The COVID-19 pandemic revealed some kinks in the biomanufacturing industry. Whether it was transporting vaccines in a timely manner or keeping them at the appropriate temperature, the global health concern caused the need for hands-on professionals in the field to surge.
A new Santa Clara University (SCU) bioengineering program aims to fill an economic need and help community college students kickstart careers in the field. A $480,000 federal grant from the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL) is allowing SCU to pitch a program to community colleges, gauging instructors’ interest.
The workforce arm of Biocom California, Biocom California Institute (BCI), in partnership with SCU will train community college instructors. By training community college instructors and assisting in designing a curriculum, SCU professors would help funnel much-needed students into the bio-pharmaceutical field.
Prashanth Asuri, a bioengineering professor at SCU and the program lead, said the industry is reliant on a lot of institutional knowledge and “rules of thumb.” Developing curriculum would empower professionals to make “data-driven decisions” and help avoid problems such as the inability to place interns during the pandemic.
“If the country wants to go after manufacturing … we need to invest in our community colleges. That is where skill-based learning is happening,” he said. “In my mind, universities should be the bridge between education and career.”
If adopted by community colleges, the program would benefit two categories of students, training them on the programming language Python.
The first group that would benefit is life sciences and bioprocessing students. The program would familiarize them with the tools and techniques used to design, produce and deliver next-generation drugs. Participants will be better able to identify meaning in complex data, ask critical questions, solve problems and recommend quality and efficiency improvements across the supply chain.
The second group is software engineering and data-science students. The program would introduce them to compelling biopharma applications rarely presented in college computer science and analytics courses.
The goal, Asuri said, is to diversify the workforce in the field.
Understanding the industry’s unique needs will become more important than ever as manufacturing ramps up, said Vicki Brannock, senior director of workforce strategy and innovation at BCI.
“To strengthen the talent pipeline we need to reach into communities that might not have access to life science,” she said. “There is kind of a place for everyone, but not everyone knows there is a place for them … This is just another tool in their toolbelt to jumpstart their career.”
BCI would use its network to give colleges and universities the tools to have a “better dialogue” to address their needs, Brannock said. The grant money will cover the initial integration to help the program get off the ground, she added.
Earlier this year, SCU hosted a well-attended webinar that saw 25 attendees. The program has space for 10 instructors. A three-day workshop, slated for May, will take the program to the next step. BCI and SCU expect the program will serve 500 students and 100 industry professionals annually.
“We are not developing talent for Wall Street. This is for local businesses,” Asuri said.
Following the May workshop, Asuri said instructors will spend July getting acquainted with the curriculum before getting it situated in August.
Contact David Alexander at d.todd.alexander@gmail.com
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