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BTEC hits the road!

Published Dec 7, 2012

BTEC representatives have been on the road this fall attending conferences across the nation.
In late October, Dr. Baley Reeves, a senior bioprocessing scientist and instructor at BTEC, presented "Bringing Industry to Students: BTEC's Design of Courses in Downstream Bioprocessing" at the 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh. The presentation described how two BTEC courses—BEC 436/536, Introduction to Downstream Process Development, and BEC 485/585, cGMP Downstream Operations—have been designed to provide a unique industry-relevant learning experience for both undergraduate and graduate students. It also included survey results demonstrating that these courses have given BTEC students a real advantage in starting their industry careers.
 
Chris Smith, the BTEC graduate academic coordinator, traveled to Denver in early November to attend the National Professional Science Master’s Association 3rd National Conference. The meeting, attended by some 120 academic, government, and industry professionals from around the country, focused on the current state of higher education and what is on the horizon for these institutions. The industry-focused model of Professional Science Master’s programs is making them highly popular around the United States. An average of over 40 new programs are being established each year.

In mid-November, BTEC’s Ray Anover and Rick Lawless flew to San Francisco to attend the 2012 ISPE Annual Meeting. The Industrial Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers conference is attended both by incumbent professionals and students looking to join the field. Lawless, BTEC’s associate director of strategic programs, attended the meeting as a member of the ISPE Professional Certification Commission (PCC). The PCC, an independent board within the organization, is responsible for administering the Certified Pharmaceutical Industry Professional (CPIP) credential. Anover, assistant director of industry relations and student coordination at BTEC, attended the meeting as the academic advisor to the student chapter of ISPE at NC State. The NC State chapter meets several times each semester in BTEC and won the National Chapter of the Year award in 2010. This year’s ISPE annual meeting focused on global GMP solutions through innovation and transformation.