/The BBMBC Project presentation
The “Blue Biotechnology Master for a Blue Career” (BBMBC) is a European project co-funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) in the framework of the European Integrated Maritime Policy.
The project’s duration is 2 years, from January 2017 to December 2018. The Lead Partner is University of La Rochelle, in Region Nouvelle-Aquitaine in France.
BBMBC project will develop a Master’s degree in La Rochelle University addressing skills gaps in the Blue Biotechnology sector in Europe.
BBMBC will create a completely new teaching programme focused on blue biotechnologies and dedicated to their application particularly in the health, nutrition and aquaculture domains. Indeed, the cutting-edge sector of marine biotechnology lacks high-skilled scientists with both academic and practical knowledge. Therefore, this unique public-private partnership involving academic organisations and Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) from France, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom, along with specific structures such as the CPMR Atlantic Arc Commission, will set up Master’s degree level in this pivotal field to sustainable global development.
The Master’s curriculum will be dedicated to graduate students and workers allowing them to gain expertise in the blue biotechnology field in 10 months. Thematic courses will be scheduled intensively on a weekly basis. As well as educational courses, work-linked training will take place during the course on industrially-relevant problems, combining practical approaches to the latest scientific knowledge and research. Moreover, from the beginning of this master’s programme, each student will be associated with a project led by a blue biotechnology industrial partner and will be hosted in this structure for the duration of the apprenticeship or internship.
Objectives
This experimental project of European dimension is aimed at enhancing the dialogue between European industries and academics in the Blue Biotechnology field. Industry and SMEs will play an active leading role in the design of the courses, share their experiences by coordinating and delivering courses, conferences, and by hosting students and participating in research projects. This association should lead to the creation of an Atlantic European consortium specialised in the training of students and workers to a high level in applied blue biotechnologies.
First objective is to allow students to swiftly enter the labour market once graduated. Secondly, the project aims at capitalising on this flagship project to develop new similar Master’s degrees in the partner’s universities or anywhere else in Europe.
The project will help raising awareness on blue careers in general, in the blue biotechnology sector in particular.