As biotechnology interests and activities continue to increase in Florida and across the nation, a skilled workforce becomes increasingly vital to the success of this burgeoning industry. The Florida Center of Excellence for Biomolecular Identification and Targeted Therapueutics (BITT) with its National Science Foundation partner, FLATE, continues to support the needs of local biotech companies by garnering the interest of secondary and post-secondary students as the first step toward a technical career in biotechnology. One important component of the strategy to achieve this goal is to host professional development workshops for high school teachers.
A series of workshops will begin in February, and introduce attendees to current concepts and practices in biotechnology. The first of the scheduled workshops, “Metrology & Micropipetting” on February 19th and “DNA Fingerprinting” on February 26th, will be facilitated by biotech faculty from HCC Brandon. The techniques taught at these workshops can be incorporated into biology and chemistry classes, thus furthering the combined goals of FLATE and BITT. In addition to targeting high school students for careers in biotechnology, BITT is also working to expand the online curriculum available to students at HCC enrolled in the newly established Biotechnology Program. This program leads to an Associate of Science degree, which meets the education requirements stipulated by many biotech companies. These activities represent just two of the ways BITT and FLATE are taking a long-term view to build a strong foundation for future student development and success.
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