This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. Regarding AIDS: Project description The purpose of this project will be to address INBRE objective number 4 by facilitating the """"""""enhancement of science and technology knowledge of the state's workforce"""""""" and objective number 3 by providing """"""""research opportunities for students from the undergraduate institutions, community colleges and TCU's and serving as a pipeline for these students to continue in health research careers within IDeA states"""""""". Our goal is to implement a plan that will be executed through an INBRE-Science and Technology Competence Education Core (INBRE-STCE) to provide access to academic and technical training of the respective target populations in biotechnology-based academic programs in schools and colleges, government institutes and agencies, and biopharmaceutical industries in Puerto Rico. The STCE Core is also associated to the Science on Wheels Program, coordinated by Dr. Juan Lopez-Garriga: The main purpose of the science shows activities is to maintain the link between the teachers, students and science. Both, the schools visits and the follow-up activities are held during the regular academic year through science shows and demonstrations. The university undergraduate and graduate (fellows) students visit the schools for direct contact with the teachers and pre-college students. This dual communication between the pre-college students and fellows has become the driving force for the effective implementation of the hands-on activities in science. Proposed Specific Aims: 1- establish a working communication network between INBRE PUIs and graduate-level mentoring institutions, the Puerto Rico Institute for Forensic Sciences (PR-IFS), teachers employed by the Puerto Rico Department of Education, and pharmaceutical industry representatives in Puerto Rico with the purpose of promoting respective science and technology education programs that specifically target the needs of students and workers in biotechnology-based academic programs, government agencies, and pharmaceutical industries. 2- promote and coordinate the recruitment of a minimum of 12 undergraduate and post-baccalaureate-level trainees per year to educational programs in science and technology that can lead to academic degrees, certificates of training, or new competencies by their participation in thematic technical workshops that will be targeted to the specific needs of each population. These will include undergraduate students, faculty of PUIs, and qualified B.S.-level employees from government agencies and biopharmaceutical industries in Puerto Rico. 3- provide Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) educational activities to intermediate school, high school, and vocational school students and their teachers in the 12 school districts of Puerto Rico. 4- collaborate with the local Puerto Rico Institute for Forensic Sciences and selected biopharmaceutical companies that participate in the proposed INBRE-sponsored training activities, to assess changes in productivity outcomes through the administration of pre- and post-training evaluations.
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