Benefits of a Master’s Degree in Biotechnology

A Master’s Degree in Biotechnology is a vocational science discipline with immense scope and promising career options. This extended learning program equips students with valuable skills such as strategic thinking, leadership, communication, analytical thinking, project-based learning, and teamwork. Biotechnology has its applications in our day-to-day lives — right from exponential advancement in pharmaceutics to development in food production and providing solutions for environmental preservation.

Let’s learn about some uses and applications in medicine, agriculture, industry, food, and our environment.

Biotechnology Uses and Applications

Biotechnological innovations are already a part of our daily lives and are used extensively to conduct research and produce life-saving medicines and drugs. For example, Biotechnology was at the forefront of our fight against the COVID-19 global pandemic. Through intensive research and innovation, scientists were able to decipher the virus and comprehend the human body’s defence mechanism.

Thus, Biotechnology plays a crucial role in improving the life of humanity. Some revolutionary achievements are the development of insulin, growth hormone, molecular identity and diagnostics, gene therapies, and vaccines such as Hepatitis B.

The application of Biotech in the industry has just begun. Soon, healing concrete, plants with the ability to change colour when they sense an explosion, clothing and footwear made of synthetic spider web, and so on would be achievable.

Moreover, Biotechnology has come up with crop innovations such as the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA), a drought-resistant and insect-resistant crop used in Africa's fight against famine.

One of its uses in environment conservation is restoring contaminated ecosystems via bioremediation processes, which is extremely beneficial for ecological revival. Additionally, it supports healthy and sustainable agriculture as it produces food free from any toxins and allergies and is more nutritious as it limits the use of pesticides and chemicals.

Benefits of pursuing a Masters’ Degree in Biotechnology

Being one of the key industries of the 21st century, the demand for experts in the field is always on the rise. A Master’s Degree prepares students for diverse leadership roles in the industry.

• Scholars can work in diverse sectors such as Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology companies, government departments, medical research institutes, research hospitals, universities and public research institutions, textiles, agriculture, and animal husbandry.

• On completing the Master’s Degree, scholars can pursue lucrative careers as:
• Biochemical Engineers
• Biotech Manufacturing Professionals
• Entrepreneurs
• Investment Analysts
• Patent Consultants
• Policy Analysts
• Product Managers
• Production Managers
• Project Managers
• Quality Assurance Professionals
• Research Scientists
• Sales/Business Development Managers
• Scholars gain valuable professional skills in:
  • Commercialisation of Science
  • Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving
  • Collaborative Teamwork
  • Scientific Communication, both Written and Oral
  • Leadership
  • Pursue higher education
• While pursuing the program, students can create networks that foster outside the classroom learning and utilise it to get a good job. Internships and industrial exposure broaden professional networking. Biotechnologists also contribute majorly to solving several environmental issues. For instance, Biotechnologists developed bio-plastic, a type of plastic that can be made from natural resources such as vegetable oils and starches to eliminate the consumption and production of plastic. In today's competitive world, completing higher education is considered valuable because every industry seeks individuals having specialised knowledge of a specific field.

Career Scope after MSc Biotechnology in India

Students graduating with master’s in biotechnology have immense job opportunities internationally. Therefore, several industries including pharmaceutical companies, clinical research centres, medical devices manufacturing companies, etc. require MSc/MS\MBA Biotechnologist. Most preferred job profiles are listed below:

• Agricultural engineers
• Biochemists
• Biomedical Engineers
• Biotechnology laboratory
• Environmental engineers

Benefits of pursuing Master’s Degree in Biotechnology from Shoolini University

There are many universities in India that offer a Master’s degree in Biotechnology. However, as India’s first Biotech University and a top research university, Shoolini University located in Solan, Himachal Pradesh, merits a special mention. This Top 200 university globally (THE Impact Rankings 2022) offers a range of undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral Biotech programs.

The university has received many accolades and rankings worldwide. Prestigious ranking agency QS World University Rankings (Asia) ranked Shoolini No. 1 Research University in India and 6^th in Asia. It is ranked among ‘Top 65 Business Schools of India’ and 89^th university in the country (NIRF). Moreover, it has been consistently ranked as one of the top schools by BioSpectrum.

The specially designed programs inspire students to apply the basic principles of engineering to biological systems and technologies for the study and manipulation of living organisms concerning industrial, medical, agricultural, and environmental problems. Students benefit from its technology-enriched learning environment with fully equipped and advanced laboratories, hands-on learning, paid internships, and vibrant student life.

The internationally acclaimed postdoc faculty comes from top national institutes and universities worldwide. Research-oriented in their approach, they guide, mentor and support students to file patents. Shoolini is the only university to follow the ‘one student one patent’ policy. This is why the university has crossed the milestone of filing more than 1000 patents.

Shoolini University has valuable collaborations for student/faculty exchange with foreign universities across the world. This enables them to conduct innovative research and get global exposure. Shoolini University recently completed 100 MoUs with top universities around the world. Some international institutions Shoolini has collaborated with are, Seoul National University (Korea), University of Naples (Italy), Western Sydney University (Australia), University of Arkansas (USA), University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa), Sichuan University (China) and University of Reading (UK).

Highlights

• The Stanford-based SPRINT program develops soft skills among students, teaching them to thrive in a competitive workplace.

• Industry experts from India and abroad teach at Shoolini University.
• The dedicated Placement Cell provides 100% placement support with paid internships and lucrative jobs.
• Educational tours/industry visits are a part of the curriculum.
• Modern teaching methodologies are put into extensive use.
• Shoolini is recognised as an Excellent University for Research in Biotechnology by CCI and Gujarat Technological University.

Conclusion

Science and Technology is a dynamic field, constantly evolving with valuable innovations. As a result, the scope is always expanding with new career profiles introduced according to the new-age findings and innovations.

The benefits of studying biotechnology programs are innumerable, but eventually it is the passion, ability, dedication and hard work of an individual that will help him change the world.

 

Note: The views expressed in this article are that of Shoolini University and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha