Member Spotlight: BioBuilder
BioMADE member BioBuilder is a nonprofit organization working to bring tomorrow’s science into today’s classrooms. Established in 2011, BioBuilder taps into the potential of high school students and their teachers to build with biology.
The curriculum, originally developed in MIT’s Department of Biological Engineering with funding from the National Science Foundation, provides hands-on, problem-based lessons that prepare the next generation of innovators for college and careers. BioBuilder’s in-school and extracurricular programs reach thousands of students each year, impacting education in rural districts, at vocational and technical schools, and in under-served urban communities.
"Joining BioMADE supports our goal of preparing all students across the U.S. for opportunities in the bioeconomy,” said Dr. Natalie Kuldell, BioBuilder Founder and Executive Director. “With BioMADE, we can deepen our industry partnerships, ensuring that we are training the next generation of innovators with the up-to-date skills needed in this rapidly growing biomanufacturing industry."
BioBuilder also plans to use its BioMADE membership to advance its training and certification programs by connecting to BioMADE’s network of community colleges. Finally, BioMADE membership will expand and inform the curriculum that BioBuilder delivers in-person and online through the BioBuilderClub for young innovators and at their "tinkerspace" Learning Labs.
"Biology is rapidly becoming a platform for engineering, and we need to shift how the field is taught if we are to adequately prepare the skilled workforce and informed citizenry that our nation needs," adds Kuldell. "For decades, biology has been taught as a collection of facts to be memorized. Now and for the future, students should learn about biology as a way to address persistent global challenges and a platform for creatively engineering solutions."
