Emerson Collaborates with NIBRT to Help Upskill Ireland’s Biopharma Workforce
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Emerson technologies valued at USD $1 million will help NIBRT prepare workforce for transition to manufacturing digitization for production of new biopharma therapies for patients.
DUBLIN, IRELAND (February 27, 2018) – Emerson is providing automation software and systems valued at USD 1 million (approximately €820,000) to Ireland’s National Institute of Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) to help train next-generation workers on the latest technologies designed to optimize pharmaceutical production.
The collaboration will bring one of the most extensively used automation platforms in the biopharmaceutical industry, Emerson’s DeltaV™ distributed control system, to NIBRT’s Dublin facility to prepare students for automation technologies at the forefront of manufacturing digitization.
Emerson’s collaboration with NIBRT follows a 2016 NIBRT study of the biopharma manufacturing industry that found more than half of respondents have a high degree of difficulty recruiting and developing bioprocess engineers.
“NIBRT is leading the way in helping Ireland, its universities, and Europe meet the demand for the skilled biopharmaceutical manufacturing workforce the industry needs,“ said Mike Train, executive president of Emerson Automation Solutions. “This collaboration reinforces Emerson’s commitment to support global workforce education, as well as the bioprocessing industry where our automation systems have become the industry standard.”
The planned Emerson Room at the NIBRT facility will simulate an innovative bioprocessing environment and feature a fully operational DeltaV system to provide real-life training in a safe environment.
“We are delighted to collaborate with Emerson, which is proving its best-in-class control and automation solutions for the NIBRT pilot plant. We look forward to delivering innovative training and education to our clients using the Emerson platform to help the biopharma industry gain the many advantages from increased digitization and automation of core manufacturing processes,” said Dominic Carolan, CEO of NIBRT.
Commenting on the announcement, Martin Shanahan, CEO of the IDA Ireland said, “The biopharmaceutical industry is extremely important to Ireland, worth over €40 billion in annual exports, it is essential that we continue to provide the appropriately skilled workforce capable of operating these state-of-the-art processing plants for many years to come. Emerson’s significant investment will help us support this continuously evolving industry.”
About National Institute of Bioprocessing Research and Training
The National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) is a global center of excellence for training and research in bio-pharmaceutical manufacturing. NIBRT is located in a world-class facility in Dublin, Ireland. This facility is purpose built to closely replicate a modern bioprocessing plant with state-of the art equipment and enables NIBRT to offer the highest quality training and research solutions. NIBRT's mission is to support the growth and development of all aspects of the bio-pharmaceutical industry in Ireland by becoming the global leader in bio-pharmaceutical manufacturing research, education and training. This mission will be achieved by performing high impact, world class, industry aligned research in all aspects of bioprocessing, manufacturing, therapeutic protein characterisation, compliance and regulation and by designing, developing and delivering best-in-class education and training solutions across all levels to national and international students and workforces. For further information, please visit www.nibrt.ie
