It's the Final Countdown!

Here we are, at the finish line, I can't help but think of how we ended up here and how quickly we arrived at this point in time. Reflecting back at where it all began in the first lecture, we were asked about our Hopes, Fears & Expectations. I can honestly say that I have surpassed my expectations of grasping an understanding of bioprocessing and didn't really consider its importance in the industry before I took the class but now I really do appreciate its significant relevance.  Looking back at my fears of having to 'Teach a class' and how anxious I was at the beginning of the module, I think its ironic that  I find that it was actually one of the most enjoyable aspects I took from my experience as a whole. I felt that our product choice and bioprocess design implemented was rather unique compared to others and that's what I enjoyed about it, it was more personal, I think it stood out more from the rest because it is not commonly known about and I think we did a good job in presenting our teachings.

There were many challenges that we had to face throughout our project, mainly down to because we could not find a source to explain how kefir products are produced on an industrial large scale. These products are not too common and tend to be dairy based but still the only information that I could find was on home brewing kefir products. Since we couldn't find anything we had to develop the process ourselves and how and what was needed to upscale from home brewing. We did not agree with the route that this process should go at first but we managed to find a solution that took the best aspects of all our opinions on the matter to develop a unique process drawing on all our experience and research. For me this was the most significant experience as it laid out the path for the rest of the project and involved us utilizing problem solving skills, teamwork, compromise and critical analysis of the situation. I learned that conflicting opinions don't necessarily have to have a negative affect if you are mature enough to work with team members it can result in a better solution than picking one option or the other. This situation really helped develop my ability to problem solve and work with others which will benefit me greatly if working in a team in future employment. 

It was interesting to see how much of the modules from previous years could be linked into many parts of bioprocessing showing us that there is obviously reasoning for why we do such subjects and not just for giggles! 

Finally I have  experienced many benefits from taking part in the module in many ways and have potentially stumbled across a viable product idea for the future. Who knows this may result in me pursuing a career as an entrepreneur!