biopharmaceutical technology center institute

The BTC Institute: Serving Youth Skills and Science for Summer

Posted on by Riley Bell

World Youth Skills Day provides a unique opportunity to emphasize the importance of equipping young people with experiences, skills, and opportunities in the workforce. This celebratory day falls on July 15th and was officially declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 2014.

At Promega, we are constantly adhering to invest in the future generations of science—and the BioPharmaceutical Technology Center Institute (BTC Institute) serves this mission best. The BTC Institute is a non-profit organization that provides educational, scientific, and cultural opportunities for people of all ages. Each summer, the organization hosts a wide range of experiences including camps, programs, and field trips to support individuals interested in science. In the spirit of World Youth Skills Day, let’s take a look at some experiences that are offered for young learners in summer 2022.

Continue reading “The BTC Institute: Serving Youth Skills and Science for Summer”

Meeting the Needs of Scientists at All Levels

Posted on by Amy Prevost

One of the best things about the BTC Institute is that we have programs for all levels of learners. It is as rewarding to introduce the concept of how bioluminescence is used by different organisms in the natural world to middle-school students as it is to have top-level scientists use reporter genes to track their knock-in genome edits.

We spend a lot of time working over our curricula to determine whether the content meets the learner where they are to allow our students to achieve their goals. We develop activities that let students who comes to us —via field trips, high school courses, non-scientist sessions and graduate level programs—to test ideas and evaluate strategies for problem solving as they learn techniques and concepts central to biotechnology. Continue reading “Meeting the Needs of Scientists at All Levels”

UW Master of Science in Biotechnology Program: An Excellent Fit for both Scientists and Business Professionals

Posted on by Natalie Betz

WebinarsThe University of Wisconsin’s Master of Science in Biotechnology Program (MS-Biotechnology Program) is uniquely designed for working professionals who would like to further their careers in biotechnology.  It is based on an interdisciplinary curriculum that focuses on the science, law, and business of biotechnology.

Faculty represent both the academic and corporate worlds.  This has allowed the program to remain extremely applied and to focus on the skills essential for success in global biotechnology industries.

The program has been collaborating since its inception in 2002 with the BioPharmaceutical Technology Center Institute (BTC Institute) to provide the three laboratory-based Molecular Technologies courses.

As noted on the program’s website (www.ms-biotech.wisc.edu), it offers:

  • A curriculum like no other that integrates topics in science, business, and law
  • Powerful skills that bring the “big picture” of life sciences product development into clear focus
  • Exclusive evening/weekend courses allowing you to work full-time while enrolled
  • A completed degree in less than two years

Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the program, it is ideally suited for working professionals with either science backgrounds and training, or those with business or legal experience, or both.  The strong cohort nature of the program allows students with varying backgrounds to assist each other in working on topics that are not familiar to them. Continue reading “UW Master of Science in Biotechnology Program: An Excellent Fit for both Scientists and Business Professionals”

A Celebration of Life XX—Wild Weather!

Posted on by Barbara Bielec

Summer Science Vacation
Summer Science Vacation

The African American Ethnic Academy and the BioPharmaceutical Technology Center Institute (BTC Institute), both 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organizations, have collaborated for twenty years in offering A Celebration of Life, a summer science program for upper elementary and middle school students. The program is open to all area students, with tuition reimbursement and transportation provided for those who need that assistance.

With supporting grants from the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium, an educational arm of NASA, two summer science camps are offered this year – one for upper elementary and one for middle schools students. We just completed the first session, full mornings for two weeks for students entering 3rd–5th grade and have launched the second one, same format, for middle school students this week.

Needless to say, the theme of Wild Weather! lends itself to a wide array of hands-on, exploratory activities.  Here are a few of our favorites that you may wish to try out with the kids in your life. Continue reading “A Celebration of Life XX—Wild Weather!”