BIB launches first professional training course for bioinformatics technicians in Spain
<p>The association is looking for companies and other workplaces interested in hosting interns</p>
The Bioinformatics Barcelona (BIB) association and the Catalan Ministry of Education have launched a new professional training degree for bioinformatics technicians in the industrial, healthcare and research sectors. The first course is underway in the 2015-16 school year at Institut Provençana in Hospitalet de Llobregat and the Gimbernat Formació center in Sant Cugat del Vallès.
This educational project, which takes place over two academic years, includes an in-company internship for students. This means the BIB is looking for companies, hospitals, research centers, universities and large science facilities interested in participating in this experience. Companies that would fit the profile are mainly from the health and agrifood arena.
This degree, which is the first in professional training for bioinformatics in Catalonia or Spain, has been adapted from a computer training course on online app development. Eva Alloza, of the BIB, explains that they created a committee of experts to design the course. “It’s a purely IT profile, but we give them bioscience training so they will be familiar with the work tools and vocabulary of the sector, making it easier for them to adapt on the job than ‘conventional’ IT techs. Our idea is for companies to help train the students and then keep them on.”
The course is geared towards those seeking jobs in web programming, multimedia programming, online app development and technical personnel for consulting, modifying and managing bioinformatics data. Eva Alloza regrets that many companies aren’t aware of the profile of the bioinformatics expert because it doesn’t exist. “We’re used to having people who’ve trained abroad or are self taught, like biologists for example.”
Alloza believes there is an opening here, some tasks that bioinformatics experts could quickly carry out that would lighten the workload, for example in data management. “Many companies don’t think about this position, but when you propose the idea, they’re interested,” she says. The BIB association has also designed a university degree in bioinformatics that will begin in the 2016-17 school year.
To centralize demand, organizations interested in hosting interns can contact the Bioinformatics Barcelona association by e-mail at info@bioinformaticsbarcelona.eu.
More information on curriculum: online and pdf format.