MassBio, a not-for-profit organization that represents and provides services and support for the #1 life sciences cluster in the world, and 25 biotech CEOs identify strategies to retain and grow a talented workforce for the biotech industry in Massachusetts. Improving secondary life science education through teacher training and support is a top priority.

MassBioEd Foundation, a nonprofit educational charity, is established by MassBio to provide high-quality education and workforce development programming in collaboration with Massachusetts schools and colleges. Previously, MassBio had pioneered a series of science education programs, which then became part of MassBioEd, a nonprofit educational charity.  As a strong advocate for education, Josh Boger, the former CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, is the first large donor of the Foundation, and Genzyme gives the first corporate gift of $250K with a five-year commitment. MassBio’s 7^th Annual Golf Outing kicked off MassBioEd’s first fundraiser, raising $38K, with 300 biotech executives and suppliers in attendance.

MassBioEd is awarded $500,000 from Commonwealth Corporation’s BEST Initiative for creating an industry-driven biomanufacturing curriculum that combines training at community colleges with on-the-job and follow-up development at companies. The grant also funds industry internships for college faculty and state-of-the-art biomanufacturing training equipment for Roxbury and Middlesex Community Colleges.

MassBioEd expands course offerings for biotech workforce development, including An Overview of Clinical Research, Biotechnology Project Management, and Biomanufacturing & QC Technician Training. 

MassBio and MassBioEd team up to create the landmark online, searchable Massachusetts Biotech Directory. The Directory provides a database of companies; job descriptions for a wide range of careers in small, medium, and large size biotech companies; a description and history of the Massachusetts biotech community; and a glossary of biotech terms. The Directory also includes a database of over 120 Massachusetts educational institutions with comprehensive descriptions of areas of study in the life sciences.

BioTeach, MassBioEd’s flagship program, is established with a grant of $1.4M from the U.S. Department of Labor. This ambitious initiative aims to provide all Massachusetts schools with supplies, equipment, and most important, teacher training, to increase science teachers’ ability to offer authentic lab experiences to students, using current approaches and technology.

Harvard University’s Extension School launches a master’s in biotechnology program that includes MassBioEd’s course in Biotech Project Management.

Genzyme Corporation becomes the first major corporate sponsor of BioTeach, pledging $250,000 over five years to help public schools update and improve their science education programs and facilities.  Serono pledges $100,000 as a lead sponsor. Other early corporate sponsors include the Biogen Idec Foundation, Acambis, AstraZeneca R&D-Boston, EPIX Pharmaceuticals, MicroTest Laboratories, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.

BioTeach’s launch event at the State House brings together students, teachers, and political leaders to stress the need for helping public schools create outstanding life sciences education programs. 

 “BioTeach should be a model for the rest of the nation…It will make our kids competitive in the new millennium workforce and ensure that Massachusetts gets its share of the burgeoning biotech industry.”  – Keynote speaker, Senator Kennedy

Following a billion-dollar initiative to support the life sciences industry under former Governor Deval Patrick, MassBioEd creates the Massachusetts Life Science Education Consortium (MLSEC) to facilitate partnerships between industry and academia and address skills gaps. The program is supported by a $150,000 grant from the Boston Foundation in 2011 to further its development in meeting long-term hiring needs of the industry and improving the communication and partnerships with Massachusetts colleges and universities.

MassBioEd forms a partnership with New England Biolabs to provide the molecular biology reagents required to implement BioTeach labs for teachers at no cost. This increases student access to current biotechnology tools and technologies. Through a partnership with the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC), MassBioEd provides equipment and training to under-resourced public schools. MLSC’s support to date totals just under $1M. In 2015, Thermo Fisher Scientific doubles their giving to include an annual $25K in Fisher Scientific lab equipment and supplies, expanding MassBioEd’s capacity to provide customized grant funding for schools to obtain equipment and consumables that support life sciences-related lab activities, supplemented with teacher mentoring from BioTeach Instructors.

In response to calls for deeper dives into labor market information, MassBioEd conducts a comprehensive review of employment and hiring trends in the life sciences to better understand the needs of the industry and to help higher ed align their offerings to the life sciences jobs of the future. The inaugural Life Sciences Workforce Conference is held at Sanofi Genzyme and coincides with MassBioEd’s first annual Job Trends Forecast, now known as the Life Sciences Employment Outlook.

To bring career exploration experiences into the classroom, the Career Ambassador Program is launched, allowing students to meet and hear from industry volunteers about the variety of careers and pathways available in the life sciences. Additionally, the Take Out Training and Equipment (TOTE) Lending Program is established to allow schools that lack equipment and reagents to bring biotechnology lab activities into the classroom.

MassBioEd launches the ACCESS program which provides curricula, equipment, training, and ongoing support to build a community among middle and high school science teachers, school administrators, and industry volunteers to provide authentic science lessons with embedded career connections in all middle school science and high schools in the district.

MassBioEd builds the first ever Registered Apprenticeships in the life sciences in Massachusetts and incorporates career exploration for students and adults, professional development training, labor market information, and the Annual Life Sciences Workforce Conference under “BioTalent”.

The Biomanufacturing Technician and Clinical Trial Associate Apprenticeship Programs in Massachusetts are launched, helping to grow the talent base for local companies while enabling individuals to obtain employment that provides meaningful work, family-sustaining wages, and career growth.

MassBioEd partners with the Leaders through Education, Action and Hope (LEAH) Project for the STEM Exploration Internship, a paid summer internship program for Boston area high school students with backgrounds historically underrepresented in STEM fields. This student-centered initiative provides high school students with hands-on laboratory and career exploration activities.

MassBioEd launches the College to Career Program to connect public college students to industry through partnerships, career expos, company visits, advisor trainings, career awareness and networking workshops.

MassBioEd is one of four awardees in the City of Boston Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development’s Greater Boston Equitable Apprenticeship Pathways Grant and receives $915,000 over four years to build out a new pre-apprenticeship program to serve as an on-ramp to the Life Sciences Apprenticeship Program.

MassBioEd launches the Life Sciences Career Hub to provide life sciences awareness, access, and career services to Boston residents— particularly those from lower-income communities or communities of color — creating a library of up-to-date career information and hosting career events and open houses with the You Belong in Biotech series. The Career Hub is later expanded throughout Massachusetts.

MassBioEd is one of nine recipients of the Senator Kenneth J. Donnelly Workforce Success Grants awarded by Commonwealth Corporation on behalf of the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. From the $3.9 million awarded in grant funding, MassBioEd is granted $1 million over three years to expand the Life Sciences Apprenticeship Program.

BioTeach pilots Access Biotechnology providing after-school science and career exploration opportunities for 10th-12th graders in high needs schools.

MassBioEd launches Career Coaching as part of the Life Sciences Career Hub. The free Career Coaching services combine self-paced online courses with one-on-one sessions led by experienced volunteer coaches.

MassBioEd announces the launch of the new Career Hub Website. This vast resource offers up-to-date information on career, education and training opportunities in the life sciences, helping users understand and navigate careers in the life sciences. Comprehensive and interactive, the database includes an overview of the different employment sectors in the life sciences, current job descriptions, job requisites, and higher education pathways and training programs. The new website is an important component of MassBioEd’ s Life Sciences Career Hub and is designed to be easily accessed by students, teachers, and guidance counselors.

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