The day starts with a tour of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center followed by several interactive panel sessions. The sessions cover best practices in high school education, what 2-year alumni are doing in the biotech industry, and how education interacts and supports the biotech industry by providing student interns and contract services. At the end of the day, there are three poster sessions. One session focuses on how 2-year programs meet emerging industry trends, and the other two focuses on research performed by college and high school students. Several of the panel and poster topics are further explored in main conference sessions.
Participants must bring their own laptops.
Linnea Fletcher, AC2 Bio-Link Regional Center, Austin, TX; Richard Norris, Center for Plant and Life Sciences, St. Louis, MO; Elizabeth Boedeker, St. Louis Community College, St. Louis, MO
Register for this preconference workshop when you register for the HI-TEC conference.
Biotechnology Day Agenda
|
8:15-8:30 |
Participants arrive Danforth Center Auditorium |
|
8:30-8:55 |
Welcome and Biotechnology Overview of St. Louis Sam Fiorello |
|
9:00-10:20 |
Detailed Tour of Danforth Plant Science Center |
|
10:30-11:45 |
Interactive Panel Discussion High School STEM Session #1: High School STEM instructors and coordinators nationwide and from the local St. Louis region. Panelists will share successful initiatives that have been implemented during the school year for STEM, barriers overcome, and how students can be moved into a Biotechnology pipeline with 2 and 4 year biotechnology programs. Each panelist will provide a short introduction, which will be followed by questions from audience members in an interactive format with a moderator. |
|
11:45-12:00 |
break |
|
12:00-1:00 |
Lunch Keynote: The state of STEM in Missouri; Kelly Gillespie (MOBIO) |
|
1:00-2:15 |
Interactive Panel Discussion Students’ Success with Biotechnology Careers Session #2: Graduates from various Biotechnology Programs (St. Louis Community College and elsewhere) will discuss their current employment and how the programs successfully prepared them for industry jobs. Each panelist will provide a short introduction including what lesson or skill they would deem the most important thing they learned. Additional questions from audience members will be encouraged by moderator. |
|
2:15-2:30 |
break |
|
2:30-3:45 |
Interactive Panel Discussion Industry Involvement with Biotechnology Programs Session #3: The focus of this discussion will be how industry involvement with technical training programs is essential for success, from development initially and continued involvement as programs evolve over time. Additional topics will include how these interactions can benefit both industry partners and programs, with student internships, contracted projects, and equipment availability. Each industry professional will provide a short introduction including relevant comments related to their experience with such technical training programs. Audience members will provide additional questions with guidance provided by a moderator. |
|
3:45-4:00 |
break |
|
4:00-5:00 |
Interactive Poster Session: Biotech Programs, college students, and high school students will present posters on the indicated topics. Poster Session Track #1 (biotech programs): Meeting Emerging Trends
Poster Session Track #2(college level): College Biotech Research
Poster Session Track #3 (high school): High School Biotech Research |
|
5:00-5:30 |
Awarding of Top Poster – one for each Student Track Adjournment |
