CLAREMONT, Calif., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) today announced a partnership with Smith College to create the "Next Generation Bioscience Leaders" forum to help women managers advance in the life sciences industry.
KGI will host the week-long forum from Jan. 13-18, 2008. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from and network with women executives from pharmaceutical, medical device and biotechnology companies along with faculty from KGI.
"We are delighted to team up with Smith College to provide this important opportunity for women scientists and business professionals," said Sheldon Schuster, Ph.D., KGI's president. "This forum is an example of KGI's commitment to educating the life sciences leaders of tomorrow. As biotech companies grow and mature, they will need to develop and retain the best and brightest female staff -- and this forum will help them do just that."
Demand for biotechnology professionals continues to rise, with over 100,000 new jobs added in the last five years, according to the US Department of Labor. Furthermore, a recent study by KGI shows that over 80 percent of new job openings at the top biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies call for workers with skill sets in both business and science.
Offering a comprehensive perspective on the biotechnology industry, the forum will include seminars, roundtable discussions and breakout sessions that will be held at KGI, other Claremont Colleges and Casa 425, a brand new luxury hotel within walking distance from KGI. Rick Winningham, CEO of Theravance, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, will give the forum's keynote address.
Topics to be discussed include: -- The global life science industry today and tomorrow - industry drivers, dynamics, opportunities and threats -- The DNA of biotech organizations -- business models, project management, product life cycle and more -- The factors of performance -- finance, human assets and global resources -- The brave new biotechnology leader -- competition, lean six sigma, produce portfolio management -- Mapping your future -- career imprinting, "glass ceiling" lessons learned
For more information about the forum, contact Diana Bartlett, KGI's director of corporate partnerships, at Diana_Bartlett@kgi.edu or Iris Marchaj, director of Smith College Executive Education for Women, at imarchaj@smith.edu.
KGI Background
Educating the future leaders of the bioscience industry, Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) offers an interdisciplinary graduate education through its Master of Bioscience (MBS) degree program and its Ph.D. program in Applied Life Sciences. Using team-based learning and real-world projects, KGI's innovative curriculum seamlessly combines applied life sciences, bioengineering, bioethics and business management. KGI also has a robust research program concentrating on the translation of basic discoveries in the life sciences into applications that can benefit society. KGI is a member of The Claremont Colleges, located in Claremont, California.
Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences is dedicated to education and research aimed at translating into practice, for the benefit of society, the power and potential of the life sciences.
Keck Graduate InstituteCONTACT: Noel Brinkerhoff, Dir. of Donor & Media Relations of KeckGraduate Institute, +1-909-607-0135, nbrinker@kgi.edu
Web site: http://www.kgi.edu/
