BioSciences Program Receives Baker Administration Funding to Develop Regional Workforce
BU’s BioSciences Academy—which is administered by Metropolitan College along with the School of Medicine—has been awarded a grant by Governor Charlie Baker to aid in their mission to help unemployed and underemployed persons with backgrounds in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM) secure employment in the growing fields of life sciences and biotechnology.
The BioSciences Academy is directed by Professor Constance Phillips, who also serves as director of BU’s Biomedical Laboratory & Clinical Sciences undergraduate program. Learn more about the grant below, and read more about this year’s BioSciences Academy graduating class in BU Today.
Boston University BioScience Academy Receives Workforce Development Funding from Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker
June, 2016—Boston University’s BioScience Academy has been awarded $99,986 in funding by Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker. The grant, part of the Baker administration’s latest allocations of the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund (WCTF), will aid in the Academy’s mission to help unemployed individuals with backgrounds in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) secure employment in the budding biotechnology and life sciences fields.
The BioScience Academy, which launched four years ago with funding from the U.S. Department of Labor, is a collaborative effort between BU’s School of Medicine and Metropolitan College (MET). It is overseen by BUResearch Assistant Professor Constance Phillips, who also serves as director of the Biomedical Laboratory & Clinical Sciences undergraduate program—another School of Medicine and MET joint effort. The two-semester BioScience Academy program was designed specifically to aid those with undergraduate education in either STEM subjects or health care and who are unemployed or underemployed. The program guides those qualified to enter the growing fields of life sciences and biotechnology—both of which have heavy industrial presences in the Massachusetts area, which Phillips notes “is number one in life science growth rate” nationwide.
Combining biotechnology and clinical research courses with full-time internships and job assistance, the BioScience Academy awards graduates a Certificate in Applied Biotechnology along with 12 BU undergraduate credits. The program “targets educated, professional unemployed Massachusetts residents,” according to Phillips, and offers aid that goes beyond the classroom. “We help develop students academically and professionally,” Phillips says, “meaning we also focus on how they will interview for the job.” In addition, she notes that more than 87 percent of Academy graduates in the first three years have found full employment. The WCTF’s $99,986 grant to Boston University will go entirely to the BioScience Adademy, where it will be invested in developing in-demand professionals throughout the region.
The grant comes as part of a $2 million statewide allotment from the Baker administration’s Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund, which is administered by Commonwealth Corporation, a quasi-public state agencythat fosters partnerships between educators, industry, and workforce organizations. The funding is intended to support those regional partners in preparing local residents with additional skills and job training for in-demand occupations. “These partnerships create opportunities for the citizens of the Commonwealth and work to strengthen regional economies,” Governor Baker said in a statement.
The BioScience Academy is open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents with undergraduate education in STEM fields or health care who are unemployed or underemployed and can demonstrate a competency in English and math. Professional experience in STEM or heath care is also preferred. BSA graduates include those returning to the workforce after raising families, former members of the military, and recent immigrants. The program runs September to May, and full scholarships are available.
About Boston University’s Metropolitan College
Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized institution of higher education and research. With more than 33,000 students, it is the fourth-largest independent university in the United States. BU consists of 17 schools and colleges, along with a number of multidisciplinary centers and institutes integral to the University’s research and teaching mission.
As one of the University’s 17 degree-granting bodies, Metropolitan College (MET) offers more than 70 part-time undergraduate and graduate degrees and certificate programs, providing a flexible learning environment that supports the academic, professional, and intellectual needs of working adults. Along with convenient evening classes, Metropolitan College also offers a variety of high-quality online and blended format programs. For more information, visit bu.edu/met.