Preparing students for an international biotechnology workforce

This entry is related to my presentation at the Bio-Link Community College Day Program at BIO 2016 in San Francisco. I was part of forum on “International Biotechnology Workforce Collaborations: What was learned or will be learned or will be shared, and how to get involved. The essence of my presentation is attached to this blog post as an Adobe file.  I have work experience in the biotechnology industry which involved some of the earlier attempts at globalization. The company I worked for bought up some foreign companies as well as outsourced labor and materials from emerging economy countries.  After I became a biotechnology professor, I continued my industry collaborations by consulting on biotechnology training and workforce development.  The consulting ramped up after doing “Biotechnology on Shoestring” workshops at the BIO International Conventions in collaboration with the National Association of Biology Teachers and the Biotechnology Institute in Washington DC.  By visiting vendor booths at the BIO International Convention exhibit hall. Most important were my visits to the exhibits that represented international biotechnology development organizations.  The representatives at the booth were very willing to share ideas about the emerging global biotechnology market and the workforce factors that determine the success of biotechnology industry growth.  My visits to the booths of foreign corporations provided direct insights into what is needed of their industry sector employees.  This led me into the world of global workforce training consulting which took me to Bangladesh, Canada, China, India, Mexico, and Philippines.  I would like to pose you with some questions that I would like you to respond to:

1. What do you do in your teaching that prepares your students for a global biotechnology workforce?
2. What are your strategies for preparing students for the possibility of international travel and collaboration that may be part of their job duties?
3. How do you learn about global trends in biotechnology that may affect how you teach biotechnology in your programs?