The French bioproduction sector announces the creation of Campus Biotech Digital, a platform unique in the world for bioproduction training

Paris – Monday, 14 December 2020
PRESS RELEASE

As part of its contract*, the French bioproduction sector is launching an ambitious training platform: Campus Biotech Digital. Unique in the world in the bioproduction field, it will help develop skills in this field to meet new technological challenges. Covering the entire bioproduction chain, Campus Biotech Digital will use various innovative digital solutions to promote understanding of processes and the appropriation of professional practices.

The Campus is managed by a leading industrial consortium (bioMérieux, Novasep, Sanofi, Servier) brought together by the Strategic Committee for the Industry and Health Technologies Sector. It brings together the entire national ecosystem: training organisations, digital companies, equipment manufacturers and SMEs. This project is also supported by regional offices (Auvergne-Rhône Alpes, Centre Val de Loire, Grand Est, Nouvelle Aquitaine) and an educational resource centre at Sanofi’s Vitry-sur-Seine (Ile-de-France) site.

The Campus is financed by an exceptional public / private partnership including €11,75 million as part of the “Engineering of vocational and on the job training and innovative offers” financing program by Caisse des Dépôts on behalf of the French State, to which in addition, there is a support from Opérateur de Compétences interindustriel (OPCO 2i), Région Ile de France as well as Pharma Companies grouped into Consortium for an investment of more than € 30 million.

« The production of innovative biological drugs is a major strategic issue to both guarantee better access for patients to the innovations of tomorrow and ensure our health independence”, underlines Olivier Bogillot, Chairman of the Strategic Committee for the Industry and Health Technologies sector. “It is therefore essential to develop high-level training (academic and professional) and the employability of the workforce of the 21st century, capable of responding to these new technological challenges. »

Opening of the first training courses in spring 2021

Resolutely collaborative and immersive, Campus Biotech Digital relies on the agile “design process thinking” methodology to adapt to the innovations of a sector in constant transformation.
Its initial and continuing comprehensive and personalised training offer, unique in the world, aims to respond to the sector’s talent shortage in light of the thousands of jobs that the sector plans to create over the next 10 years.

Covering the entire bioproduction chain from design to delivery of the product to the patient, Campus Biotech Digital uses various digital tools reproducing essential production elements (digital twins, serious games, immersive reality, virtual reality and augmented reality) and cognitive approaches supported by artificial intelligence to promote understanding of processes and the appropriation of professional practices.

The training courses, inspired by those provided by flight simulators to train airplane pilots, will generate real added value unique in the world in bioproduction on several levels:

•  The acquisition of new skills by employees in the sector to create a positive effect on the performance of industrial players
• The arrival on the labour market of young graduates and retraining employees, operational more quickly
• The training of experts who will become sources of breakthrough innovations thanks to specific courses
• Learning communities to promote the development of networks, the creation of start-ups and inter-company cooperation

* Sector contract signed on 4 February 2019 – Structuring project no. 5: Training and skills development – Action 1: Training for the biotech sector and creation of a biotechnology and digital accelerator campus

** This public-private partnership is supported by the State within the framework of the “Adaptation and qualification of the workforce” action, the “Engineering of vocational training and innovative support offers (IFPAI)” device, national component of the Investments for the Future Programme, operated by the Caisse des Dépôts (Banque des Territoires).