Biotechnology Process Engineering Center

Undergraduate Biological Engineering Internship Program

Still in its early stages, biological engineering (BE) is becoming increasingly recognized as a potent new discipline of engineering. The Biotechnology Process Engineering Center (BPEC) played a vital role in launching the discipline through the creation of MIT's Division of Biological Engineering (BE) in 1998. BPEC is continuing the field's development through an internship program created by the Center's Education and Outreach Administrator. The program targets MIT undergraduates in BE and will begin by offering summer undergraduate internships for students who are members of MIT's Biomedical Engineering Society.

Initially, only biomedical engineering minor degree students are able to participate, but BE majors will be eligible to enter the program in 2005. The program will also provide internships to companies who are members of BPEC's Industrial Consortium and Advisory Board (ICAB)—an association of over 15 member companies, many of whom sponsor research projects with BPEC faculty—and other companies that interact with BPEC faculty. The program is funded by BPEC, MIT's Biological Engineering Division, and the Cambridge-MIT Institute (an organization linking MIT with Cambridge University in England). The program seeks to introduce students to local (Cambridge and Boston) biotechnology companies through summer internships. Companies under consideration include Medtronic, Guidant, Intel Biotech Division, BioProcessing, TKT, and Genzyme.

The program seeks to achieve placement for 8 to12 students for summer 2005, 40 to 50 the following summer, and to be fully operational in three years. Ultimately, the program's goal is to foster groundbreaking research for engineers trained in the emerging biological engineering discipline, as well as those developing biomedical applications in interdisciplinary settings.

To learn more about this topic:
See the Biotechnical Process Engineering Center's web site at http://web.mit.edu/bpec/

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BPEC Education and Outreach Administrator
Daniel Darling with internship student..

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Last modified: February 24, 2005