Biotechnology any good in NUIG?

1ZRed

I have a few questions about this course. I would appreciate if someone doing the course can answer them:

1) How good are the facilities in NUIG for biotechnology?

2) Is it a good course? (in the sense that you can do a lot with the degree)

3) How does it compare to biomedical engineering in difficulty? (Strictly speaking of the scientific aspects of it)

You'd really be helping me out hugely if you could answer them and maybe give your perspective of how the course is going for you. pros and cons even!:D

1ZRed

I'm bumping this because I really need to get some info and I can't even get it off the college.

KittyeeTrix

I found an older thread on it with some current posters opinion of the course so may answer some of your questions....

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=72973746

Squeeonline

1) How good are the facilities in NUIG for biotechnology?
They are good. I haven't studying biotech in any other university so I can't compare. World class research is done in the labs there but don't expect to see that until final year.


2) Is it a good course? (in the sense that you can do a lot with the degree)

I have nothing to compare it to. There are gaps in my knowledge that I feel shouldn't be there and there's a lot of things covered multiple times at the same level. On the upside this makes it easier for exams. I guess, get a book from the library and fill in the blanks.
On the other hand there are a lot of things that we did that biochemistry students didn't, such as a ****ty business module (think junior cert business studies made to sound like it's a college level course)


3) How does it compare to biomedical engineering in difficulty? (Strictly speaking of the scientific aspects of it)

Never studied it, so can't comment. I guess that bio eng would be more mathsy but that's just a guess from the eng part. There's only a small bit of maths in first year of biotech. The rest is simple chemistry maths, and a tiny bit of reactor scale up and sterilisation which is just applying a couple of formulae. Also isn't until final year.


Source: bitterly unemployed biotech graduate.

1ZRed

Thanks for the info. I know I was bombarding you with questions that you couldn't really answer but I can't get a reply from NUIG at all!
I really appreciate the help.
I actually got an email off a guy who said that the course is very segregated. I think he called it a pick 'n' mix course that has no dedicated department and has useless facilities. I think I trust your judgement better though:)
I know you said you were unemployed, but where can you work with a biotech degree? and is there a growing demand for biotechnology graduates?
Thanks again for the help and good luck job hunting!:)

Squeeonline

1ZRed wrote: »

Thanks for the info. I know I was bombarding you with questions that you couldn't really answer but I can't get a reply from NUIG at all!
I really appreciate the help.
I actually got an email off a guy who said that the course is very segregated. I think he called it a pick 'n' mix course that has no dedicated department and has useless facilities. I think I trust your judgement better though:)
I know you said you were unemployed, but where can you work with a biotech degree? and is there a growing demand for biotechnology graduates?
Thanks again for the help and good luck job hunting!:)

These days the best prospects for biotech graduates are postgrads. Almost every industrial position I have applied for has looked for 2-5 years experience for even the most basic of positions (even those listed on gradireland).

As for growing demand, I keep on hearing about companies expanding: Bioniche, pfizer etc. Use the degree to start your own business.

The course could do with greater cohesion but the course is still evolving. You don't need the lectures to teach you everything since you have the library on your doorstep.

abhayveer02

Any plz help, got an offer of MSc Biotechnology from nuig, is it good university to study that.. also my ucd offer is awaiting i might be get rejected, dont know but every one here in india says that ucd is better than nuig in all wat and especially in biotechnology is nuig well known across the world?? Plz reply

Squeeonline

Really not sure why I am "plz replying"...

You're asking in an NUI Galway forum whether it's a good university or not. You're not going to get an unbiased opinion here. The problem comes with the word "better". UCD might be higher in the rankings but that doesn't measure the quality of individual degrees. Galway is a lot more fun to live in than Dublin (my opinion).

I have my undergrad in biotech from NUIG, and it is a great degree. I know a little about the MSc course in Galway but I can't comment on UCD. It's basically the last two years of undergrads crammed into 12 months. The class size is quite small.

I was warned not to bother doing an MSc in biotech since it's meant for people coming from slightly different backgrounds than biotech.