Graduate Certificate in Biotechnology (Enterprise) (GC-BTCHENT)

THIS COURSE IS NOT TAKING APPLICATIONS FOR 2023.

The Graduate Certificate in Biotechnology (Enterprise) is designed to produce leaders in the exciting and ever-growing sectors of this vibrant industry. Biotechnology is the useful application of a biological product or process and represents an immense opportunity to improve the health, nutrition and well-being of the global population as well as make substantial contributions to the triple bottom line of companies in the area of sustainability and social good. The subjects proposed for this course adopt an interdisciplinary, international and holistic approach to respond to the complex and growing challenges of the emergence of new technologies such as cell therapies, gene editing and the intersection of engineering and biosciences. This is amongst the first course of its kind and deals with specific features of biotechnology as an enterprise which, when these features are combined make it very different to other industries. These features include:

• Long lead times for new product development;
• Strong reliance on intellectual property;
• Stringent regulatory and quality standards;
• Long product lifecycles;
• Ethical, legal and political challenges for new technologies;

It is grounded in a material analysis of the ways in which medicine, agriculture, engineering, finance, the law, technology and design can support healthy individuals and populations.

This course provides specialised knowledge and skills to understand biotechnology as more than industrial challenges. The innovative subjects are taught by academics from across the University of Melbourne and external expert professionals with real- world, international experience in the various sectors of biotechnology. These professionals and academics have expertise in the technical areas of engineering; human and veterinary medicine; food science; agriculture; biosciences; and have expertise in the application of the areas of law; business; marketing and economics to biotechnology. The instructors bring outstanding pedagogical skills, substantive knowledge and practical experience.

Students from around the globe work together to address the worldwide implications of biotechnology, including increased demand on such areas as global food production and human nutrition; health care spending in the context of an increasing aged population, increasing demand from the developing world, continuing technological breakthroughs which will revolutionise the future of biotechnology as well as the business, ethical and legal challenges to innovation in this field. This new course opens up the possibilities of biotechnology with significant implications for companies in the biotechnology sector including pharmaceuticals, therapeutics and biologics; food and agriculture; and medical devices. It will also assist clinicians, health care administrators, innovators and entrepreneurs, policymakers, and researchers understand the multidisciplinary nature of this specialised sector.

The Graduate Certificate in Biotechnology (Enterprise) course requires completion of a total of 50 points of study and is structured to suit individual needs and study preferences. Students have the option of first enrolling in the nested award Specialist Certificate (25 points of study) prior to enrolling in the Graduate Certificate. The Specialist Certificate is also an exit point (after completing 25 points of study) for students enrolled in the Graduate Certificate.

This course is designed to be available to students at different stages in their careers, including career changers and career enhancers, along with those who currently work in a biotechnology-related sector and wish to further their qualifications. This course allows students to obtain core knowledge to underpin the working understanding of this significant industry sector. The approach taken is one which will broaden the view of those already working in biotechnology enterprises and allow them to assume wider management/leadership responsibilities or it will enable those working in the life sciences sectors to move into a biotechnology related role.