Foothill College and its partners are developing a four-year curriculum development project in advanced technology education entitled "Cases in Industry Practice in Biotechnology" (CIPB) to address the critical need for a trained workforce in the rapidly expanding biotechnology industry in the United States. In active partnership with local industry, the project is first developing an on-line infrastructure that permits industrial partners to participate in the development of biotechnology instruction; this infrastructure is then being utilized to develop three casebooks containing six industry-based teaching cases that help students in biotechnology programs gain practical insights into the skills required for research and development, intellectual property, manufacturing, production, quality assurance/quality control, and clinical studies. These materials are being used in classrooms at the high school, community college, and university levels with over l OO,OOO students nationwide and are suitable for use within industry employee training programs. This project addresses the two most significant shortcomings in contemporary biotechnology education programs: a lack of active involvement from industry participants in the instructional process itself, and a dearth of high quality biotechnology education curriculum materials. The unique time and resource limitations that characterize the workforce of young biotechnology companies make it necessary to explore a variety of methods for getting industry involvement and buy-in into the biotechnology education process. Core partners in this effort include representatives from industry and education. By preparing students with the requisite biotechnology workplace skills--beyond biotechnology content knowledge--the project's materials promote a wide range of career opportunities in the field for high school, community college, and university students nationwide.
