Utah needs better bioscience education, outreach director says

Schools across the nation are failing to prepare students for pursuing biosciences in higher education, leaving many of America's high-tech jobs unfilled upon graduation.

Utah seems to be keeping above the national average in most of the core subjects taught in schools, specifically in science and life science achievement ratings, which were released this week during the Biotechnology Industry Organization international convention. The findings indicate a clear need for improved science education that incorporates the biosciences at the middle and high school levels if the country's bioscience industry sector is to remain globally competitive.

The Beehive state's rankings stayed within the high teens and low 20s on most subjects nationwide, and was on par with the national average for the number of certified teachers in science fields.

"We do well comparatively, we're OK," said Suzanne Winters, a Utah Science Technology and Research outreach director who attended the convention. "If we want to compete, I don't think OK is good enough."

Winters is heading up a collaborative project, called the BioInnovations Gateway, with the Granite School District's Technical Institute and Salt Lake Community College that is expected to be launched this summer. The idea is to give students an opportunity to work directly with USTAR business incubator companies while utilizing sophisticated equipment and getting hands-on experience.

"We need to do something to engage them," Winters said, adding that engaged learning doesn't fight so many everyday distractions as traditional classroom settings.

The most critical part of preparing students for the workforce involves understanding industry wants and needs, and Winters said the burden often falls to the employers, who require additional training after graduation, resulting in additional costs.

"The bioscience industry is a knowledge-based sector dependent upon the skills of its workers," BIO President James Greenwood said in a statement released with the state-by-state reports. "Bioscience workers are needed to conduct research, translate innovation into product development and improved health care techniques, and ultimately to manufacture biomedical and other bioscience-related products."

Bioscience corporations in America are concerned about losing their competitive edge to other countries, therefore calling for increased efforts in our schools.

Several of the best practices and programs throughout the nation are highlighted in the report, including mention of Utah science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teachers' opportunities for professional development, extended student learning, course development or other activities. Other Utah programs include the Genetic Science Learning Center at the University of Utah, SLCC's InnovaBio the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement program.

"We need to look at being more creative," Winters said. "We already have to do more with less resources. We need to get even more creative, but we can't continue what we're doing."

The study and individual state profiles are available online at bio.org/batelle2009.

E-MAIL: wleonard@desnews.com