When AI can draft a literature review in minutes, the question bioprocess educators can no longer avoid is this: what does a student actually need to learn?

Steffen Kreye has a clear answer. As Professor of Industrial Biotechnology at Berliner Hochschule für Technik and former upstream development lead at Bayer, he trains engineers who step into industry ready to run a bioreactor, not just describe one. His argument is direct: hands-on lab competence is the one thing AI cannot replicate, and it is exactly what underfunding is quietly eroding.

Topics discussed:

• Why Steffen Kreye left a senior role at Bayer to become a professor and how his career evolved (03:54)
• The unique mission of universities of applied sciences and their close connection to industry needs (11:16)
• Challenges of delivering lab-based education, including funding and equipment constraints (12:32)
• Creative strategies for partnering with biotech companies to sustain practical lab courses (14:34)
• How reading student theses, partnerships, and conferences help Steffen Kreye and his colleagues stay current in a rapidly changing field (17:43)
• The impact of AI and digital tools on research, teaching methods, and student assessment (21:18)
• Why traditional theoretical projects are less relevant, and the growing importance of problem-solving and oral examinations (22:09)

In Part 2, Steffen gives his unfiltered take on where AI in bioprocessing actually stands, which human capabilities are becoming harder to replace, and what a well-prepared bioprocess engineer will need to look like by 2035.

Smart Insight: Once AI can produce a polished report from a well-structured prompt, the only assessment that still reveals genuine understanding is the one a student has to navigate in real time, without a tool to hide behind.

Here are some other guests who touched on similar themes:

• Ep 175–176 : How Virtual Reality Training Solves Europe's Bioproduction Talent Shortage with Sandrine Lemoine — about training the next generation of biopharma talent.
• Ep 93–94: From Lab Coat to LinkedIn: Benjamin McLeod's Journey to Cell and Gene Therapy Influencer — another career pivot story from a scientist who stepped outside the traditional industry path.
• Ep 111–112: AI Meets Biology: Why Domain Expertise Still Rules in the Age of Large Language Models with Lars Brandén — very aligned with Steffen's nuanced take that AI is a tool but human expertise in bioprocessing still matters.

Connect with Steffen Kreye:

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/steffen-kreye-3b531183/

Berliner Hochschule für Technik: www.prof.bht-berlin.de/kreye

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