Course summary

Biopharmaceutical products are highly important in today’s global healthcare systems in treating illnesses and disease. The industry in the British Isles has seen significant investment, particularly in the Republic of Ireland (RoI) where there has been capital investment of approximately £7.97 billion in new facilities, mostly in the last 10 years. The global market for biopharmaceuticals was valued at £149 billion in 2017, and is projected to reach £419 billion by 2025, growing at an annual rate of 13.8% from 2018 to 2025. As a result, over 30,000 highly skilled people are currently employed in Ireland north and south with new companies setting up facilities in RoI every year. The increased uptake of skilled biopharmaceutical employees has necessitated the need for a high quality education in this sector. Queen’s University Belfast School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering has a proven track record for delivering high quality teaching and research and has launched the MSc in Biopharmaceutical Engineering from this platform. This programme will provide students with the knowledge and skills required to work in the field of biopharmaceutical production, separation and purification by applying fundamental science and engineering principles. Through studying this postgraduate taught MSc, graduates will be able to gain a highly relevant qualification which will give them employability on an international level. Through the use of theory and mathematical approaches to engineering problems, students will understand and become skilled in the development of systems which can facilitate biopharmaceuticals production and their subsequent purification. This course is run in collaboration with our industrial partner Eli Lilly, a global company with excellent standing in the field of pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical production and commercialisation. A collaborative course of this nature is the first of its kind in the British Isles and will provide students with real-world knowledge of how these systems are operated in an industrial setting through the case studies and first-hand knowledge imparted by the academics and industry staff delivering the course.