Kent's Brian Szukala is new bioscience champion
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by business editor Trevor Sturgess
A Kent expert is the UK's new champion for skills in bioscience
and pharmaceuticals.
Brian Szukala, from Eastry, near Sandwich, is helping to develop
a new work-based foundation degree to boost skills across a sector
that employs thousands of people in the county.
Mr Szukala has spent 28 years in the industry, including key
roles with Beecham and Kent-based Pfizer, and also worked with
young people at The Prince's Trust, a charity founded by Prince
Charles.
He aims to strengthen the links between universities and
industry to increase the skills of the existing workforce and
attract new entrants who are looking for an alternative to the
standard university degree route.
Mr Szukala has teamed up with the University of Kent to develop
the foundation degree in bioscience and pharmaceuticals, and urged
firms to help design the new qualifications around the skills they
need from their workforce.
"The response so far has been positive, but we need more
employers to work with us so that the new degrees are a true
representation of what the industry needs," he said.
The £2.9 million scheme, funded by the Higher Education Funding
Council, is being run by Cogent Sector Skills Council, the Higher
Education Academy UK Physical Sciences Centre, the University of
Hull, and SEMTA (the Sector Skills Council for science, engineering
and manufacturing technologies).
Wednesday, September 01 2010
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