Bhubaneswar: The Institute of Medical Sciences & SUM Hospital and SigmaMozak Solutions of Hyderabad on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with an aim to establish a broad institutional framework for interdisciplinary collaboration in healthcare research and medical education.
As per the agreement, the area of collaboration shall encompass areas like healthcare research, digital health, medical education, communication science, AI-enabled healthcare systems and public health innovation.
The MoU was signed between Pradipta Kumar Nanda, Vice-Chancellor of SOA and Shweta Sharma, Co-Founder and CEO of SigmaMozak Solutions Pvt Ltd. IMS and SUM Hospital is the faculty of medicine of the SOA Deemed to be University.
The agreement was inked as both parties recognised the value of academic-industry collaboration in advancing translational healthcare research, technology enabled healthcare communication systems, AI-assisted training systems, digital health innovation and educational initiatives.
The two parties agreed to collaborate in areas like AI-enabled healthcare communication systems, digital health, healthcare analytics and patient engagement, simulation-based learning, strengthening of community health systems, public
health innovation and behavioral health initiatives, AI-assisted communication assessment and training, grant-supported healthcare innovation programs and healthcare workforce capacity building initiatives.
Both parties will jointly organise workshops, conferences and dissemination activities, conduct joint publications, national and international research and innovation collaborations and other mutually agreed healthcare, academic, research and innovation activities.
The initial focus will be on improving the communication skills of undergraduate medical students. Despite the introduction of the AETCOM (Attitude, Ethics and Communication) Module by the National Medical Commission (NMC) to strengthen doctor–patient communication, its implementation appears hindered by variability in teaching methods, subjective faculty interpretation, and the lack of standardized training modalities.
To address this gap, the two organizations are introducing an AI-powered communication training platform named ConversationAIly designed specifically for undergraduate medical students. The platform provides standardized, interactive, and objective learning experiences through simulated patient interactions, enabling students to develop effective communication skills consistently and confidently, while complementing the existing AETCOM curriculum. It will also allow faculty to assess communication performance using consistent, measurable parameters and track improvement over time.
The initiative is expected to strengthen the practical implementation of the AETCOM curriculum by moving communication-skills training beyond subjective observation towards a more structured, scalable and evidence-informed model. Through the collaboration, both partners aim to build a stronger foundation for patient-centred medical education, healthcare innovation and future research in clinical communication.