Skyline College Biomanufacturing hosted a Bioscope Grant-funded COOP class full of high school students for eight days in June 2022. The Students completed training in operating biotechnology equipment and techniques that will help them shine in the workforce. They produced media plates for growing bacteria, which aided them in learning GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices), sterility during production, and quality control.
In addition to the summer COOP, Skyline College hosted students from around the country who attended the National Student Leadership Conference (NSLC), another summer program that introduced students to biotechnology. The NSLC rented the Biology labs from Skyline College and hired over 70 students to help run the labs – an exciting experience for all of them. In addition to developing leadership skills as technicians, students were able to develop support skills as well, proud to have been able to introduce other students to the program and give them a positive impression of Skyline College.
The Biomanufacturing program is also off to an exciting start this fall. As part of the Bioscope grant, students manufactured products as varied as root beer and bacteria cultures for Microbiology classes as well as prepared slides and YM agar plates suitable for the growth of yeast to be used during the research project their Biology majors class. Students had fun sampling certain parts of their skin and growing the sample on their media plate which they then examined under the microscope by creating gram stains and using laboratory equipment, allowing them to see the different types of organisms that live on fingers, arms, and noses.
To learn more about the Biomanufacturing program and the Biomanufacturing Club, all are invited to attend meetings every Friday from 9 a.m. to noon. where students find a supportive community and an amazing program that sets them up for success.
Article by Khaledh Tahan and Kevin Recinos Gonzalez, Student Project Coordinators for the Bioscope Grant in Biomanufacturing at Skyline College.
The Bioscope Grant is meant to give students the opportunity to get real work experience in classrooms.
