Prerequisites for admission.

Students willing to enrol in the Master’s Degree Programme in Industrial Biotechnologies must have at least a three-year university degree (Bologna Process) or a different university qualification - also obtained abroad - deemed suitable, along with the curricular requirements. Graduates in Biotechnologies (class L-2) and Biological Sciences (class L-13) automatically meet the curriculum requirements for this degree programme.

Enrolment in the Master’s Degree Programme is also offered to students with a different three-year university degree, provided that an appropriate number of university credits (at least 50) has been obtained in at least six of the following SDS: CHIM/01-03, CHIM/06, BIO/10, BIO/11, BIO/13, BIO/14, BIO/18, BIO/19, FIS/01-08, MAT/01-09, and AGR/16. Another access requirement is a suitable knowledge of the English language (B1). The admission to the master’s degree programme in Industrial Biotechnologies requires the assessment of students’ background knowledge carried out by an examination Board appointed by the Department, made of the President and two professors of the Degree Programme. Applicants are assessed by testing their knowledge in relevant areas of the Degree Programme, as outlined in the teaching regulations of the Degree Programme.

Skills associated with the function

Industrial biotechnologist
Graduates in this class integrate high-knowledge multidisciplinary skills with a sound experimental technological preparation, and wide soft skills that will allow them to operate in a variety of biotechnological and biomedical industrial fields, and in related manufacturing sectors in which biotechnological knowledge is central or important (e.g. food, environment, bioenergy, biotransformation); they are also made aware of the creation of start-up businesses.

The skills associated with functions A, B, and C that are provided to graduates are:

A. Industrial production and innovation:
A1. Knowledge of process and process management parameters; correlation of properties of materials/devices with living system process and response parameters; pattern technologies of materials on a large scale; technologies for changing and controlling the surfaces of materials and devices with the living matter and biological fluids; multiscale instrumental characterisation of biomaterial properties and devices; assessment of biocompatibility and toxicity.
A2. Technologies and methods for structural and functional determination of biological molecules for the industrial production by means of biotechnological processes; production based on enzymatic catalysis and process management; design of enzymatic catalysis systems; fermentation technologies and processes for the production of biotechnological goods and services; design and use of monitoring systems in biotechnological processes; microbial biotechnologies for the optimisation of food production and food storage; drawing and dimensioning of bioreactors and systems for biotechnological processes; sustainability analysis of manufacturing processes; analysis of the life cycle of a product; management of biotechnological systems for the recovery and valorisation of products and subproducts; biodegradation.
A3. Microbiology applied to the production of biodegradable biomaterials; biofilm control, modulation of fouling/antifouling properties; genetic optimisation of microbial cultures for production; characterisation of industrial microbial cultures.

B. Quality analysis of product and industrial process:
B1. Statistical analysis of biological data; analysis of correlation and validation of products also based on the immune and toxicological response;
B2. Certification and adaptation to process and product standards; assessment and implementation; quality monitoring. Organisation of refresher and training courses on quality and standards.
B3. Process and product economic and financial analysis; assessment of the innovation content of a developed product;

C. Industrial research and development:
C1. Design and tailoring of biomaterials and their interfaces with the living matter and biological fluids; development of biocompatible and biodegradable scaffolds for tissue and prosthetic regeneration, use of multiscale spectro-microscopic techniques for biomaterials and soft matter.
C2. Integration of (bio)functional materials and sensors in biomedical devices; nanobiotechnologies; biosensoring; electroceutics; implantable and interfaceable devices; design and manufacturing of devices for loco-regional treatments.
C3. Design of biological systems for the production and transformation of molecules and biomasses into sustainable products;
C4. Descriptive and predictive module for engineering the functional properties of molecules of bio-technological interest.

Function in a work context

Industrial biotechnologist
The functions that graduates can take on are diversified by all feature high-level skills:

A. Industrial production and innovation: process staff and manager; industrial problem solving; process innovation; assessment, adaptation and implementation of production and environmental sustainability criteria.

B. Quality analysis of industrial process, product, and innovation: person in charge of quality control and quality manager; certifications, adaptation and implementation to process and product standards, training of technicians on new technologies, standards, regulatory aspects; assessment, drawing up and valorisation of patents.

C. Industrial R&D: researcher and group leader, product innovation, integration of materials and devices, design and development of biomedical devices, design of biological systems for the production and transformation of molecules and biomasses into sustainable products, transformation and degradation of bioplastics.

Educational goals

The general purpose of the master’s degree programme in Industrial Biotechnologies is to train graduates who enter the job market with an attractive multidisciplinary curriculum for biotechnological industry and in general for the industry characterised by a high content of biotechnologies. Therefore, the training programme offered is aimed at providing students with the scientific and technological skills and soft skills required for quickly entering the job market. At the same time, the degree programme provides advanced skills that enable graduates to pursue a university qualification of 3rd level, such as PhD programmes.

The specific objectives of the Master’s Degree Programme in Industrial Biotechnologies aim to intercept current industrial needs in the light of the fast developments of biotechnologies and their applications, with a focus on the wide and diversified industrial area of the territory that is particularly developed in the biomedical industry, fermentation industry, food sector, and sustainable production of polymeric materials.

The training programme is divided into three phases:
a. acquisition of the advanced technical-scientific knowledge, including soft skills;
b. acquisition of skills that are mainly relevant for the biomedical/biomaterial manufacturing sector and sustainable manufacturing processes;
c. experimental internship to gain the advanced skills of a research laboratory.

The training programme provides for the obtainment of university credits in three learning areas:

- Learning area of biotechnological manufacturing processes: knowledge of microbial genetics, knowledge regarding bio-catalytic processes of industrial interest for the production, by means of enzymes and microorganisms, molecules and biomaterials of industrial and commercial interest in the sectors of biotransformation, sustainable production of biodegradable materials, food, and environment bioremediation.

- Biomedical, biomaterial, and bio-molecular learning area: in-depth knowledge of the structure, function, and application of biomolecules and biomaterials; in-depth knowledge of experimental and computational methods for the design, characterisation, and structural and functional simulation of biomolecules, biomaterials, and their hybrid systems; knowledge of biomaterials and the chemical-physical principles governing biocompatibility and biodegradability; knowledge of process technologies and manufacturing of biomaterials, systems, and devices of interest in the biomedical and biotechnological field; ability to modulate, with a rational approach, the interaction of biomolecules, biomaterials, and their devices with living systems.

- Learning area of soft skills: technical-scientific and technologic communication in English, mainly in multidisciplinary fields (overcoming jargon barriers); organisation and management of a multidisciplinary laboratory; writing and management of research projects; valorisation and exploitation of intellectual property; corporate and financial management; analysis of vital cycle, sustainability, circular economy; legislative aspects, regulations, standards and certifications; ethical aspects; internationalisation.

Ultimately, the training programme offers optional courses, aimed at completing the students’ scientific background based on their specific inclinations and consistent with the type of internship chosen.

Students will also carry out a training internship in a company, or in a laboratory of universities and research institutions in Italy and abroad. This internship is not necessarily linked to the preparation of the final examination. The objective is to facilitate the subsequent access to the manufacturing or research world through the knowledge of operation modes in different contexts.

The thesis internship for the final examination includes activities in research and development industrial laboratories. Graduates shall acquire the skills useful to develop a project, by defining its scopes, techniques, and feasibility, and the critical ability to assess the results by designing a possible remodulation.

Communication skills

Master graduates in Industrial Biotechnologies will be able to communicate in written and oral form, and by means of IT resources, biotechnological, bioindustrial, biologic and biomaterial themes both in Italian and English. They will be able to communicate in a rigorous manner the structural and functional characteristics of biological macromolecules, the properties of biomaterials, and discuss their functional integration with the living matter in biomedical applications; the implant and process aspects of industrial biotransformation event to non-specialist counterparties. Their multidisciplinary curriculum, cross skills, and internship experience also in preparation to the final examination will be useful to overcome the jargon barriers that often affect researchers who start operating in convergence areas between the disciplines. Other abilities, including the knowledge of tools for scientific dissemination to non-specialists (authorities, trade associations, citizens, media) and of confidential aspects in view of the protection of intellectual property (hence even the strict management of communicating ideas and results) will be conveyed through common teachings.

The obtainment of these objectives will be verified through the teachings offered in the Degree Programme (also using teaching supports provided in English) and the relative examination tests, in addition to the teachings that include the presentation of individual papers (oral or written) made by the student. The training activities planned for preparing the final examination - the internship in research groups in particular - and the drawing up and defence of the research thesis, which is compulsory for all students, also help achieve these objectives.

Making Judgements

The broad part of training programme dedicated to the practical laboratory activity allows students to proactively and critically face the multiple aspects of which modern industrial biotechnologies are made of.

Graduates in Industrial Biotechnologies must gain independent action and judgement skills that will be transferred to different research, research and development, or production contexts, and that is based on:
- the ability to design, plan, and manage biotechnological processes for the manufacturing of goods of industrial and marketing interest;
- the ability to choose the most suitable instrumental and computer techniques, and experimental procedures for the structural and functional characterisation of the different types of biomolecules and bio-systems;
- the ability to choose technologies for the modification of biomaterials and the integration of sensors in biomedical devices;
- the synergic integration between analysis and synthesis aspects aimed to define general methods for studying, changing, and managing biotechnological processes and products of interest.

The independent judgement ability will be verified by the thesis tutor within the teachings that include laboratory experimental activities by assessing the laboratory relations, and during the experimental internships.

Learning skills

The learning skills of graduates of master class LM-8 shall be such as to allow them to:
- possess the skills required for the continuous development and exploration of their competences, in terms of consultation of specialist databases, learning of innovative technologies, advanced information tools for constantly updating their knowledge;
- continue with further education (master or PhD programmes) possibly with a high degree of self-reliance;
- be able to integrate in research groups and collaborate for shared objectives;
- be able to work independently and continue their professional training.

The learning skills gained during the training programme or developed through individual study are encouraged, monitored, and assessed by the professor by means of up-to-date teaching material in Italian and/or English, active participation in classroom discussion, integrating seminars, ability to independently organise and carry out specific tasks assigned. Special focus and value will be given to the critical contribution shown during the entire programme and the maturity and independence in drawing up, presenting, and discussing the final thesis.