queensland, Australia. Many of the faculty are also serving as members of various Boards of Studies of other autonomous colleges and Universities.