The biotechnology sector is growing and graduate students in the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Master's Program in Biotechnology are ready to build their careers (and Birmingham's biotech future) on that promise. While there are several innovative business-science hybrid master's programs that have emerged recently in the US (see our two April 12 blogs), UA's is the first in the South and unique in its approach.
More than a management training program for scientists (which it is), the UA Biotechnology degree course pairs students with UA-based startups that need management expertise and business labor (for filing patents, for example). This win-win situation is facilitated through a partnership with the UAB Research Foundation which manages the University's intellectual property and promotes its most promising technologies. Graduates of the program have real hands-on business experience and can now attract biotechnology businesses to Birmingham. In fact, the program was initiated two years ago in response to Birmingham losing a bid to host a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant. The company cited fears that the city would not be able to produce the trained workforce it needed.
Now companies are actively recruiting UAB's Biotech graduates, and Birmingham is poised to be a magnet for biotech firms that want to capitalize on the presence of an excellent medical research facility and the management talent to bring their products and technology successfully to market.
If you are a supplier of laboratory equipment or a researcher in the UA Birmingham biotechnology and biomedical science community, plan on attending the Biotechnology Calendar Birmingham BioResearch Product Faire™ event this August 4 on the UA campus. Meet the biotechnology leaders of tomorrow, from the lab and the business office. Help them make smart purchasing decisions to streamline effectiveness and produce results that lead to innovation.