Welcome to the Department of Biotechnology Engineering​

The field of biotechnology has been constantly expanding in recent years as a result of a vision for the development of drugs and genetic therapies for numerous diseases, for growing cells in controlled systems into vital organs that will be used for transplantation, for maintaining the quality of life through aging, and for the treatment of environmental hazards. The Department of Biotechnology Engineering at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev prepares students to address these challenges via multidisciplinary teaching and research of various faculty members from engineering, biology, chemistry, and physics.

The department offers study programs for Bachelor's ( B.Sc.), Masters (. M.Sc), and Doctoral ( Ph.D.) programs based on diverse interdisciplinary teaching and training. During the four years of the biotechnology engineering degree program, students learn a unique combination of introductory courses in engineering sciences, biology, chemistry, and physics and then advanced courses in biotechnology engineering, which include genetic engineering, bioreactors and protein separation, cell cultures, as well as ethics and law in biotechnology and business administration. In the final year of studies for the bachelor's degree, the students gain hands-on independent research experience in the laboratories of faculty members or in the biotechnology industry, as part of their final project. Graduates of the department are qualified to work in both multidisciplinary work environments and more specific and focused research areas.

The study programs for graduates - two years for a master's degree ( M.Sc) and four years for a doctoral degree ( Ph.D.), are mainly based on research in the department's laboratories under the guidance of our faculty members. Students are required to produce high-level research papers published in leading journals in the field. The selection of research topics in the department is extensive and focuses on those considered to be the elite technologies in biotechnology, such as tissue and stem cell engineering, smart biomaterials, biochips, biosensors, nano-biotechnology, genetic engineering, proteomics and glycomics, controlled release of drugs, environment, renewable energy, as well as traditional biotechnological processes based on bioreactors, separation processes for drug production and treatment of environmental hazards. Graduates of our program have been accepted as faculty members or postdoctoral fellows at prestigious universities. Others hold challenging positions in Israel's biotechnological and pharmaceutical industry and abroad. In addition, several of our graduates turned to entrepreneurship and founded start-up companies based on developments during their studies.

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