Biocon plans Biocon training academy

          Biopharma major Biocon is planning to set up an academic institution called Biocon Academy next fiscal, in an attempt to resolve the acute human resource crunch in the industry, caused by poor standards of biotechnology education. 

       “We are planning to set up a “Biocon Academy” within our campus. Fresh graduates will have the opportunity to participate in a year long programme, which will include classes by leading academia as well as an internship, which I believe will be extremely useful,” Biocon chairman and managing director, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw told.

       “We are talking to the IITs, Amrita Institute, and all leading names and we will try to set this academy up by next fiscal,” Mazumdar-Shaw added. Last year, Karnataka state department of IT&BT, along with the Association of Biotech Enabled Enterprises (ABLE), had launched “finishing schools” in 10 Karnataka universities and colleges, to improve the employability of fresh biotech graduates.

“Finishing schools”, monitored by ABLE and accredited to a university, would hone skills of graduates, to bridge the tremendous gap that exists between education received, and the expectation of employers in the sector. While this is in its first year of implementation, Mazumdar-Shaw feels that the students would stand to gain more if such training were to be conducted within the industry, than solely within academia. “The skills shortage needs industry action. Take for example what Infosys has done at its Mysore campus, through which it is catering to its own needs, as well as to the needs of the industry as a whole,” she emphasized.

Courtesy-Financial Express