Summer Workshops Provide Hands-on Training for Careers in Biomanufacturing
FCoE- BITT (Florida Center of Excellence for Bimolecular Identification for Targeted Therapeutics) is hosting several workshops for incumbent workers, teachers and students this summer. Most recently, FCoE-BITT partnered with HCC and the University of Florida to host an industrial biotechnology workshop at HCC in Brandon. The workshop was held May 21, and served as an entry-level course for development of skills needed to function in today’s biotechnology industry. The workshop was directed by professors Debarati Ghosh, and Krista Noren-Santmyer, both part of the HCC Science Faculty.
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During the workshop, participants were divided into groups to work as a “company” to manufacture popcorn within a specified timeframe. BITT Project Manager, Jose Rey said “the objectives of the exercise were to understand the complexity of a Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) process, to identify departmental roles, gain appreciation for teamwork, communication, and cooperation between departments, and to introduce concepts of cGMPs in a context that is familiar to everyone.” Each company consisted of a material control, manufacturing, quality control and a quality assurance group. Course content/exercises were geared to match educational skills with organizational needs. Herbert Maysonet, a biotech student at HCC said “The workshop has provided me with a knowledge base, and an understanding of how my degree/skills can be utilized in a big manufacturing company.”
Indeed, the exercise was effective in showcasing the intricacies of various departmental structures and operations, and underlined the importance of paperwork/documentation. The production process was performed twice to give all students an opportunity to experience the roles and responsibilities of each department. Kevin Burn, a current biotech student at HCC said the workshop “highlighted the importance of some key marketable skills in the biotech field, and how transferable these skills are across different industries.”
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For more information on the workshops visit https://www.fl-ate.org/projects/bitt.html, or contact Dr. Marilyn Barger at 813.253.6578/barger@fl-ate.org.