Harford Community College is focused on creating accessible pathways for future biotechnicians to progress from public high schools, to degree and certificate programs, to biotechnology careers and/or further study at four-year universities.
A Biotechnology Advisory Board survey was developed by the grant team to assess entry-level skills required by employers. Findings were disseminated to the biotech education community and as a result, Harford developed six new biotechnology courses, a revised Biotechnology Certificate, and a new AAS degree in Biotechnology.
BIOTECH Pathways Benefits and Objectives
benefits
- Develop skills identified by industry partners for employability
- Educational Partnership Agreement between the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center and Harford Community College for a Biomanufacturing Cooperative Educational Program | Dr. Peter Emanuel and Dr. Jared DeCoste
- Sea Phages research experience
- Paid internships:
Adaptive Phage Therapeutics | Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology | Integrated Pharma Services | US ARmy Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense
Supported by a $493,912 grant from the National Science Foundation
Objectives
- Develop the AAS in Biotechnology degree and the Biotechnology Certificate programs to align with industry skills, knowledge, and competencies.
- Increase student enrollment and completion in Harford's biotechnology programs, with an emphasis on recruiting underrepresented students, via hands-on community outreach with high school students and their families. Outreach will also include information regarding academic and career opportunities in biotechnology.
- Ensure that every Harford Community College biotechnology student possesses the professional, field-specific, and career-readiness skills to succeed in biotechnology employment.
Grant Accomplishments
Eighteen HCPS high school teachers participated in the BIOTECH Pathways Teaching academy and received hands-on training in biotech lab skills and learned about many biotechnology applications and career pathways to share with their high school students. The grant funds also provided over $15,000 in equipment to several high school programs to engage hundreds of students in biotechnology lab experiences and help them prepare for the growing biotechnology workforce in Maryland.
During the term of the grant, more than 100 high school students participated in evening BIOTECH Pathways workshops where they participated in hands-on lab activity demonstrating “glowing” DNA. Over fifty family members, participated with their students. Also, 41 high school students participated in the week-ling BIOTECH Pathways Summer Institutes over three summers and presented their own research posters at the end of the week.
Find complete grant outcome information here: Award Details - NSF Award Search
This project is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 2000193. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.