Course Comparison: Bioinformatics vs Biotechnology

By Dr Sanica

A common question pertaining to the practical courses of biology is, “What is the difference between biotechnology and bioinformatics?”

Biotechnology is any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use (UN Convention on Biological Diversity, Art. 2). In general terms, biotechnology is an interdisciplinary field that builds upon the major disciplines of biology: molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, biophysics, biostatistics, microbiology, fermentation technology, medicine subjects (such as anatomy, physiology, immunology, pharmacology, and so on), and if pursuing the engineering course, the engineering aspects as well.

Bioinformatics is another interdisciplinary field that involves disciplines such as statistics, maths, computer sciences, and engineering to collect and analyse complex biological data. To make this simpler, bioinfomatics makes use of in silico analysis using mathematical algorithms and predictions based on extrapolation.

Does my personality suit one better than the other?

Some questions that will enable you to figure out, which of the two suits your personality:

1. Do I enjoy working on the computer for long periods or do I enjoy doing things with my own hands?
2. Am I good at finding out patterns and creating programming sequences or do I enjoy working with chemicals?
3. Do my strengths lie in mathematics or am I better at grasping biological concepts?

These are some pretty basic questions, if you chose the first halves of them, you are more oriented toward bioinformatics, whereas, the latter signify you are more prone toward biotechnology. Even in biotechnology, you can choose between a BSc degree or a BTech degree, depending on your interests. A BTech engineering degree would grapple with the practical industrial aspects of biotechnology, whereas a BSc education would be more academic.

Career prospects

Biotechnology:

• Pharmaceutical companies
• Chemical industries
• Bioprocessing industries
• Agriculture-related industries
• Pollution control activities of the major industries 

Bioinformatics:

• Database design and maintenance
• Sequence assembly 
• Clinical pharmacologist 
• Sequence analysis 
• Proteomics 
• Informatics developer 
• Bioanalytics

Colleges offering courses

Biotechnology:

• Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)
• Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs)
• Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani
• National Institutes of Technology (NITs)
• Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology (NSIT)
• Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB)
• Delhi Technological University (DTU)
• International Centre For Genetic Engineering And Biotechnology (ICGEB)
• South Asian University (SAU)
• All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)

Apart from the above mentioned institutes some private universities also offer Biotechnology course. The ones to consider are:

• Manipal University
• Amity University
• Thapar University
• VIT University
• Madurai Kamaraj University
• Symbiosis University

Bioinfomatics:

• Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology 
• Bharathiar University 
• Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology 
• Indian Institute of Information Technology
• Madurai Kamaraj University
• Pune University
• Pondicherry University
• University of Hyderabad
• Institute of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology

In conclusion, to achieve better clarity, talk to someone who has pursued these disciplines, and get to know what kind of work they do to arrive at a decision.

About the Author:

Dr Sanica pursued her graduate and postgraduate degrees in Biotechnology and Medical Biotechnology from Manipal University, Karnataka. She received her doctoral degree in Immunology from Indian Institution of Science Education and Research, Mohali. 

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the views of Shiksha. Shiksha does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.