US$4.6m biotech product development initiative launched

Box Hill Institute biotechnology students will get international training opportunities with the signing of an agreement with US-based company PaleoTechnology International.

The agreement for the research partnership, worth US$4.6m over five years, was signed 14 November.

Box Hill Institute chief executive officer John Maddock said the agreement would be delivered through the Institute's BioSkills, the Specialist Centre for Biotechnology Training, and that the research collaboration broke new ground for TAFEs.

"As the first TAFE in Australia to offer a Bachelor of Biotechnology and Innovation, we are very excited at being able to give our degree students the chance to work with a leading commercial research company in the biotechnology field," Maddock said.

"This partnership will assist us in better equipping our students to meet the business demands of their future employers in the biotechnology industry, especially with the current skills shortage where staff with excellent laboratory skills and entrepreneurial skills are in high demand."

The PaleoTechnology/Box Hill Institute partnership will:

• Study oil and gas wells in search of novel microbes and fine chemicals of commercial value when developed;
• Study brine or salt locales and other zones of significant biodiversity to develop specialty products;
• Work on other applications including energy/petrochemical, environmental remediation, timber and plant resources, agricultural and consumer products;
• Work on commercialising applications based on PaleoTechnology's proprietary Gas Solvent Extraction Technology.

Under the agreement, the two parties will:

• Share laboratory space and equipment;
• Offer opportunities to students to work on projects in chemical extraction and biotechnology processes from petrochemical and biomass products;
• Provide work placement and internship opportunities with PaleoTechnology;
• Develop scholarships for Box Hill Institute students.