New Initiative Launched To Promote Biotech Education

By Lori Clapper

The Biogen Idec Foundation is offering up a $1.5 million grant in an effort to boost the biotechnology industry’s visibility.

To help spread the word about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education (STEM), the organization has partnered with the Association of Science-Technology Centers, or ASTC, to launch the World Biotech Tour (WBT), the Boston Globe reported Monday . The aim is to help promote science literacy to youth, the general public, and underserved communities through this multiyear project.

The WBT will also feature the following:

• An international ambassadors program, which will recruit middle and high school students globally in order to build support and boost participation in the WBT, the ASTC press release said.
• Research on the ways in which biotechnology is being taught, both to students in schools around the world, as well as to the general public.
• Biotech-themed events that will take place at various locations around the world to encourage all generations of life-long learners to form a community. A highlight of these conferences will be the “Lab in a Box” product that will feature experiments demonstrating the roles biotechnology plays in daily life.

“The Biogen Idec Foundation is committed to furthering efforts that promote the drive, dedication, creativity and educational excellence of future scientists,” Tony Kingsley, chairman of the Biogen Idec Foundation, said in a statement. “With the growing need for developing tomorrow’s STEM workforce, we are glad to partner with the ASTC to help to achieve this goal.”

The Biogen Idec Foundation works through arrangements, such as this new agreement with the ASTC, to promote science literacy and encourage today’s youth to consider science careers.

ASTC represents nearly 500 science centers and museums in the U.S. and 45 other countries.

The tour kicks off with events in Belgium, Portugal, and Japan, the ASCT release said.