Biotechnology and Biosciences
Biotechnology and Biosciences
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The fields of Biotechnology and Biosciences have witnessed extraordinary developments in areas like Molecular and Cellular Biology, Functional and Comparative Genomics, Computational and Systems Biology, Synthetic Biology, Upstream and Downstream Processing, Molecular Bioengineering, Biosystems Engineering and Nanobiotechnology.
The Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), University of Lisbon, in collaboration with the Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences (iBB) at IST, devised an interdisciplinary four-year’s Doctoral program in Biotechnology and Biosciences that provides PhD students with a world-class training in Biotechnology and Biosciences. Starting in the scholar year 2015/2016, this PhD program is funded by FCT as the FCT-PhD BIOTECnico-Biotechnology and Biosciences (4 PhD fellowships, in Portugal and abroad, per year).
The PhD program is anchored in two tracks: Biological Sciences and Bioengineering. The Biological Sciences track offers an in-depth understanding of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Molecular and Microbial Biotechnology, with emphasis on Functional and Comparative Genomics and Bioinformatics and the exploitation of Integrative Microbiology and Systems and Synthetic Biology approaches. The Biochemical Engineering track offers education in areas like Biocatalysis, Molecular and Bioprocess Engineering, Downstream Processing, Nanobiotechnology with a focus on harnessing biomolecular and cellular processes, and mastering key enabling technologies in order to develop innovative products and more efficient/sustainable processes. The program will also contribute to the development of the necessary skills for entrepreneurship in the Biotechnology field. This includes innovation, leadership, problem-solving and communication, needed to create or join leadership teams in innovative Biotech companies. Furthermore, the program encourages and promotes the development of skills such as autonomy, critical and analytical thinking, creativity, time management and teamwork. This PhD program is designed to prepare a new breed of creative researchers to translate basic bioscience discoveries into technological innovations in the fields of Industrial, Agro-Food, Health and Environmental Biotechnology. In the last 10 years, 88 PhD theses were completed and alumni of this doctorate are now occupying leading positions in universities, research centers and Biotech companies.
The IST PhD program in Biotechnology and Biosciences is designed to prepare a new breed of creative researchers to translate basic bioscience discoveries into technological innovations in the fields of Industrial, Agro-Food, Health and Environmental Biotechnology. The program is aligned with the research developed by faculty and researchers of the Department of Bioengineering at IST, with the Biological Sciences and Bioengineering Research Groups of IST/IBB, and with other IST-associated centers in the Biotechnology field.