Programme

Structure of the Bioscience Enterprise Programme

The Bioscience Enterprise programme consists of two parts. In year one – students complete 8 taught courses to gain the PGDipBioEnt qualification. In year two – students take 2 courses and undertake a business research project to be submitted as a Master thesis during a 6-month internship in the industry. The total point value over two years is 240 points.

The programme operates in a stimulating ecosystem where the students meet and network with industry executives during lectures and seminars, at the monthly industry forums and the annual NZBIO Conference, and while working as interns in companies or government organisations. This helps the students to build their personal networks which often lead to successful employment after graduation.

Goals of the Programme

Business and science often seem like two different worlds. The Postgraduate Diploma in Bioscience Enterprise and Master of Bioscience Enterprise represent an interdisciplinary programme which aims to give science graduates the skills to move with confidence in both. You will gain skills in the financial, marketing and legal aspects of science which will prepare you for a wide range of job opportunities in science and business enterprises. The programme also offers plenty of networking opportunities for students to meet practitioners and leaders from industry and business. Scientists graduating from this programme will be business-savvy and comfortable in a business environment, and may give a company a competitive edge or be the key to a successful start-up.

Employment Opportunities

Potential opportunities for graduates include marketing, market-analysis, product development, the regulatory and business development aspects of research commercialization in biotech companies, pharmaceutical companies, reagent or devices companies, the food and beverages industry, in technology transfer offices at Universities and Crown Research Institutes, and as analysts and consultants in business development firms, finance and investment firms, and Government agencies.

For more information, see our current Bioscience Enterprise brochure.

MBioEnt vs MCE – a comparison

To pre-empt any confusion with the Masters in Commercialisation and Entrepreneurship (MCE) – a brief comparison of the two programmes follows below.

The MBioEnt is the elite programme and gold standard for employment in the bio-related companies and organisations. Anyone with life-sciences related qualifications, and intending to work in organisations operating in the broad spectrum of food-health-environmental-industrial bio-technologies is encouraged to enroll in the Bioscience Enterprise programme. Launched in 2006 the programme has a proven track record of employment outcomes as detailed under ‘Industry Impact’ on this website. By completing a full research Masters and working as an intern in the industry for 6 months, students gain valuable industry experience and hit the ground running in post-graduate employment.

In contrast, the MCE (launched in 2011) targets postgraduate students and employees in the wider science and technology spectrum outside the life-science related disciplines. The MCE is a taught Masters of 18 months duration covering similar content to the PGDipBioEnt – albeit at a generic level rather than with a life sciences focus. In Q1 and Q2 of the second year, students conduct a commercialisation project which is written up as a report. They do not submit a Master’s thesis. The MCE programme does not offer industry internships and the level of industry engagement as does the MBioEnt.

Some key differences between the two programmes are summarised in the following table:

	PGDipBioEnt/MBioEnt	MCE
Duration	2 years	1 1/2 years
Admission	3 year bachelor degree or higher	4-year undergraduate or Hons degree
Taught Courses	150 pts	120 pts
Thesis	90 pts	-
Programme Focus	Life sciences related industry	Generic
Industry Internships	Yes	No
Structured Networking Programme	Yes	No
Proven Employment Track Record	Yes	No