North Hertfordshire College’s Science students have been building their technical skills and knowledge as part of an exciting pilot programme with University College London’s Vax-Hub project! The programme aims to increase awareness of the role of biochemical engineering in vaccine production by providing practical laboratory experience to learners to complement their lessons.
The pilot programme has opened doors to fantastic opportunities for NHC’s Science learners. Activities in the programme include workshops on vaccine and biochemical engineering, funded visits to the Science Museum’s ‘Injecting Hope’ exhibition, and access to UCL’s equipment and facilities. Using materials supplied by Vax-Hub, the learners have completed training on aseptic culture techniques before sharing their new-found skills with other local schools. They have even enjoyed a vaccine bioprocessing lab experience in the UCL Pilot Plant, experiencing both upstream and downstream processing sessions!
As a result of these opportunities, our learners have been able to explore new career paths for their future.
Feedback from the students have been very positive. One learner told us: “I enjoyed actually going around the lab and understanding how people in a professional setting do things in practice.” Another student commented: “It was very enjoyable; the people were so nice, and I felt it really benefitted my confidence and experience in a professional environment.”
Speaking on the importance of the Vax-Hub project, a representative commented: “Bioprocess engineering plays a central role in taking vaccines from laboratory to development to manufacture for clinical trials and scale up for mass vaccination programs. However, public knowledge and appreciation of this essential role is low, with perceptions of vaccine development focusing on scientists in research labs and clinicians administering the vaccine… This knowledge gap became especially evident during the Covid-19 pandemic. The bioprocessing industry is currently in need of qualified personnel, yet students considering their career options are often unaware of these opportunities.”
Dr Rana ElFarra, one of North Hertfordshire College’s Science tutors, told us: “The Future Vaccine Manufacturing Research Hub (Vax-Hub) never fails to amaze our students. It not only brings cutting-edge science to them, but also brings them opportunities to visit their unique labs and see how to manufacture a vaccine to the Dengue virus. Thank you so much.”
Thank you to UCL and Vax-Hub for opening doors to such amazing opportunities for our Science learners!
If you’re interested in starting your own journey into the Science field, check out North Hertfordshire College’s Science courses. With NHC, you can stay close to home and access fantastic skills development opportunities, helping you go far in your future career!