It has been a busy few week for two of our biotechnology Biomanufacturing coordinators, Shabnam F. and Khaledh Tahan. First, they traveled to the brand-new Smart Labs building in South San Francisco on March 3, 2023, at 750 Gateway Blvd. According to them, the tour was “thrilling!” The Smart Labs new building as at the epicenter of biotechnology in SSF. Khaledh and Shabnam attended the inauguration event for the new building and represented Skyline College Biomanufacturing. Smartlabs is a business that creates various labs for the life science industries. They have a modular set up that can be altered according to the requirements of that individual lab in terms of size, area, and service needs. The company, Smartlabs, is national and has facilities on the East and West Coasts, Smartlabs promotes itself as a laboratory and as a service provider. It offers adaptable lab rooms customized to house research groups of less than 10 or more than 200 individuals. “We create and operate laboratories in previously unheard-of methods to aid research in overcoming the most challenging problems of the day.”Smartlab’s mission is to benefit health and humanity, they radically transform how the world uses lab spaces by delivering customized labs that can deploy within weeks and can grow and change as quickly as the research needs evolve for a company or startup. Their vision is to accelerate the pace of science for everyone, everywhere. Their purpose is to expedite the number of effective therapeutics available in the market when we need them and when our loved ones need them.
Khaledh and Shabnam thought this was a great networking experience and a way to see possible employers with local companies. Attending the opening gave us great insight into how it feels to work in a biotechnology company. The new labs had equipment similar to ours and we felt at home. It also helped that we were treated to great food and were able to interact with a diverse range of people who are also within the field.
Shabnam and Khaledh braved the wind and the rain to attend the Career Expo at San Mateo High School. High School students from as far away as Modesto came to hear about all the possible career training, they can do in San Mateo County. Skyline Biomanufacturing showed the prospective students how to make “MOss” bioreactors. We also discussed the Biotechnology Manufacturing Certification and AS degree. Many students and their families liked to hear that our Biomanufacturing program can lead to local jobs like in “SmartLabs” above or that students can also transfer with the degree and work towards their bachelor’s and beyond. Professor Kapp really appreciates that that the students not only do their classes, projects and homework but that they give back and interact with our local community.
Article and Pictures by Khaledh Tahan
