To celebrate the platinum jubilee (75 years) celebrations of the Medical Council of India (MCI), Dr. D.Y. Patil University (Maharashtra) organised a two-day seminar on ‘New Frontiers in Medical Education at the D.Y. Patil Medical College and Hospital, Nerul, Navi Mumbai, on October 11-12. This seminar followed the first regional workshop (western region) on ‘Role, Relevance and Effective Utilisation of Medical Education Unit for Faculty Development at the Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences University, Nagpur. Since February this year, regional workshops are being held every month, and will culminate in a national workshop in New Delhi in February, 2009 which will mark the end of MCIs platinum jubilee celebrations.The guiding spirit and inspiration behind these workshops/seminars is Padmashree Dr. D.Y. Patil whose eponymous institutions of professional education span medical sciences, ayurveda, architecture, business and hotel management, engineering, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, sports, computing and biomedical sciences, in Navi Mumbai, Pune and Kolhapur.
Born in a small village of Ambap in Kolhapur district, Dr. Patil has focused his energies on the cause of education, with emphasis on professional education to train students to confront national challenges.