Hundreds of scientists trained thanks to National Horizons Centre

Biology Week (October 1 to 9) is a national celebration of the work of the biosciences. Teesside University is playing an integral role in making this region a world-leading destination for the sector by developing skills and opportunities across the Tees Valley and beyond.

Hundreds of people within the advanced therapy and vaccine manufacturing industries have been supported with their skills development thanks to Teesside University.

Last year, the University’s National Horizons Centre, based at its Darlington campus, was named as one of three national training partners to deliver high impact on-site and digital training as part of the Advanced Therapies Skills Training Network (ATSTN).

The centres are funded from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and from Innovate UK—and delivered through the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult organization.

Since the ATSTN centre was established at the National Horizons Centre, staff from more than 40 different companies from across the UK and Europe have participated in more than 30 training sessions helping to improve their biomanufacturing capacity.

In total, 323 people took part in the courses covering subjects such as upstream and downstream bioprocessing, viral vectors manufacturing and proteomics.

The content of the courses ranged from outreach in colleges through to entry-level courses for new recruits to the industry, right through to expert-level content for qualified persons.

The scope and scale of the ATSTN courses demonstrates how the National Horizons Centre is fulfilling its remit as a national centre of excellence for the bioscience industries, helping to grow the sector’s capacity and skillbase in the Tees Valley and beyond.

It also builds on Teesside University’s strategic mission as an anchor institution supporting economic growth through innovation and knowledge exchange.

Professor Vikki Rand, Director of the National Horizons Centre, said: “Each of the courses we offer has been developed in collaboration with our partners in industry to ensure that training meets their needs and will make a real impact in the workplace.

“Since the coronavirus pandemic, the biomanufacturing sector has undergone tremendous evolution and growth and therefore it is vital that we were agile and able to respond at pace to the changing needs of the sector.

“We are delighted that so may have people have taken advantage of our training over the last year and look forward to continuing to deliver further courses and supporting this vital part of the UK’s industrial infrastructure.”

Christopher Sadler, Director (Upstream Process Development) at Pharmaron Gene Therapy, said: “The National Horizons Centre’s collaborative approach to upskilling across the Biosciences sector is impressive.

“Pharmaron Gene Therapy was delighted to engage with the NHC through the Skills and Technical Advisory Group to support the ongoing evolution of its Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programmes.

“The National Horizons Centre’s cutting-edge facilities and tailored training courses play an integral part of strengthening careers within the biomanufacturing and advanced therapies space.”

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