Leveraging the state-of-the-art Jefferson Institute for Bioprocessing (JIB) and with input from an industry task force, Montgomery Community College, Bucks County Community College, and Thomas Jefferson University joined together to developed an innovative, cost-effective NIIMBL Education Platform (NEP) to provide a way for students to transition into entry-level bioprocessing industry positions while offering transcript-able and transferable academic credits.
The NEP includes both cross-disciplinary educational curriculum and an experiential component. The NEP curriculum aims to:
Sustainable education platform that includes industry relevant cross-disciplinary curricula designed to prepare students with life science and engineering backgrounds for jobs in the biomanufacturing industry
Demonstrated proof-of-concept with a cohort of 10 students to validate the model
Despite COVID- 19 pandemic, 80% of student cohort placed either in industry or pursuing higher education in bioprocessing/ biotechnology
The creation of an articulation agreement between TJU and MCCC, so that an MCCC student can progress to Jefferson University BS in Biotechnology with a concentration in the Biomanufacturing program
A gap assessment was completed to gather information on the functional/technical knowledge, skills, and competencies as well as the professional and leadership skills required for entry-level biomanufacturing technician job functions A cohort of 10 students participated in a five-week intensive training event. Week 1 was delivered online and weeks 2-5 were in person (July 20-August 20) Three courses were created for this project that lead to a credential, Thomas Jefferson University Bioprocessing Badge. The three courses included: Principles of Upstream Biomanufacturing, Principles of Downstream Biomanufacturing, and Basics of Analytical Techniques, Regulatory Guidelines and Quality Control in Biopharmaceuticals An articulation agreement was created between TJU and MCCC, so that an MCCC student can progress to Jefferson University BS in Biotechnology with a concentration in the Biomanufacturing program
Bridging the Gap: A Biopharmaceutical Processing Workforce Development Continuum (PC2.2-094), NIIMBL Member Forum, Virtual, August 27, 2020.
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Thomas Jefferson University
Bucks County Community College
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
Montgomery County Community College
