Box Hill Institute hires former AusBiotech CEO

Melbourne TAFE college Box Hill Institute (BHI) has engaged former AusBiotech executive director and CEO Dr Anthony Coulepis to advise on the delivery of education and training through its recently launched BioSkills initiative.

Designated by the Victorian state government as the state's specialist centre for biotechnology training, BHI is the first TAFE in Australia to offer a bachelor degree in biotechnology. BioSkills is housed in a new AUD$19.5 million building which includes a purpose-built biotech facility.

"We have made a commitment to industry that what we are going to do is be very heavily linked to industry, and there can't be a greater commitment than to go after the ex-CEO of AusBiotech to build those bridges between our academics, our institutions, and those enterprises," said BHI CEO John Maddock.

"One of the things that we do is go out and source leaders from industry to work with us, to advise us, to become catalysts for getting the engagement going between our team and industry, to make sure that what we're doing is industry responsive."

Coulepis, who is currently a director with Medical Developments International (ASX:MVP) and strategic industry advisor for biotechnology consulting firm Innovation Dynamics, will be working part time for BHI.

Coulepis said he had been engaged to provide BHI with industry advice, mentor and coach the team at BHI, and to provide a leadership role to ensure that biotechnology is "relevant and as it changes the Box Hill Institute has the ability to change with it". He will also be assisting with BHI's InnovaBio initiative where students will establish a biotechnology company and run it at an applied level.

"They'll set up a student enterprise and actually trade. So they're applying their skills but they have to do it in the context that they are innovators and entrepreneurs," said Maddock. "We'll be taking one of the sections of the building and simulating a pharmaceutical manufacturing process."

The students will decide what the company produces and will be able to choose from a wide range of different areas. "We won't put up barriers and limit them," said Maddock.

Coulepis has held senior positions at Fairfield Hospital, Monash University and the World Health Organisation and prior to joining AusBiotech was general manager and a senior executive with Amrad (ASX:AML).