I asked many people of this column on how they were preparing for careers in biotechnology or pharmacy. Many of them mentioned lessons, courses or seminars they have attended to get an idea of space. This week, I highlight certain free options that could be useful when you prepare for a career in these areas.
First, check your university
Several of our former guests (project analyst SUNDAR SUNDAproject manager Brandon Anjowon – Foster and main scientist Sadiye Amcaoglu Rieder To name only a few) began to attend workshops or series of speakers in their postdoctoral institutions when they started to think of moving into the industry. This would therefore be the first suggestion: see if your university (or neighboring institutions) offers seminars, workshops or even lessons that you could take. It is a good way to start obtaining basic information on the field and perhaps even in-depth knowledge and professional advice.
You don't know where to look for these opportunities? If your school or department has a career development office, start by contacting them. Although schools varies in a variable way the non -academic career path for graduate students, the career development office should be able to direct you to resources. Also look for events such as old -fashioned panels to see if someone about industry space speaks.
Free online lessons
There are many free online courses on subjects that are relevant for anyone trying to enter the biotechnological space. The specific courses you want to follow will vary according to your career goals. If you are thinking of leaving the bench, business, regulatory and patent law courses will help you familiarize yourself with the jargon and the concepts that you will probably not learn during your academic training.
Surya Sundar, project analyst for a biopharmaceutical company with whom I front -spokensaid it recommends everything related to business or patent law.
“The reason is that the financial terms take a certain time to adapt to use in daily discourse, and the basics of patent law would be useful because biotechnology is managed on intellectual property considerations,” he said.
In this sense, the Copenhagen Business School offers a Biotechnology patent Course through the racera which covers roles and responsibilities surrounding patents and intellectual property rights. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology offers a course on the Biotechnology science and affairs This gives an overview of the development of biotechnology companies at an early stage and will help explain the scientific and commercial side of the field of biotechnology.
If you hope to stay on the bench and carry out biotechnology research, other courses that focus on scientific concepts and relevant experimental design could be more useful. These include a Discovery of drugs class offered by the University of California in San Diego and the “Genomics: Decoding the universal language of life” Courses offered by the University of Illinois, both on Racera.
The Harvard University also offers an entire library of biotechnology courses. Although you had to pay for many of them, some relevant courses are free, including EDX courses “Regulation, cost and access of prescription drugs: current controversies in context” And “Entrepreneurship in emerging economies. “Note that lessons completion is free, but, if you want a certificate of completion verified, you will have to pay fees.
Free certificates
If you are looking for an official certification of lesson completion or a coordinated training program, you will probably have to pay. But there are a few courses that offer free certificates or free certificate programs.
A place to look at is Alison.comA free online education platform that offers courses and certificates in many workplace skills. Biotechnology courses are relevant Fundamentals of project management and a Project management program diploma. There are also certificate lessons for bio-engineering and biotechnology and a Diploma in experimental biotechnology program.
For those who seek to stay on the bench and work with the megadonts, Imbe offers a Professional Certificate of Data Science.
Other resources
Apart from formal lessons and courses, there is a ton of online equipment which gives an overview of the biotechnology industry. These resources can help you familiarize yourself with different types of work through the field. In addition, many of my former interviewees mentioned having to learn the vocabulary of the industry. Accessing these industry -oriented resources is a way to start doing so.
To start, Sundar recommends looking for LinkedIn for free webinaries and career panels.
“I noticed many more panels on industry subjects on LinkedIn from Covid, so I would suggest attending those who look interesting. Most of them are free,” he said.
If you are not on LinkedIn, there are many other resources. News of genetic engineering and biotechnology is a good website to browse current articles and subjects in genetics linked biotechnology. BiospaceWho describes himself as the web “Home of the Life Sciences Industry”, covers subjects ranging from biotechnology to clinical research and has many resources for those who wish to obtain a flavor of variety in the field.
The cell newspaper Biotechnology trends is also a good resource for the latest developments in the field and can be useful for learning how the data produced by the industry are presented.
Finally, the Food and Drug Administration offers educational training and resources, in particular free webinaries which cover a range of subjects linked to the discovery of drugs, biotechnology and regulatory affairs.
