School’s out for the summer in just a matter of days, and for those with a strong interest in STEM, HudsonAlpha will be hosting an open house on Thursday, May 26th. This event will present to high school students and their parents an overview of the BioSkills program.

This event promises to provide participants with a glimpse at the variety of immersive, hands-on biotechnology classes that HudsonAlpha will be offering this coming fall. HudsonAlpha developed the BioSkills courses to give students in grades 9-12 an opportunity to learn biotechnology techniques and concepts firsthand.

The BioSkills courses utilize cutting-edge technology and equipment to explore the foundations of lab techniques and experimental design. With an assortment of over 20 immersive courses, covering subjects such as plant genomics, genetic engineering, and bacteria, each BioSkills course is unique and will focus on a specific set of skills and concepts.

Small class sizes will allow each BioSkills participant to get an in-depth, hands-on experience with advanced lab skills, all while using the same tools and equipment found in top-tier research labs, such as HudsonAlpha.

The courses begin with basic concepts and build on these foundations to include techniques commonly used in college and graduate-level programs. The courses provide students with advanced laboratory experience and skill development, in addition to personalized instruction from the expert educators at HudsonAlpha.

Classes are grouped into four levels of difficulty: Core, General, Advanced, and Technical. Students are required to take a Core class, such as ‘Sharpening Your BioSkills’ or ‘Biotechnology Skills.’ These two courses pertain to general lab safety and essential lab skills that prepare students for the next level coursework.

By providing access to top-quality equipment and materials, hands-on laboratory experience with model organisms not typically available in high school science labs, the BioSkills program fills the gap by providing students with the opportunity to engage with specific biotechnology topics – topics that are driven by student interest, along with building solid STEM skills as the students advance through the program.

The wide range of topics allows students to choose courses that focus on their interests while developing experience and skills that will help them advance their scientific knowledge and prepare them for STEM-related career paths. Related science-based career opportunities include, engineering, medicine, dentistry, computer programming, environmental science, biochemistry, statistics, and more.

The BioSkills program serves to offer a close-up view of the new approaches that HudsonAlpha is taking to create a more genomically literate society through educating and nurturing the biotechnology workforce of the future. The BioSkills program is a great opportunity to enhance high school science classes with advanced hands-on lab experience.

BioSkills courses are currently offered during the academic year and are ideal for homeschool students and groups, private school classes, or other students with a flexible schedule.

In addition to the four Level 1 courses currently offered, HudsonAlpha Educational Outreach will be offering two new courses that will begin August 2022.

HudsonAlpha Educational Outreach BioSkills Open House is on Thursday, May 26th from 3:00-5:00pm at the Paul Propst Center, located on the campus of HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, 800 Hudson Way. Interested students and parents can visit HudsonAlpha to speak with the program’s coordinators, tour the facility, and learn more about the program. For more information, go to hudsonalpha.org.

Images provided by HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology.