California Biomedical Industry - California Healthcare Institute

Biotech Academy opens biotechnology doors todisadvantaged youthThe power of scienceto advance mankind’sunderstanding of the universeand to spur innovationsto improve human life hasbeen proven over and over.A public/private partnershipin the Oakland area isdemonstrating how aninterest in science also canchange the course of a youngperson’s life in powerfulways.Biotech Partners, formerly known asBerkeley Biotechnology Education, Inc./BBEI, is on a mission to connect youthto the world of biotechnology — and toopportunities they might not otherwisehave discovered. Established in 1993as part of a development agreementbetween Bayer HealthCare and the Cityof Berkeley, Biotech Partners reachesout to disadvantaged high schooljuniors at Berkeley High School andOakland Technical High School andguides them through their first year ofcommunity college.The program serves 150 to 200 studentsannually and combines classroom studywith on-the-job training to prepareyoung people for careers in the biotechindustry. Students take academic andscience classes while also learninglaboratory skills based on current bestpractices and isspecifically tailored tothe needs of the biotechnology industry.Most of the high school BiotechAcademy students are placed in paidsummer internships with local lifesciences companies to build their skillsin a real-world laboratory setting.After high school graduation, academyparticipants advance to the BioscienceCareer Institute for Community CollegeStudents, which is offered throughPeralta Community College District.The one-year commitment includescourses in biology, microbiology,organic/inorganic chemistry andbiochemistry in a demanding schedulethat requires good time managementskills. It also includes a 12-month,part-time job in industry. Between theirsummer internships and year-long jobs,Biotech Partners students receive 1,300hours of hands-on, workplace training.Completion of the program leads to aCertificate of Achievement in Bioscienceand the credentials to apply for skilledentry-level positions in the life sciencesindustry — positions that pay anaverage of $35,000 to $45,000 per year.More than 900 students have beenplaced in internships and co-op workpositions through the Biotech Partnersprogram. Among program graduatesdesiring work in biotechnology afterearning their certificate, 100 percenthave found and retained full-timepositions.“The transformational power of thisprogram is incredible,” said DeborahBellush, executive director of BiotechPartners, the organization that runsthe program. She said the difference ismost startlingly apparent when the highschool students come back for theirsenior years, fresh off their summerinternships. “They are so much easier towork with in the classrooms,” she said.“Their self-confidence is high, and it’sall a reflection of the respect they weregiven in their summer workplaces.”Their grades and classroomparticipation rise along with their selfesteem, Bellush added.The results do not come without hardwork by numerous partners, supportersand volunteers.“We offer wraparound services,” shesaid, which means extra tutoring,personal and academic counseling,resume writing tips and mockinterviews and discussions of possiblecareer paths. “We help prepare them fora career in a professional environment,all the way down to coaching them onthe words they choose.”As required for entry into the academy,most of the students come from lowincomehouseholds, and the salariesfrom their summer internships andyear-long co-op jobs are often usedto help support their families. Sosometimes, Bellush said, the academyalso helps the students with basic needslike clothing and meals during school.The training relies on mentors, whoare life sciences professionals whovolunteer to teach and advise thestudents. They, like employees withinthe partner companies where thestudents intern or work, have beensqueezed by the current economy.“They’ve experienced layoffs at theircompanies,” Bellush said of theprofessionals who work with academystudents. “They’ve maybe been doingdouble jobs for the past two years andfeel they can’t take on another thing.”She said recruiting industry partnerswas a challenge even when the economywas more robust. “They’re reticentto put 16 year olds into their highlyregulated facilities,” Bellush said, aconcern she said she fully appreciates.Industry partners also are asked to paythe salaries of the interns and co-opparticipants. The summer interns workeight weeks at 20 hours per week for$9 per hour. That costs $1,400 if thecompany pays the interns directly. Forthe work co-ops, the companies areresponsible for $10,000 per participantpaid directly or $15,000 compensatedthrough an agency.Industry continues to step up. BayerHealthCare, Kaiser Permanente,Lawrence Berkeley Lab, UC BerkeleyGenomics Sequencing and Stem CellLabs, Libby Laboratories, TethysBioscience, and others hired BiotechAcademy interns in 2010.California Biomedical Industry 2011 Report | 61