Mike Fino, Dean of Mathematics and Sciences at Mira Costa College in Oceanside spoke to us about a new pilot program being offered.  The college will soon begin offering a Bachelor's degree in BioManufacturing.
 
Mike has a BS and MEng degrees in Bioengineering from UCSD. He worked for 8 years in various bioprocess-engineering capacities from research, product development and manufacturing support for tissue engineered medical products. He joined Mira Costa as a faculty member to develop a new Biopress Technology program that addresses the skills and knowledge required for development and production technicians where traditional lab techniques meet scale, regulation and process control.
 
Only 22 States in the US currently authorize Community College Baccalaureates. Mira Costa College is one of only 15 California community colleges authorized to offer a bachelor's degree program.  There is broad support from industry, workforce groups, local government, state, and national organizations.
 
The degree program will prepare students for work within the biotechnology industry in the unique environment of biological production where science thrives in partnership with quality and compliance. Upper degree course work for the bio manufacturing bachelor's degree will begin in fall 2017.
 
Targeted occupations are Manufacturing and Quality Technicians in Biomanufacturing and Bio-process. These are fairly well-paid positions, with a starting salary of about $ 50,000 in local California Biotech companies.