"For the student community, it is Fate Accompli"

Dr AP Kariath, president, training and consulting, BioZeen, Bangalore

Human resource in biotechnology has been a very controversial subject for the industry, academia and the student community alike. None of the sectors are satisfied with the situation. The industry has its own problems but no time to solve. The academia has time but no resources nor an obligatory role to solve. For the student community, it is Fate Accompli.

Bleak scenario

Starting from the hype created that biotechnology will be the next generation employment sector and the consequential mushrooming of colleges offering biotechnology today, it represents a scenario of poverty amidst richness. Richness in numbers and not necessarily quality. Least understood is that while human resources are the production elements in IT, the microbes are the production elements in BT. Therefore, the comparison is totally misplaced and must end here.

In-depth analysis

Unqualified statements of the human resource situation even without an in-depth assessment has only added confusion. A true assessment taking into account the various parameters, needs to be done for a start. Determine whether the vacuum is in the pre-formulation through preclinical or process scale up and production should help in pinpointing the stage. Further, the category needs to be looked at. Is it in the experimental design, basic formulation, manufacturing, analytical and innovative thinking? Analysis of the effect of impact of new discovery and regulatory initiatives must also be done. Finally the breadth and depth of skills required by the industry must also be ascertained. An estimate of the numbers will also be important. Such an in-depth analysis will serve some meaningful purpose in taking the next course of corrections.

Lack of lateral support

One must accept that other fields of vocation like engineering and health care is supported by several lateral fields such as IT, diploma, pharmacy and nursing which support the respective sectors. This creates space for all levels within the sector making it robust. However, the biotech sector lacks this. All one finds is a graduation course unfit in all aspects. Neither are they strong in fundamental sciences nor in the specialized fields. This leads to recruitment of postgraduates to perform ordinary tasks leaving them underpaid and discontented. While the top of the pyramid is relatively strong, the base is hollow.

The findings can thereafter be channeled to give a fillip into areas where there is a gap . The academia can also be guided in its curriculum development and the result will make the students of biotechnology employable. The estimate of the requirement will help prune the numbers and improve the quality. Without such an exercise, we are probably heading for another Mashelkar Committee.

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