> ==========
> bionet/microbiology #2223, from dvchem at aol.com, 1688 chars, 6 Mar 1996
07:47:45 -0
> ----------
> Article: 3170 of bionet.microbiology
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> From: dvchem at aol.com (DVCHEM)
> Newsgroups: bionet.microbiology
> Subject: What should students know?
> Date: 6 Mar 1996 07:47:45 -0500
> Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
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>> The Departments of Biology and Chemistry-Physics of Kean College
are
> considering offering a collaborative graduate program designed to
train
> students for employment in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology
> industries. However, we are aware that a program designed for the
private
> sector by academicians runs the risk of missing the target. We are
> therefore asking for input from those who know what background is
needed
> for a student to become an effective employee in these industries:
>> What specific experimental techniques from molecular
biology/biochemistry
> are most valuable in industry?
>> What methods of instrumental analysis are most important in the
> pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries?
>> What should students know about tissue culture?
>> What should students know about genetics?
>> What should students know about synthetic organic chemistry and
separation
> science?
>> What should students know about pharmacology?
>> Should students have experience with online literature searching?
>> Please send your response(s), via email, to any or all of these
questions
> to:
>>dvitale at turbo.kean.edu>> Thanks for your help!
Hi,
Similar questions have been raised by industry at Symposia in the UK.
The bottom line seems to be (as you might expect) that academia is dead
keen on raising future PhD students but no-one wants to train anyone
with basic microbiological technical skills. This means that we end up
with graduate microbiologists who do not know what an autoclave looks
like let alone what it is used for. They know all about PCR but nothing
about the techniques necessary for the proper isolation and
identification of the organisms that produce the DNA.
My guess is that in five years time it will be nearly impossible to find
anyone to run your preparative facilities in a reliable manner.
Good luck, but try telling your Faculty that a good graduate is the
person who knows how to tell a technician whether they are doing a
proper job or not.
Peter Harris,
Department of Soil Science,
The University of Reading,
U.K.
