Department of Bioengineering

Field and Degree Programs: Engineering (Master’s / Doctoral Programs)

Department Overview

Biotechnology is increasingly regarded as a key solution to challenges facing humanity, such as population aging, the rise of intractable diseases, food shortages, and environmental and energy problems. Accordingly, the Department of Bioengineering offers research and education programs that cultivate creative, well-rounded professionals across the entire BT-based industrial value chain, including biopharmaceuticals, cell- and gene-based therapeutics, bioprocess engineering, biomaterials, synthetic biology, and biomedical engineering.

Eight full-time faculty members of the Bioengineering major in the Division of Bioengineering participate in the department. Using research laboratories, a shared instrument facility, and an animal laboratory, the department develops core advanced technologies and trains research personnel. As a regional flagship national university located next to the Songdo bio-cluster, Incheon National University operates curricula linked with local bio companies, aiming to foster R&D-oriented master’s and doctoral professionals who will play a central role in strengthening national competitiveness in biopharmaceuticals, medical and healthcare, chemicals, food, materials, and energy and environment.

Graduates may pursue careers in biopharmaceutical, biomaterial, cosmetics, food, and medical device/diagnostics companies, as well as government-funded research institutes, universities, and medical institutions.

Educational Objectives

The Department of Bioengineering at Incheon National University aims to educate creative engineers who lead the development of Korea’s bio industry through BT-based technologies and their convergence applications, and to cultivate talent that is community-oriented and equipped with global competence.

Departmental Operating Regulations

Both the master’s and doctoral programs consist of a single major (Bioengineering).
A student’s academic advisor is assigned according to the student’s preferred research area.
The departmental operating regulations shall, in principle, follow the Graduate School Academic Regulations.

Curriculum

5. Curriculum (Major Courses)
Category	Course Title	Course Description
Core Foundation	Applied engineering of biopharmaceutical downstream processing	Covers the market status, product types, and overall purification processes of biopharmaceuticals such as antibodies, recombinant proteins, enzymes, vaccines, viral vectors, plasma proteins, and oligonucleotides. Introduces chromatography and filtration technologies used for large-scale production and the overall downstream processing scheme, as well as buffer management using IC (inline conditioning) and ILD (inline dilution) and continuous chromatography based on PCC (periodic counter-current chromatography).
	Applied engineering of biopharmaceutical protein purification	Covers fundamental chromatography theory and principles, and the theory, optimization, and application of GF, IEX, AC, HIC, MM, and RPC technologies widely used in biopharmaceutical purification. Includes column packing and testing, scale-up principles, resin cleaning and maintenance, and the principles, optimization, and application of filtration, along with recent trends in the purification of recombinant proteins and antibodies.
	Thesis Research(Bioengineering Department)	For students preparing a degree thesis. Advisor and student jointly discuss and review the entire thesis process, from data collection and overall structure to the thesis abstract presentation.
Advanced Major	Advanced Organic Chemistry	Studies carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions, transition-metal reactions, pericyclic reactions, instrumental analysis of organic compounds (NMR, MS, UV, IR), and bioorganic chemistry.
	Advanced Biomaterials	Functional biomaterials, based on excellent biocompatibility, are applied to replace and regenerate tissues and organs in the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, nervous, and dental fields. Covers design, physicochemical and biological evaluation methods, and recent research trends.
	Biomolecular Engineering	Covers the structures and biological functions of nucleic acids, proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids, and their applications (nucleic acid and protein nanostructures, biosurfactants, etc.) at the molecular level. Students also practice presenting the latest research trends related to their own research topics.
	Advanced Cell Engineering	Studies the manufacturing processes of biopharmaceuticals and the latest technologies in each step, including cell line development and cell culture.
	Advanced Genomics	Analyzes research papers on genome analysis of single microorganisms and metagenome analysis of environmental samples enabled by next-generation sequencing, with intensive discussion of microbial diversity analysis and discovery of useful genetic resources.
	Advanced Biosensor	Lectures on the principles of biomolecule analysis and measurement technologies, highly sensitive bio-nano detection methods, and biosensor technologies using biochips and microfluidics.
	Advanced Nucleic Acid Nanoengineering	Covers the fundamentals of DNA/RNA-based biomaterials, fabrication techniques and physicochemical properties of nucleic acid nanostructures, and applications in biophysics, synthetic biology, theranostics, nanoparticle and protein assembly, and drug delivery.
	Advanced Biomedical Engineering	Studies the analysis of biological phenomena and technologies for diagnosing and treating diseases, based on understanding of biological materials such as cells, proteins, and nucleic acids.
	Tissue Engineering and Stem Cell	Covers research methods in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine for effective tissue regeneration, through case studies on stem cells, biomaterials, polymers, drug delivery, artificial organs, and 3D printing, together with basic molecular biology and anatomy and information on animal experiments.
	Diagnostic and Therapeutic Engineering	Covers diverse diagnostic engineering technologies and principles through research papers, discusses how diagnosis can be integrated with therapy using cancer examples, and provides practice in presenting recent research trends.
	Microbiome Engineering	Covers the roles of microbiomes in diverse habitats and technologies to modulate and reconstruct them, with applications in medicine, agriculture, and the environment.
	Synthetic Biology	Covers recent synthetic biology research that combines biological knowledge and engineering principles to create new biological functions, and applications in chemistry, medicine, environment, and materials.
	Biomaterials and Immune Responses	Covers various biomaterials and the immune responses induced upon implantation, material design and processing strategies for improving biocompatibility and evading immune recognition, applications in artificial organs, tissue engineering, and drug delivery, and basic immunological mechanisms.
	Advanced Microbial Metabolic Engineering	Examines, through research papers, the functional characterization of biosynthetic enzymes in microorganisms and the development of novel functional materials by metabolic engineering.
	Advanced Industrial Microbiology	Examines, by industrial sector, methods of producing industrially useful substances with various microorganisms and their applicability, and considers ways to advance these technologies.

Note: The courses above are those taught by faculty of the Bioengineering major among courses previously offered by the Department of Life Science and Nano-Bioengineering; the curriculum will be newly established and revised according to technological and industrial demands. (Credits and hours to be entered per the Graduate School form.)