Biological Engineering

By Prof. Abhishek Suresh Dhoble | IIT (BHU) Varanasi

Learners enrolled: 32

ABOUT THE COURSE:

Biological Engineering introduces students to biological systems' core principles and practices and their application in engineering processes. The course equips students with the essential skills for biomanufacturing, a key driver of sustainable solutions in the 21st century. Students gain expertise in producing critical products like biofuels, pharmaceuticals, and biodegradable materials by mastering microbial growth, fermentation, and cell culture techniques. As industries transition toward green technologies and healthcare advancements, biomanufacturing professionals are crucial for addressing global challenges in sustainability, healthcare, and resource management.

INTENDED AUDIENCE: Primarily PG and PhD students but could also be open for UG students

INDUSTRY SUPPORT:

Praj Industries Limited
Adani Total Gas Ltd
Reliance Life Sciences
Thermax

Summary

Course Status :	Upcoming
Course Type :	Core
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	12 weeks
Category :	Biological Sciences & Bioengineering Chemical Engineering Biotechnology
Credit Points :	3
Level :	Postgraduate
Start Date :	21 Jul 2025
End Date :	10 Oct 2025
Enrollment Ends :	28 Jul 2025
Exam Registration Ends :	15 Aug 2025
Exam Date :	01 Nov 2025 IST
NCrF Level	4.5 — 8.0

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.

Page Visits

Course layout

Week 1: Introduction to the microbial world and synthesis/formation of different product

Week 2: Microbial growth: Aerobic and Anaerobic growth phenomena. Different cultivation methods for aerobic and anaerobic cultures

Week 3: Microbial growth kinetics and development of growth model Maintenance energy-determination of maintenance coefficient

Week 4: Plant cells, animal cells, and different media for the growth of animal cells

Week 5: Primary cells, cell lines, method of sorting out cells, methods of transfection, and application of animal cells

Week 6: Isolation, characterization, and stimulation of B cells, CD4 cells, and CD8 cells

Week 7: Principles of forces, motion, and energy in biological systems, Static and dynamic analysis of biological systems, Biomechanics of various biological systems

Week 8: Fluid mechanics in biological systems, biological fluid mechanics applications

Week 9: Principle and mechanism of media sterilization: Thermal and Membrane sterilization, Kinetics of media sterilization

Week 10: Growth kinetics in Batch, fed-batch, and continuous cultivation of organism, Substrate utilization and product formation kinetics: discussion of product synthesis kinetics using “Gaden’s classification and Deindefer’s classification”

Week 11: Aeration and agitation in microbial fluids: Oxygen requirement in fermentations, oxygen supply

Week 12: Determination of mass transfer value, characteristics of biological fluids, rheology of fermentation broth, case studies

Books and references

Biochemical Engineering by Shuchi Aiba, Arthur E. Humphery and Nancy F. Mills Academia Press: New York
Biochemical Engineering fundamentals by James E.Bailey and David f Oillis McGraw hill: New York.
Biochemical Engineering: Basic Concept By Michael L Shuler, Fikret Kargi, Prentice Hall.
Process Biotechnology :Theory and practices by S.N Mukhopadhyay, The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI)
Introduction to Biochemical Engineering By D.G Rao, Tata McGraw Hill
Microbiology by Prescot.
Introduction to Microbiology by Daniel Lim.
Microbiology by Pelczar

Instructor bio

Prof. Abhishek Suresh Dhoble

IIT (BHU) Varanasi

Dr. Dhoble is an Assistant Professor at the School of Biochemical Engineering, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, where he has been a faculty member since January 2021. Prior to this, he served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at BITS Pilani from 2019 to 2021. He holds a B.Tech. in Chemical Engineering from Laxminarayan Institute of Technology, Nagpur, and earned hisM.S. in anaerobic digestion from the University of Florida, where he contributed to pioneering biodigester technology for NASA’s lunar missions. Dr. Dhoble completed his Ph.D. at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in microbiome dynamics in anaerobic systems and later led collaborative research efforts funded by the NSF/USDA EAGER grant.His expertise spans bio-digester design, microbial community dynamics, environmental nanotoxicity, and the application of machine learning to bioprocessing. Dr. Dhoble has received multiple prestigious awards, including Best Teacher Award 2024, IIT (BHU) as well as recognition as a ‘Leader of Tomorrow’ by Global Biotech Revolution at Cambridge University. He leads the J.E.E.W.A.N.U. research group, which focuses on innovative, cross-disciplinary approaches to enhance sanitation, agriculture, water resources, and public health, with an emphasis on sustainable solutions for rural development.

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.

The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).

Date and Time of Exams: November 01, 2025 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.

Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.

The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.

Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 8 assignments out of the total 12 assignments given in the course.
Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup.It will have the logos of NPTEL and IIT Madras .It will be e-verifiable at nptel.ac.in/noc.

Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- NPTEL team

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