Worcester Polytechnic Institute and O’Connell Development Group of Holyoke will break ground next week on a Gateway Park building that will contain WPI’s new Biomanufacturing Education and Training Center.
The building, funded largely by a $5.2 million grant that the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center awarded last year, will also include space for other WPI programs and additional tenants.
The BETC will be a functioning biomanufacturing pilot plant where WPI graduate and undergraduate students will work with professionals from the biotech industry, learning both technical skills and business practices.
Biomanufacturing companies will use the center to train employees and will also be involved in curriculum design and student mentoring.
The center building will be constructed and owned by O’Connell. A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, April 21, and the building is expected to be functioning by late 2012.
