The 21st century is widely predicted to be the century of biology. Dr Cepta Brougham, lecturer in applied biology in Athlone IT, quotes IT guru Bill Gates as saying that the bio-technological era will replace the computer era.

Hedging its bets, this State has decided to target both information technology and bio-technology for research and development purposes. More than £570 million will be invested over the next few years.

The pharma-chem industry is currently Ireland's second-largest export sector and recruitment over the next three years will bring employment in the sector to more than 35,000.

If you want to tap into all this excitement, then a new ab-initio diploma in cell and molecular biology, to be offered by Athlone IT in September, might interest you. The emphasis in the course will be more on practical lab work than theory.

First-year subjects will include cell and molecular biology, biochemistry, physiology, microbiology, genetics, chemistry, physics, maths, computing and a language. In year two, students continue with cell and molecular biology, genetics, maths, analytical biochemistry and a language.

The third year includes bio-informatics. Brougham says Athlone IT and TCD are the only colleges to offer bio-informatics as a separate subject. Third year includes, among other subjects, forensic and clinical molecular genetics.

And it's not over yet. After their exams, students will spend 12 weeks doing a summer work placement. "There are 140 biotechnology companies in Ireland and they are crying out for people," says Brougham.

Bio-technology spans a wide range of disciplines - healthcare, chemicals, food, agriculture, environment and bio-informatics. "Bio-technology as an industry arose out of and is dependent upon the science of molecular biology. The industry was worth an estimated €40 billion in 1995 providing up to 400,000 jobs in Europe. These figures are predicted to rise to €250 billion and 3 million employees by the year 2005," according to AIT.

The human genome project should be completed in 2003 and there will be "enormous fallout" in the areas of gene technology and therapy as well as diagnosis, according to Brougham.

For instance, a baby might have her genetic fingerprint done and find she is carrying a cancer gene. She should then avoid substances that will turn on that cancer switch. There will also be huge improvements in forensics, says Brougham, so it is a very exciting time to be entering the bio-technology field.

Many students are wary about certificate and diploma courses. However certs and diplomas are good qualifications in their own right and they can also lead to degrees. It is hoped that the college will have put a further year in place by the time the first cohort of students will have completed the diploma. This would allow diploma graduates to continue their studies at the college for a further year to gain an add-on degree.

The course got late approval for funding from the Department of Education so application should be made directly to the college. Minimum educational requirements are modest. These include five D3s at ordinary level in the Leaving Cert (to include two languages and maths). No science subject is specified but chemistry, biology or physics would obviously be an advantage.

In future years, the course will be offered through the CAO. Places will be allocated on the basis of Leaving Cert points. When a course is offered for the first time, it can often be a very good bet in points terms.

For further information contact the school of science in Athlone IT (tel: (0902) 24453; fax: (0902) 24492; e-mail: ptomkins@AIT.ie).