Special Session

 

Biotechnology education as an interdisciplinary field between engineering and sciences

 

Advances in the life sciences and in related technology have positioned biotechnology as a major driver in the global knowledge-based economies. As a result, universities are aggressively revising their engineering and science curricula to achieve a new set of competencies in their graduates in order to address the knowledge demand in biotechnology. The curricular revisions involves the introduction of a new educational paradigm in which the interdisciplinary nature of biotechnology learning must address engineering students with an understanding of the fundamentals of life sciences and molecular biology. Furthermore, partnerships between industry and academia have been established in which universities are designing customized curricula for industrial employees to facilitate the transition of the labor force from a typical pharmaceutical environment to a biotechnology environment. Among the educational challenges that universities are facing is the establishment of an adequate research infrastructure with the development of industrial collaborations to facilitate corporate sponsored research. In addition, faculty members face the need to become exposed to the industrial environment to incorporate applied topics in their courses. These two aspects will promote an entrepreneurial approach in the teaching and learning processes, resulting in an increase of start-up companies emerging from academia. In addition to research, universities must also must be involved in recognizing the knowledge and skills that are required for professionals needed in biotechnology and to promote them as part of their curricula.

 

Papers are encouraged in the following areas which address the role of academia in preparing professionals capable of developing and advancing biotechnology from an interdisciplinary perspective:

• Design of innovative courses and/or curricula;
• Industrial internships of students or faculty members;
• Special collaborations with industry, in which engineering and science have become an integral part of the learning process and in which these partnerships have become essential for the success of the initiatives;
• Outreach initiatives to expose the pre-college student population to biotechnology as an essential component of a university career path.

Session Chair:

 

Dr. Rosa Buxeda
Industrial Biotechnology
University of Puerto Rico- Mayaguez
PO Box 9012
Mayaguez, PR 00680 email: rbuxeda@ece.uprm.edu phone 787-265-3830