Beginnings: biotechnology industry opportunities, professional readiness, and employment program

The National Science Foundation awarded Webster University $783,379 on October 1, 2025, to develop and deliver the Biotechnology Industry Opportunities, Professional Readiness, and Employment Program (BIO-PREP), a career-preparation initiative under the STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076).

BIO-PREP targets undergraduate biology, biological sciences, and chemistry majors to increase their awareness of and readiness for biotechnology careers. The program implements a biotechnology career explorations course paired with laboratory skills training and micro-credentialing, peer and alumni mentoring, internships with industry partners, and financial assistance to enable paid participation. Participants build technical skillsets, develop confidence in industry readiness, and strengthen employer connections. The award funds program evaluation to assess student career outcomes, mastery of technical skills, and development of employer-valued soft skills. Curriculum materials and project results will be disseminated to industry and education stakeholders for replication in other biotechnology-heavy regions.

Performance occurs at Webster University's Webster Groves, Missouri campus. The period of performance runs through September 30, 2028.

Abstract

The biotechnology industry opportunities, professional readiness, and employment program (BIO-prep) will serve undergraduate biology, biological sciences, and chemistry majors by increasing their awareness of and preparedness for careers in biotechnology. Students in these majors often enter university with the intention of entering healthcare fields due to familiarity with those career opportunities. This lack of awareness of the breadth of possible careers leads to a shortage of scientific workers in bioscience fields. Even when students do know of biotechnology, many are unable to leave paid jobs for unpaid summer internships. BIO-prep will allow students to understand their postgraduate career options and build the skills and confidence necessary for success; a benefit both to students and to the biotechnology sector seeking to hire qualified scientific workers. BIO-prep will implement a biotechnology career explorations course paired with laboratory skills training and micro-credentialing. These activities will enable participants to build technical skillsets, to build confidence around being prepared to work in industry and will increase connections with employers. The program will also feature peer and alumni mentoring, internships with industry partners, and financial assistance. The program will be evaluated to determine the efficacy and impact on students and their career choices, mastery of technical skills by students completing the curriculum, and development of soft skills valued by employers. This program can be replicable in other biotechnology-heavy regions, and curriculum materials and project results will be disseminated to industry and education stakeholders. The exlent program, supported by the NSF tip and EDU directorates, seeks to support experiential learning opportunities for individuals to increase their interest in and access to career pathways in emerging technology fields. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.