The big picture: To grow successfully, Arizona’s bioscience ecosystem needs to strengthen talent and career pathways. That starts early. Exposing young, local students to a career in a field they may never have considered can pay huge dividends.
A video campaign: The “Exploring Pathways to Bioscience and Health Careers” video series aims to bridge the gap between educators and bioscience by exposing young people to career opportunities. The campaign is led by Gail Beauchamp and her team at the Maricopa County School Superintendent’s office, with support from the Flinn Foundation.
A new lineup of on-demand videos was released for Arizona Bioscience Week, which runs through Oct. 9, featuring speakers from industry, higher education, patient care, philanthropy, and more. Resources are available for educators, including team challenges and career exploration activities for the classroom. Learn more details here.
Focused on need: This year, the videos show the importance and opportunities of medical device manufacturing, from 3D printing to microelectronics. The speakers demonstrate how bioscience jobs go beyond the lab into engineering, design, production and advanced manufacturing.
Students present bio research: The Arizona Bioscience Week Student Discovery Zone was featured during this week’s 23rd annual AZBio Awards in Phoenix. More than 1,600 research posters created by Arizona students have been on display since the program began more than a decade ago.
Key takeaway: Whether a student plans to earn an associate’s degree or certificate, or go on for a doctorate, there is a place in the bioscience ecosystem for them. And that’s the message and future we are investing in.
Mary O’Reilly, Ph.D.
Vice President, Bioscience Research Programs
Flinn Foundation