Principles of Fermentation Processes
Focusing on how to specify the process and the fundamentals for characterisation
This module will strengthen your knowledge of fermentation processes and through a series of lectures and case studies will enable you to:
- Define different modes of fermentation and know their limitations.
- Develop a suitable medium and perform a material balance.
- Interpret fermentation data and use it effectively.
- Characterise the kinetics of cell growth and how they apply to different cell systems.
- Determine fermentation productivity and yields.
- Learn about new developments in fermentation technology (single use bioreactors)
- Develop a strategy for fermentation process development.
This MBI is recommended for:
This module is suitable for scientists and engineers who wish to familiarise themselves with fermentation processes and those who wish to build underlying principles into their operational expertise in areas of:
• Research
• Process Development
• Manufacturing
Module Leader
Dr Frank Baganz currently holds the position of Senior Lecturer in the Department of Biochemical Engineering at University College London (UCL). He joined UCL as a lecturer in 1998 following the completion of his PhD in Yeast Molecular Biology and Fermentation from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology.
He has established a track record in modelling, engineering and scale-up/down of fermentation, cell culture and biocatalytic processes. In particular, he established the engineering fundamentals of mixing and oxygen transfer in microwells and developed novel miniaturised bioreactors. His research also demonstrated the feasibility of predictive scale up from micro/mini reactors to lab scale reactors using established methods. In collaboration with Professor Gary Lye, he pioneered the use of microwell-based techniques to acquire information about fermentation and bioconversion. In recognition for his contributions to this area he received the 2010 Pharmaceuticals Division Plenary Award of the AIChE.
Recently, he established research in the area of algal biotechnology. Working in close collaboration with Dr Saul Purton (ISMB) he is assessing the potential of microalgae for recombinant protein synthesis and the production and recovery of biofuels using scale-down approaches for cell and process characterisation.
Programme Outline
Participant Feedback
"This course will hugely benefit my current role. My PhD was on transcriptional regulation of B-cells and tumorigenesis driven by viruses; quite different to microbial fermentation. While I have been able to use my molecular biology skills extensively in my role at PBL, I lacked basic fermentation knowledge. This course has been incredibly helpful and I have put some of what I've learnt to use already" Fermentation Scientist, Porton Biopharma
‘The whole experience was fantastic. The course felt well organised and course content very relevant to what I expected. Overall I enjoyed and learnt a lot from the case study method of teaching’. Bioprocess Scale-Up Scientist, CPI
Key Information
Dates: 29 Sept - 1 Oct 2025
Module Leader: Frank Baganz
Location: Bloomsbury Campus, UCL
Price: £1750 Special prices for group packages and SMEs available.
E: mbi-training@ucl.ac.uk
T: +44 (0) 20 7679 9613
Previous Expert Speakers
- Gary Lye, UCL
- Darren Nesbeth, UCL
- Stephen Goldrick, UCL
- Glenn Robinson, Getinge
- Jonathan Welsh, AstraZeneca
MSc Bioprocessing
Combine MBI training courses for a postgraduate qualification. The MSc Bioprocessing is flexible for working professionals and delivered in a modular format designed to fit around full-time work commitments
