One of the strengths of the interdisciplinary BIOTECnico PhD program results from the unique multidisciplinary academic and research environment at IST/iBB. The complementarity and synergies at IST/iBB offer an excellent framework to promote educational and research programs in multi-disciplinary fields essential to modern biosciences and biotechnology, ranging from chemistry, mathematics and physics to biosciences, computer sciences and bioengineering. IST has a tradition of more than 100 years in the creation of knowledge, education of skilled professionals and knowledge transfer, and provides a highly internationalized environment for top quality higher education, strongly exposed to Research, Development and Innovation (RD&I). The core IST/iBB team members involved in the program has expertise in teaching and research in Biosciences (Molecular and Cellular Biology, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Genome-wide approaches in Biology Research), Bioengineering (Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering, Bioseparation Engineering, Molecular Bioengineering, Biosensors), Computational Biology, Optimization, Metabolic Engineering, and in the emerging approaches of Integrative, Systems, and Synthetic Biology. The diversity of competences, training cultures and approaches possible in this consortium in the IST campus, also spanning the fields of chemistry, biophysics, materials and management, will widen the student´s horizons and enhance their job opportunities, from basic research to industrial, biotechnological and entrepreneurship activities, offering a rare and outstanding training in this field.
The excellent institutional relations and strong collaborations of IST/iBB with top national and international partners position this institution as a motor for fostering translation of ground-breaking research in Biotechnology and Molecular Biosciences into technological advances with high impact in the economy and human well-being. The complementarity and synergies necessary to organize a world-class, unified PhD Program in Biotechnology and Biosciences are fully found within IST/iBB, with obvious advantages for the cohorts of students in terms of interdisciplinary and international-level research with proven impact in the Biotech sector.