Bringing industrial biotechnology to life through our STEM activities to motivate, inspire and present learning and career opportunities to young people of all ages and backgrounds.

Inspiring the next generation of industrial biotechnologists is high on the agenda of IBioIC to ensure that there’s a readymade pipeline of talent with the necessary knowledge and skills required for this rapidly expanding and transformative sector.

It’s no surprise that many people have never even heard of industrial biotechnology, and yet, most of us will have used and, or come into regular contact with many of its applications. That’s where the outreach activities such as STEMFest, come in – providing an important platform to promote intrigue and illustrate the science behind industrial biotechnology to attract potential students to take part in IBioIC’s Skills Programme.

Developed in partnership with its academic partners, colleges and industrialists, the students taking part in the Skills Programme are encouraged to collaborate in STEM engagement activities throughout their learning journey which sees them take part in a range of small scale events, to science festivals.

IBioIC took part in the recent STEMFest, a 2 day event which took place at Glasgow Science Centre for over 1000 school pupils across 20 schools. Pupils enjoyed a programme of inspirational workshops and a STEM themed marketplace, where IBioIC co-hosted an exhibition with Glasgow Clyde College and provided an opportunity for pupils to find out first-hand about industrial biotechnology and the HND course in IB being offered by the College from some of its current students.

PhD students from the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde joined our exhibition and led table top activities designed to intrigue the pupils through illustrating the principles of photosynthesis using corks and candy. The activity was designed to enable school children to understand more about pigments and their relevance for industrial biotechnology. This helped to encourage the pupils to asked questions about the science and open up a conversation up about where the opportunities lie if they consider studying the Industrial Biotechnology at College or in higher education.

With a remit to support the growth of Biotechnology in Scotland, the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) was established and has quickly been recognised as a European centre of excellence for industry-led research.  “Skilling the Workforce” has been identified as a key themes and is providing critical leadership and resources through its skills and training programmes, from upskilling the existing workforce to educating a new generation at PhD, MSc and HND levels.

To find out more, please visit http://www.ibioic.com/skills/d13/ or contact our Skills Programme Manager, Rachel Clark – Rachel.clark@ibioic.com