News and Events

From the Executive Director: MassBioEd Year in Review

December 1, 2009

 

Lance Hartford,

MassBioEd Executive Director

 

 

 

 

2009 was a challenging year for MassBioEd, as state budget cuts meant we had to do more with less. But we did it—and are very proud of the strides we took this year to continue to advance our mission of supporting science and biotechnology education in Massachusetts through school programs, workforce training, and lifelong learning.

 

Some highlights:

  • We’ve added 15 new schools to the BioTeach roster for the 2009-2010 academic year. The BioTeach program is a critical part of ensuring that students are exposed to and educated about career opportunities in the biotechnology and life sciences sector and has proven to be an effective program. To date, 177 schools have participated in BioTeach, and MassBioEd has awarded more than $2 million in grants for lab supplies in high school classrooms across the Commonwealth.
  • We’ve put a focus on training teachers in struggling school districts as part of the Improving Teacher Quality grant program run at New Bedford High School and B.M.C Durfee High School in Fall River. Dozens of teachers have completed 24 hours of training in biotech lab instruction (see ITQ article below).
  • The Life Science Career Development program continues to flourish, with successful shadowing and mentoring days being held at biotech companies across the state. Most recently, both Millipore and EMD Serono welcomed high school students into their labs to explore potential biotech-related careers.

 
  • In partnership with the Museum of Science, MassBioEd convened the Biotechnology Lab Development Teacher Residency Partnership, in which teachers across Massachusetts worked together to develop 6 new biotech lab activities. These labs will be available to BioTeach schools and other educational institutions seeking to add biotech labs to the curriculum.
  • We’ve branched out to work with education partners at all levels to put on more STEM education-related programming. For example, this fall, MassBioEd helped pull together a panel on life science careers at Northeastern University to reach students about to enter the workforce. We also partnered schools with companies to provide guest speakers in forensics, panelists for career days and opportunities for teacher externships.

  

 

  • We’ve expanded our course offerings through our Biotech Learning Center to better serve the industry’s needs. In 2009, we hosted successful inaugural courses titled BioBasics: Industry Knowledge for the Non-Scientist and Improving Biotech Presentation Skills. We look forward to bringing you these popular programs again in 2010.
  • Finally, we’ve officially convened the Massachusetts Life Sciences Education Consortium, a group of educational and industry leaders dedicated to implementing the recommendations of the 2008 Growing Talent report. The Consortium has already made great strides in developing standards for biotechnology certificate and degree programs at the community college level and will work in 2010 on improving communication among stakeholders in STEM education and the workforce.

 

Despite the financial challenges we’ve faced, we are proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish in 2009. We have developed an aggressive strategic plan to help us raise funds—through grant programs and corporate sponsorship—in 2010, so that we can build on the success we’ve had so far. If you or your organization is interested in helping sponsor MassBioEd programs (no contribution is too small), please contact me at lance.hartford@massbio.org or 617.674.5100.

 

On behalf of the Board of Directors and the entire staff at MassBioEd, thank you for your continued support. Have a happy holiday season and we wish you a healthy new year!

 

 

 

 

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