Developing and Implementing a Biotechnology Program

Did you ever wonder how a Biotechnology Program starts?  How do you go from a blank slate to a vibrant group of teachers and students with experiments and learning?  Dr. Linnea Fletcher, Executive Director of InnovATEBIO, shares some of the history of starting the Austin Community College program and describes what can happen when optimistic determination meets informed planning.

Montgomery College Biotech Bootcamp for Displaced Workers

When is the demand for biotech employees too much of a good thing?  How do biotech programs convince industry that they matter when companies need ten times the number of people that programs produce?  Montgomery College has found a solution--WorkSource Montgomery provided funding for the college to offer a free, four-week biotechnology boot camp to train displaced workers for entry-level biomanufacturing jobs. 

What is so hard about making a few billion doses of vaccine?

The scale is massive, the need, dire.  But how do billions of doses of COVID-19 vaccine get manufactured and distributed? Read Todd Smith's insightful article as he walks through the many, many steps necessary to get from an approved vaccine to a shot in your arm. And when you get the vaccine, go ahead and post about it, but don't post a picture of your vaccination card--we don't want identity theft to happen to you!

Be sure to click the image when you visit the article, it's interactive!

Learning about the Science of COVID-19

With all the information out there about COVID-19, where can you go to learn the truth? And how can you help your students learn about it?  Pennsylvania State University has built a fantastically detailed online course that walks you through what virologists, epidemiologists, and public health specialists have faced and continue to face during this pandemic.

Be sure to check out other COVID-19 resources at InnovATEBIO, during your  visit.

New Funding Opportunities for Two-Year Colleges!

The National Science Foundation has a new funding opportunity for two-year colleges.  This new program, entitled "Advancing Innovation and Impact in Undergraduate STEM Education at Two-year Institutions of Higher Education" (PD-21-7980) has its first due date of May 10, 2021. This could be the opportunity your college needs! Full details can be found on the NSF website--check it out soon!

InnovATEBIO Webinar: Empowering Students to Recognize and Foster More Inclusive Workplaces

On March 19, 2021 'zoom' in and learn how community colleges can empower their students to recognize, request, and foster more inclusive workplace practices. This includes tools to help establish better training protocols, make workplace expectations more explicit, identify knowledge gaps and/or misunderstandings, and learn how to give and receive feedback so as to build greater trust and engagement.

Time:  3:00 pm EDT (12:00 pm PDT)
Presenters:

• James Lewis, Biotechnology Program Director, City College of San Francisco
• Karen Leung, PhD, Biotechnology Instructor and Internship Coordinator, City College of San Francisco

InnovATEBIO Leadership Institute

There are a few spaces left in the InnovATEBIO leadership Institute, beginning June 2021. The Leadership Institute is a professional development program for community college and K-12 bioscience instructors who are interested in joining the next generation of leaders in biotech education. Senior industry, workforce, and academic experts will work with participants on the subject of leadership, not from an academic perspective but from a workplace point of view.  The program will stress strategizing, problem solving, and leading people.

Applications are due by March 15, 2021. Submit your application today! 

Exploring Career Opportunities in Shared Research Resource Facilities

Shared research laboratories (SRLs), shared research resources (SRRs), or Cores--whatever they are called, provide researchers invaluable access to necessary scientific resources and expertise. Universities, companies, research institutes, and government labs rely on core labs for a wide variety of services including DNA sequencing, COVID-19 testing, proteomics, histology, imaging, mass spectrometry, bioinformatics, media preparation, and more.

Not only do core labs provide essential services, many also have an educational mission and can be important stepping stones for our biotech students as they enter their careers. Like our students, the people who staff core labs also come from diverse educational backgrounds--from associates to doctorates.

We encourage both faculty and students to attend this webinar April 2nd, 2021, 2-3:30 pm EDT to learn about careers in core laboratories. 

BioMADE Education and Workforce Development Workshop 

BioMade (Bioindustrial Manufacturing And Design Ecosystem (BioMADE) is a new Manufacturing Innovation Institute that was recently awarded $87.5 million in federal funds by the Department of Defense. This new institute focuses on bioindustrial manufacturing, which involves the creation of chemical compounds and materials by engineered microbes such as bacteria, yeast and algae. These processes can yield entirely new products and technologies, and offer sustainable alternatives to legacy production methods that rely on non-sustainable resources such as fossil fuels.

On Tuesday, March 16th, BioMADE will be holding an Education & Workforce development workshop from 11 am - 4:30 pm Eastern time.  There will be panels on the Bioindustrial Landscape and Sustainability and breakout sessions on Microbial Engineering, Production and Scale Up, Downstream Users, Skills gaps, Employee training, and Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement.

Registration is Open for ASMCUE

Registration has started for this summer's virtual ASM Conference for Undergraduate Educators. After the past year, many of us are working to reflect and reexamine. Accordingly, the conference theme is Re-Examining Our Relationships With Our Students, Colleagues and Ourselves. The conference takes place from June 25 - July 1st. 

HI-TEC Call for Proposals

HI-TEC is happening! Virtually, as so many other events are, but it will be a terrific professional development opportunity taking place in the comfort of your own home.  See InnovATEBIO events for details about the Call for Proposals and the meeting in July.

Community College Innovation Challenge

The American Association of Community Colleges, in partnership with the National Science Foundation, is inviting community college students to participate in the 2021 Community College Innovation Challenge (CCIC). The CCIC is a national competition where community college student teams, working with a faculty or administrator team mentor, use science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to innovate solutions to real-world problems, attend a Virtual Innovation Boot Camp, and compete for cash awards. Attend the March 18, 2021 webinar to bring your ideas and learn more!

Registration is open now and closes on April 20, 2021.

Important Dates