Bhubaneswar, June 30: The Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital (IMS & SUM Hospital), faculty of medicine of SOA Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SigmaMozak Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad, to promote interdisciplinary collaboration in healthcare research, medical education, and digital innovation.
The agreement aims to build a structured institutional framework for cooperation in areas such as healthcare research, digital health technologies, communication science, artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled healthcare systems, medical education, and public health innovation.
The MoU was signed by Prof. Pradipta Kumar Nanda, Vice-Chancellor of SOA, and Shweta Sharma, Co-Founder and CEO of SigmaMozak Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Both sides highlighted the importance of academia-industry collaboration in advancing translational research and technology-driven healthcare solutions.
Under the partnership, the two institutions will jointly work on AI-enabled healthcare communication systems, healthcare analytics, patient engagement tools, simulation-based learning, behavioural health initiatives, and workforce capacity building. They will also organise workshops, conferences, joint research publications, and innovation-driven academic programmes.
A key focus of the collaboration will be improving communication skills among undergraduate medical students. While the National Medical Commission’s AETCOM (Attitude, Ethics and Communication) module aims to strengthen doctor–patient communication, challenges such as inconsistent teaching methods and subjective evaluation have limited its effectiveness.
To address this gap, the partners will introduce an AI-powered communication training platform called “ConversationAIly.” The tool is designed to provide standardized, interactive, and objective learning through simulated patient interactions. It will help students build communication skills in a structured manner while also enabling faculty to assess performance using measurable indicators and track progress over time.
The initiative is expected to enhance the practical implementation of the AETCOM curriculum by shifting communication training from subjective assessment to a more evidence-based, scalable model. Through this collaboration, both organisations aim to advance patient-centred medical education and strengthen innovation in healthcare communication systems.
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