After becoming the first vice-chancellor of King George’s Medical University (KGMU) to bag a second consecutive term,Prof Soniya Nityanand on Sunday said the next three years will focus on consolidating gains in academics, patient care and infrastructure. In an interview with Vivek Chauhan, Prof Nityanand outlines her vision for KGMU’s future projects, academic growth plans and long-term expansion roadmap. Excerpts:Q. You are the first vice-chancellor to be appointed for a second consecutive term. How does it feel?It gives me another opportunity to serve my alma mater for the next three years. I am happy to continue, but it also comes with a great responsibility.Q. What do you see as your biggest achievements during your first term?Securing the highest NAAC A++ grade and improving KGMU’s NIRF ranking from 19th to 8th are among the key achievements. We also improved patient services through 24-hour help desks, registration facilities and HRF counters, and are working on round-the-clock investigation counters. Infrastructure projects for orthopaedics, trauma care and accommodation for patients’ attendants are underway. Overall, our focus was on academics, patient care and infrastructure.Q3. What will be your top priority during the second term?The priority will be KGMU’s digital transformation through AI-driven healthcare and services. We plan to establish an Artificial Intelligence Centre for AI-enabled healthcare delivery, clinical decision support and innovation, and a Centre of Excellence for Clinical Trials to strengthen research and clinical trial capacity. The aim is to use technology to better manage the large patient load and improve efficiency and accessibility of services.Q. What unfinished goals from your first term would you now like to complete?We want to take forward several ongoing projects, including the proposed Apex Centre for Women’s Health, for which the PWD has floated a tender. We are also pursuing expansion on additional land parcels of 1.8 acres from UP Madhyamik Shiksha Vibhag, 4.03 acres from Rajkiya Balika Inter College and 0.68 acres from Madhyamik Sanskrit Shiksha Parishad. Plans include a College of Paramedical Sciences with hostels and a new OPD complex. We also aim to strengthen paramedical education, start heart and lung transplant services, expand bone marrow transplant services and advance precision medicine.Q. What are your priorities for academic expansion?We plan to start DM programmes in Pain Medicine and Trauma Critical Care and increase super-speciality seats to meet growing academic and healthcare needs. The objective is to further strengthen KGMU’s position in medical education, specialised healthcare and research.Q. What will be the key requirement for KGMU’s long-term expansion?Additional land will be critical for KGMU’s future growth. It will be needed to support the expansion of teaching and non-teaching posts, academic programmes, clinical services and related infrastructure.
