Payment in full must be received in order to be admitted into the program.
Spring of 2024 Offering ~ March 18 – May 7, 2024
Massachusetts is a global leader in biomanufacturing and the industry continues to grow in New England. WPI developed this fundamentals program in collaboration with many of the region’s leading biomanufacturing companies to give adult learners the basic skills and knowledge they need to seek entry-level jobs in the industry.
This eight-week evening certificate program is taught by WPI instructors and biomanufacturing industry professionals. It includes a mix of classroom instruction and hands-on learning in small teams working on state-of-the-art biomanufacturing equipment.
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Program Logistics
- Next Program: See Training Schedule
- Days: Typically Monday, Tuesday and Thursday
- Time: 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
- Location: Biomanufacturing Education & Training Center
WPI Gateway Park, 50 Prescott Street (2nd floor), Worcester, MA - Cost: $5000
- CEU: 9.2
Prerequisites
Participants must be able to read and write English, have basic Math skills and possess a High School Diploma. Successful passing of a basic math test and a writing sample is required in order to be admitted to the program. Additional details of the assessment will be provided upon submitting registration.
Contact The BETC with questions at betc@wpi.edu
Payment
Payment in full must be received in order to be admitted into the program.
Payment may be handled via the following options:
- Credit card – complete and submit the online registration form including your credit card information.
- Personal / bank check – select the P.O. number field and indicate that you will sending a check. Make check out to WPI Corporate and Professional Education, 100 Institute Road, Worcester, MA 01609.
- Grant funding – if unemployed, contact your closest unemployment office to inquire about funding availability and qualifications.
STATE FUNDING MAY BE AVAILABLE TO PAY FOR THIS PROGRAM. CONTACT YOUR LOCAL CAREER CENTER FOR INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO QUALIFY. TO LOCATE A CAREER CENTER NEAR YOU GO TO WWW.SERVICELOCATOR.ORG.
Program Includes
- Performing activities in compliance with the cGMP’s (Current Good Manufacturing Practices) that are mandated by the FDA (Food & Drug Administration)
- A tour of AbbVie in Worcester
- Operation of critical equipment and instruments such as bioreactors, purification columns, harvesting equipment (centrifuges, depth filters, etc.) biosafety cabinets and analytical instruments
- Experience single-use and stainless steel equipment
- Following Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) for these operations
- Completing production batch records
- Filling out equipment checklists and logs
- Demonstrating conduct in compliance with FDA regulations and expectations
Special Features
Attendees actively participate in a full biomanufacturing process that includes the following unit operations:
- Cell culture operations
- Media preparation/seed inoculums
- Aseptic processing in biosafety cabinet
- Centrifugation
- Buffer preparation
- Tangential flow concentration and diafiltration
- Purification process (column chromatography)
- Column packing and qualification
- Filtration and integrity testing
- Analytical instrumentation and lab calculations
Once the hands-on processing section of the course begins, participants will be divided into small groups. These groups will rotate through the appropriate unit operations, each led by an instructor who is a subject matter expert from industry. The unique design of this certificate program features not only learning the technical and scientific principles of each unit operation, but also performing each operation under simulated cGMP conditions.
This program has been designed to allow the participants to network with the instructors, who are subject matter experts. Some of these instructors are also hiring managers from biomanufacturing organizations who need to employ trained and skilled individuals to enhance their workforces.