NOVA Community College Seeks Biotech Partners
Northern Virginia Community College, the nation’s 2nd largest community college with over 60,000 students, has recently begun to re-energize their Biotechnology Program in order to better respond to the needs of local industry. A Biotechnology Advisory Committee was established with representatives from local industry such as the American Type Culture Collection, Mediatech, Inc, Covance Laboratories, Bode Technology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, GlobaleMed, LLC, as well as from local high schools, George Mason University and county Economic Development representatives.
The college is currently working with this advisory committee to evaluate the needs of local industry in Northern Virginia and to revise the overall program at NOVA, currently having an Associate of Science (AS) Degree with a specialization in Biotechnology. However, NOVA is currently in the process of proposing a new curriculum track, an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) Degree in Biotechnology in which students will receive intensive laboratory skills, enabling them to enter directly into the workforce upon completion. With the help of their local industrial Advisory Committee, NOVA hopes to create a direct pipeline from its education/training facility and into the doors of the local biotech and bioscience industry. Because of the increasing need for skilled workers in Northern Virginia, NOVA recently received a $500,000 earmark from the federal government to outfit new laboratory space and further develop the Biotechnology area of study. Biotechnology labs are being updated at both the NOVA Manassas and Loudoun campuses and will house equipment and materials such as gel electrophoresis supplies, thermocyclers, and DNA analyzers capable of doing DNA sequencing as well as AFLP and microsatellite analyses.
Education and training opportunities will be created for undergraduate students, local high school teachers, and members of the local industry that may need specialized training. Dual enrollment is also being explored with local high schools. More information about Nova’s Biotechnology Program can be found at www.nvcc.edu/manassas/biotech. For direct inquires about partnering with NOVA to recruit skilled students into your workplace, please contact Dr. Johanna Weiss at jweiss@nvcc.edu.
