Partnering to Inspire Students about Science Education

5/19/2008

Bayer Minority Fellows Program

Dear Community Partners:

I am pleased to announce that on May 22 and 23, Bayer will host a two-day Bayer Minority Fellows Program in partnership with the Biotech Institute, an industry-based foundation in Arlington, Virginia. Senior scientists from Bayer will serve as mentors to ten promising graduate and post-doctoral research students as they launch themselves into the professional world.

With volunteer Bayer experts to guide them, Fellows will explore careers in the biotechnology industry, particularly research, development, and biomanufacturing. Fellows will undergo rigorous professional development in areas such as emerging technologies and industrial entrepreneurship. They will receive coaching in career-building skills including interview techniques and resume writing.

 This new program furthers Bayer’s commitment to forging new generations of talented, imaginative scientists—and to providing concrete encouragement to all students, especially those traditionally underrepresented in the sciences, to train for jobs in the exciting field of biotechnology.

In the fall of 2008, Bayer and the Biotech Institute will again partner with a two-day professional development session for 20 middle and high school teachers from East Bay public schools, particularly those in low-income communities. This session will also be held at Bayer’s Berkeley site, and tap the expertise of volunteer Bayer scientists. Local science teachers will learn hands-on techniques for teaching the quickly developing field of biotech, for which the Bay Area serves as a worldwide center.

This partnership with the Biotech Institute is part of Bayer’s Making Science Make Sense program, the company’s national initiative to improve science education at all grade levels. In addition to funding an array of science education programs, Making Science Make Sense puts Bayer volunteers into local classrooms and provides hands-on learning for budding scientists. This month, Bayer received a Public Service Award from the National Science Board “for the company’s long-standing and exemplary commitment to science public outreach, science education and science policy.”

In Berkeley, Making Science Make Sense projects have included Biotech Partners, a program founded in 1993 at Berkeley High School which educates at-risk students for careers in biotech; the Bayer Youth Science Lab, a hands-on learning center at Rosa Parks Elementary School; and a classroom volunteer program that earned Bayer employees “Volunteer of the Year, 2004” from the Berkeley Public Education Foundation.

The United States lags far behind other nations in its development of new generations of creative, dedicated scientists. With next week’s Bayer Minority Fellows Program and with every other component of our Making Science Make Sense initiative, Bayer is proud to be both a voice and an active player in overcoming this looming challenge. We look forward to working with our many distinguished colleagues devoted to advancing science education in California!

Trina Ostrander
Community Relations
Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals
800 Dwight Way, P. O. Box 1986
Berkeley, California 94701-1986
Tel: 510.705-7880
Fax: 510.705-7878