Biotechnology graduates contend with a Catch-22 as they begin biomanufacturing careers.
Medical device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, and other employers in highly-regulated biomanufacturing industries want technicians who have experience following Food and Drug Administration regulations. Internships that would provide students with real-world work experiences in these fields are rare, however, because government regulations limit what inexperienced people are permitted to do in biomanufacturing workplaces.
To address this challenge, Vivian Ngan-Winward, obtained an Advanced Technological Education project grant to create STUDENTfacturED, a company that provides a simulated, regulated environment at Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) where she directs the biomanufacturing program.
STUDENTfacturED is the second entrepreneurial program SLCC's Biotechnology Department has launched with ATE support. InnovaBio, a contract research organization at SLCC, was the first.