New course designed for business minds interested in the biosciences
MSc will provide students with business skills to develop enterprises in the biosciences
A new postgraduate degree at Birkbeck will provide students with the business skills to launch, or further, their enterprises in the biosciences.
The MSc in Bio-business has been developed to attract business minded and entrepreneurial people eager to work in the biological and chemical sciences – growing industries within the UK economy. According to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, manufacturing in the life sciences accounts for eight per cent of the UK’s manufacturing and remains important for the UK’s growth.
Staff will promote the course at the Genesis 2013 conference – London’s premier life science and healthcare networking conference – on 12 December at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre. The new course will start in September 2014.
The content of the course is tailored to the unique demands of science-based projects, including the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors. A combination of scientific and entrepreneurial modules will enable students to move between scientific and business careers.
The course is a pioneering partnership between Birkbeck’s Department of Biological Sciences and its Department of Management. Students will learn about management and business principles, and research methods, from staff at Birkbeck’s Centre for Innovation Management Research (CIMR) in the Department of Management, and the Department of Biological Sciences.
The MSc in Bio-business will provide students with a thorough understanding of:
- The importance of innovation, research and technology in business strategy
- The role of risk management, regulation, public perception and media coverage
- The types of technologies and outputs used in biological and chemical science industries
- Historical and forward-looking perspectives about the biological and chemical science industries.
Dr Renos Savva, course organiser and Senior Research Fellow in Structural Molecular Biology at Birkbeck’s Department of Biological Sciences, will be leading the two biological science modules. He said: “This new programme combines learning about the biosciences and business in a unique way. It will benefit students embarking on careers in the biosciences and it will boost the sector as a whole by developing the next generation of talented individuals.”
Andrew Atter, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Birkbeck’s School of Business, Economics and Informatics, will be leading the entrepreneurial module. He said: “Entrepreneurship in the bioscience and pharmaceutical industries is an increasingly important topic in public policy and is growing in significance to the UK economy. It is recognised that the transition from research science project into a viable business is fraught with difficulty and risk, so this MSc in Bio-business will make a valuable contribution to overcoming these problems.”
Applications
For more information and to register your interest for the MSc in Bio-business, visit: www.bbk.ac.uk/MScBio-Business . Applications will open in January 2014.
The fees for the course are as follows:
- Part-time two-year course, home/EU students: £ 4975 pa
- Full-time one-year course, home/EU students: £ 9950 pa
- Part-time two-year course, overseas students: £ 7425 pa
- Full-time one-year course, overseas students: £ 14775 pa