Products for the medicine of today and a sustainable future

Biotechnology is an application-oriented science which combines a number of different disciplines. It uses enzymes, micro-organisms, and cell and tissue cultures to refine existing products or produce new ones. Six thousand years ago, the Sumerians were already making use of biotechnological processes as they brewed the first beer from fermented bread dough. Today, biotechnological processes are used to manufacture active agents for medicines, enzymes, high-grade chemicals, vitamins and flavourings, and to produce fuels and neutralise harmful substances.

Students enrolled on our Biotechnology (B.Sc.) degree programme enjoy broad-based scientific and practical training in key biotechnology disciplines such as biochemistry, biochemical engineering, measurement and control engineering, microbiology, molecular biology, downstream processing, bioanalysis and cell culture engineering.  They then enhance their specialist knowledge by taking mandatory electives from the fields of molecular biotechnology, bioprocess engineering and systems engineering.

The topics covered focus on product development, and the manufacture of fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals and other biotechnology products with the aid of micro-organisms, cells and enzymes. Graduates with a degree in biotechnology are in great demand and can work in a wide variety of different fields.

We have also teamed up with Springer academic publishing to offer a part-time Master’s degree in Biotechnology (M.Sc.). This degree programme is aimed at people already working in appropriate fields who would like to gain further practically oriented skills. It is a distance-learning programme for the 21st century and incorporates teaching videos, intensive supervision by experts in online tutorials, Springer text books, and phases of face-to-face instruction, and thus offers an attractive alternative to conventional full-time degree programmes.