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BTEC’s fall Career Fair sets new attendance record

Published October 23, 2023

Students network and meet with industry representatives at the Fall 2023 BTEC Career Fair on October 16, 2023.
At BTEC's fall Career Fair on Oct. 16, almost 400 attendees had opportunities to speak with representatives from 32 firms in the biomanufacturing, biotechnology, and life sciences industries.

BTEC had its largest-ever attendance at the recent Career Fair for NC State students, alumni, and the general public interested in opportunities in the biomanufacturing, biotechnology, and life sciences fields. The semi-annual event, co-sponsored by the university’s Career Development Center, took place Oct. 16 at NC State’s Hunt Library, where BTEC welcomed 32 companies and a record-setting 382 participants.

A wide array of local, national, and international firms was represented at the event, including AstraZeneca, Biogen, bioMerieux, KBI Biopharma, Lilly and Company, Merck & Company, Novo Nordisk, and Pfizer among others. Participants included 284 NC State students and 98 individuals from local colleges and universities, including Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Campbell University, East Carolina University, and BTEC’s workforce development partners, the Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise (BRITE) program at North Carolina Central University and the North Carolina Community College System’s BioNetwork program.

Among the 284 NC State students who attended, 75% were undergraduates, with the remainder split between master’s students (18%) and doctoral candidates (7%). A total of 91 students (32%) are currently enrolled in BTEC’s undergraduate or graduate programs. Among all undergraduates attending, top majors are chemical engineering, biomedical engineering, biological sciences, and bioprocessing science. Among the graduate students who attended, most are working toward an advanced degree in chemical engineering or BTEC’s master of biomanufacturing.

Based on survey feedback, all of the participating companies were either satisfied or highly satisfied with the event and the professionalism of the students attending. Student feedback was also positive. Sam Mellott, a junior majoring in bioprocessing science, commented, “Attending the BTEC Career Fair was a truly rewarding experience. The event provided me with the opportunity to establish connections with many local industry professionals.”

The 2024 spring Career Fair is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 23. For more information about that event, contact Pa Nhia Moore, BTEC’s manager of Student Programs, at pa_moore@ncsu.edu.