Building a bioeconomy's workforce

• "If you don't have these people, this will be a gap," says Jürgen Richt, director of the university's Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases.
• Richt leads a training program at K-State's Biosecurity Research Institute (BRI) for students and researchers interested in biocontainment work, biodefense and zoonotic diseases.

The big picture: BRI runs training programs for scientists, offers classes for credit and has an agricultural biosecurity certificate.

• The state of Kansas gave KSU $5 million to stand up a biomanufacturing certificate program for undergraduates majoring in an engineering or science discipline.
• The university, which is hiring a dozen faculty members in biomanufacturing, hopes to build the program into a full bachelor's degree, says Beth Montelone, senior associate vice president for research at K-State.

Zoom in: MATC is slated to launch an associate's degree program to train people for entry-level jobs operating and maintaining the complex exhaust, temperature and other systems in biocontainment labs.

• They're finishing construction on a new technical education center that houses a simulated lab with an entry room, shower room, labs that work with high-risk pathogens, and an animal holding room.
• They'll fake accidents and system failures to teach people who are going to be managing and maintaining biocontainment facilities to troubleshoot a range of problems — from a pressure drop in the room to water leaks to blown-out light fixtures — while maintaining the secure environment, project architect Daniel Crouch told me on a visit to the school.
• The goal is to have existing students test the facility in the fall and to have the first full class start in fall 2025, says Jim Genandt, the college's president and CEO. The average cost of attending MATC is $13,000 per year.

"Most of our students have low to no student debt. They've got a job," Genandt says.

• "This is the most direct return on investment in higher ed, most pointed, most local I've ever seen."

Between the lines: Wooing companies to set up shop in Manhattan and developing the workforce for them is a bit of a chicken-and-egg proposition.

• "We have to have the university bring in some horsepower," says Joe Payne, president and chief operating officer of Scorpius BioManufacturing. The third-party contractor, which develops and manufactures large molecule drugs, is looking to open a new manufacturing facility in Manhattan.
• "The needs are technical but there is also an education element that we'll be paying a lot of attention to in the next year to make sure it comes to fruition," he says.
• But, students need to see the value in going this route, Montelone says."If they start to see there are jobs in the region, then that will get their attention."

What to watch: Manhattan's workforce developers say there is a big opportunity to work with nearby Army base Fort Riley.

• "That's a lot of talent and a lot of young blood. We'd love to keep more of them in the region, but we just haven't had the jobs to appeal to them," Montelone says.

Disclosure: Kansas State University covered the cost of travel and accommodation in Manhattan for Alison, who spoke at a university training program.