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UFPel’s Center for Biotechnology (CenBiot for its spelling in Portuguese) was established in November 1988. Since its creation, the CenBiot has grown steadily, becoming an important center for the dissemination of knowledge on modern biotechnology, technology generation, and the training of new researchers at UFPel. The working experience gathered by CenBiot faculty through their various research projects and also through CenBiot participation in different Graduate Programs in the Area of Agricultural Sciences at UFPel led to the creation of the Graduate Program in Biotechnology in 1994, which now offers a doctorate degree.

The Program was primarily intended for students graduating from the university’s Master’s Programs in Agrarian Sciences and aimed to train them to apply the techniques of modern biotechnology in their fields of study. After a restructuring process, it was renamed Graduate Program in Agricultural Biotechnology, had its lines of research redesigned to focus on the area of ​​agricultural sciences and offered a Master’s and a Doctorate degree in Agricultural Biotechnology. In 2008, with the creation of the Biotechnology Committee by CAPES, the Program was finally named Graduate Program in Biotechnology.

Since the Program was created, 53 masters and 90 doctors have already graduated, many of them becoming professors and/or researchers in national and international teaching and research institutions. Currently, the Program’s activities take place at the Center for Biotchnology at UFPel’s Technology Development Center (CDTec), established on Capão do Leão Campus, in the city of Pelotas, Brazil. In addition to the Master’s and Doctorate degree programs, the CDTec Center for Biotechnology also offers the Bachelor’s Program in Biotechnology, the first of its kind in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

In 2013, after a triennial review (2010-2012) performed by CAPES, the Graduate Program in Biotechnology was given a grade of 6 and became one of the most respected programs in the country. In this evaluation, programs were graded according to the following scale: 1 and 2, which would be disqualifying grades; 3 meaning a regular performance that meets the minimal quality standard; 4 meaning a good performance and 5, the maximum score for graduate programs with master’s degrees only. Grades 6 and 7 indicate a performance equivalent to the highest international standard.

Nowadays, the Graduate Program in Biotechnology is coordinated by professors Fabricio Rochedo Conceição and Dr. Alan John Alexander McBride. The faculty is comprised of 26 researchers, 70% of whom are CNPq scientific and technological productivity fellows. The group has been receiving considerable financial resources from research funding agencies (CNPq, CAPES, FAPERGS, and FINEP) and from other sources, such as the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply, Petrobrás, among others. This financial support has made it possible to publish scientific papers in journals of excellence, develop biotechnological processes and products (patents), qualify students, and modernize the Program’s infrastructure. We maintain partnerships with prominent research groups in Brazil and worldwide besides having well-structured and well-equipped laboratories. We are also very proud to acknowledge the excellent relations between professors, students and the administrative staff at the Center for Biotechnology.

The Program aims to qualify human resources for teaching, extension, and research activities, developing their ability to conduct scientific research projects. Aspects such as research, planning, design, implementation, analysis, and publication, as well as the development of processes and products, are to be addressed by the Program so as to contribute to the advance of the scientific and technological knowledge in the field of Biotechnology. Various basic courses (Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Immunology, Biometrics and Experimentation, Research Methodology) and applied courses (Biosecurity, Immunodiagnostic, Molecular Biology Techniques, Bioinformatics, Plant Biotechology, Environmental Biotechnology, Molecular Markers, Food Pathogenic Bacteria, Fermentation Technology, Laboratory Animals, Molecular Embryology and Animal Transgenesis, Cryopreservation of Gametes and Embryos, Functional Genomics, Entrepreneurship and Intellectual Property, Seminars, Oriented Teaching) are offered. Besides defending their thesis or dissertation, students are required to earn 20 credits towards the Master’s Degree and 40 towards the Doctorate Degree in Biotechnology in order to obtain their title.