Biotechnology management students at 抖阴视频 (UMGC) are not only learning the skills they need for career success, they are also applying them鈥攊n real time鈥攖hrough consultancies with businesses.
For the last two semesters, student teams in the required capstone course in the Master of Biotechnology Management program have been asked to provide expert advice to two Maryland companies, a medical company with tech-focused delivery systems for injectable medications and a specialized cosmetics firm revamping its brand identity. The consultancies incorporated all aspects of the degree program, which merges biology with business management and enables students to take separate concentrations within the technology management program.
鈥淭he capstone really gives the students the opportunity to see what it鈥檚 like in the real world, to put their experiences into practice,鈥 said Robin Searles-Adenegan, portfolio director of the Biological Sciences, Biotechnology and Laboratory Management programs in UMGC鈥檚 School of Integrative and Professional Studies. 鈥淗aving this particular opportunity may allow you to think in new ways about your education and career.鈥
In the capstone courses, a degree requirement, students take what they have learned and apply it to a particular project. The biotechnology management capstone takes the learning a step further by enabling students to serve as consultants to real companies and receive feedback from business executives. The capstone consultancies also align with UMGC鈥檚 commitment to more deeply embedding experiential learning in its curriculum.
The biotechnology management capstone consultancies brought together students with diverse expertise. Every team had four to six students, each of whom was assigned a specific role in the project. For example, one team member served as a project manager, another as quality control officer or another one as clinical or regulatory affairs specialist.聽
For one of the consultancies, students worked on a project designed by Congruence Medical Solutions, which develops drug-delivery device platforms. The student teams drew up a strategy for commercializing a device to administer drugs used in pediatric oncology. The teams conducted internal research and engaged with the external stakeholders, including potential customers of Congruence Medical Solutions. Within a relatively short time span鈥12 weeks鈥攖hey drafted a comprehensive report that detailed the market for the product and the company鈥檚 within it, noted the applicable regulatory procedures, offered a process for product evaluation and customer feedback, and listed recommendations.
The second consultancy involved a cosmetics startup, 8 Count Cosmetics, that wanted help in advance of a brand launch. The company has developed richly pigmented makeup鈥攅asy to apply and easy to remove鈥攆or use in theater. Its five colored creams can be mixed with each other or with the company鈥檚 white makeup to create additional hues. As part of their consultancy, UMGC graduate students sourced services for pigments, microbial testing, packaging and labels; compiled qualitative and quantitative survey questions to gain pre- and post-launch consumer insights; scouted locations for the company鈥檚 launch event; and even recommended the calendar date to unveil the brand.
鈥淲e had several major undertakings that the students were able to contribute to, which helped us stay on track with our aggressive strategic goals,鈥 8 Count Cosmetics said in a prepared statement. 鈥淎dditionally, the students鈥 research and assistance helped us lay out the groundwork for our upcoming launch on Aug. 8, 2024.鈥
The company鈥檚 cofounders, Savanah Salda帽a-Shumaker and Michael Jacinto Baugh, described the collaboration with the capstone students as 鈥渁 major asset鈥 to the company.
The business relationships and collaborations with the capstone courses were initiated by UMGC Professor of Biotechnology Amrita Gupta Madabushi. She views the consultancies as a win-win opportunity for both the companies involved and the Biotechnology Management Program.
Madabushi鈥檚 career trajectory has included work at the National Institutes of Health, and she is skilled at connecting biotech companies with higher education. She is currently working to expand the consultancy program to include more businesses. In response to student requests, there is also an effort underway to offer consultancies in two other concentrations within the graduate program: regulatory affairs and biosecurity-biodefense. Madabushi is reaching out to her large network within and outside Maryland to achieve that goal.
She said UMGC鈥檚 focus on adult learners is part of the appeal of the program for partner companies.
鈥淏ecause our student population is working, these are students who may already have some experience in fields such as manufacturing, regulatory or marketing. They are glad to bring in their work experience and share their knowledge throughout their classes at UMGC,鈥 she explained. 鈥淎n employer who learns about the capstone sees this as an excellent opportunity to work with someone having not just current knowledge in biotechnology management but also work experience in, say, regulatory affairs or finance.
鈥淸These students] are very capable of working on a project and troubleshooting any problems. They can prepare 75-page long recommendation reports to summarize how to support a product from innovation to market,鈥 she added. She noted that the capstone collaborations have spilled over to provide unexpected benefits, including the willingness of participating business executives to mentor students in the consultancies.聽
鈥淐onsidering how busy some of these company executives are, we did not ask them to mentor the students,鈥 she said. 鈥淗owever, the company leaders and CEOs were excited to support students and not just mentor them throughout the semester but also stay connected with them beyond capstone, forming a rich network of collaborations.鈥
Searles-Adenegan said she was impressed by the professionalism of the students when they made their presentations to company executives. 鈥淎 lot of students on the teams have said it鈥檚 the best team project they鈥檝e ever done, and it shows in their final reports and presentations,鈥 she said.
Kate Barnhart, who took part in the 8 Count Cosmetics consultancy, said the capstone allowed her to 鈥減ut all the pieces together.鈥 Barnhart is associate director of GeneDx, which does DNA sequencing to help treat and diagnose patients with rare genetic conditions. She said the flexibility of the online program drew her to UMGC.聽 聽
鈥淚鈥檓 a single mom, so being able to still raise my kids and work on my career and not having to sacrifice working on higher education has meant a lot to me, and I don鈥檛 know if I could have done it through a different program,鈥 she said.
鈥淚鈥檝e been able to utilize a lot of the stuff that I鈥檝e gotten through UMGC in my career,鈥 she added.
Madabushi said she was struck by how passionate the students were while working on the consultancies. 鈥淵ou see the students forget this is something they鈥檙e doing for a grade and come together as a team to achieve a common goal for the company,鈥 she said. 鈥淭his is very beneficial for them as they continue to stay connected beyond the capstone.鈥
Participating students ended with consulting experience on their resumes鈥攕omething Searles-Adenegan said employers look for when screening job applicants鈥攁s well as personal connections to business executives in the biotech field. For its part, each company walked away with comprehensive analyses and business recommendations.
Searles-Adenegan said the collaborations also are important for the job recruitment doors they open for UMGC within the larger biotechnology arena in and beyond Maryland.
鈥淏uilding relationships with us exposes businesses to a hiring pool. These capstone experiences help participating companies see that our students are competent and trained for the real world,鈥 she said.聽
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