Students didn't just see what Nuclea does, they got to do it.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A group of high school students took over a local company on Thursday to get firsthand experience in what a career in biotech might mean.

 

Students from Lee Middle and High School and Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School in Northampton spent a half day Thursday performing the jobs at Nuclea Biotechnologies. The trip was sponsored by the Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation, which is funded through biotech companies and the state.

 

"Some of their dues and some of our companies act as donors to our education efforts. Our goal at MassBioEd is to take biotechnology or life science education to all of the schools in Massachusetts. We focus on training teachers and developing hands on, lab based curriculum for them to take into their classrooms," said Director Michelle Mischke said. 

 

The nonprofit works with more than 200 schools to develop curriculum aligned with the employment needs of biotech companies throughout the state. The foundation is a sister to the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, a statewide consortium of companies.

 

The organization receives dues and donations from those companies but also receives some money from the state Life Science Center and the Department of Education. The Life Science Center money goes toward purchasing equipment for schools and funding trips like Thursdays.

 

"We try to bridge from the classroom to careers in the sciences so the students can see that what they are doing day in and day out in class really does have an application," Mischke said.

 

While the organization is driven heavily to helping teachers and curriculum, "we also want to get the students to see that what they do in the classroom relates to the sector here in Massachusetts," Mischke said.

 

Nuclea Biotechnologies owner Patrick Muraca volunteered to essentially shut down his company for half a day. Nuclea workers instead demonstrated and then allowed the students to try the work they do at the Elm Street facility. 

 

"We like to invest in Pittsfield and the surrounding areas, like the Pioneer Valley and Western Massachusetts, because this is where we draw from. This is our employee base. The more we get people interested in it, the more they will likely stay in the area and we can draw from it," Muraca said. 

 

Muraca says there is a tremendous need for trained workers in Berkshire County. The company has summer camps and internship programs to help mold and train prospective employees.

 

"We like to train people. We don't get people with bad habits and we train them with the Nuclea way and how we do things," Muraca said.

 

MassBioEd's efforts correspond with the local efforts. The Berkshire Innovation Center, the BIC as it is known, is expected to be constructed on the state's dime to provide companies that buy memberships access to a research and development center. The hope is that it will lead to the creation or expansion of biotech businesses.

 

Coupled with that, the city is getting closer to constructing a new Taconic High School to boost vocational education. Berkshire Community College has grown a closer relationship to Taconic's programming. The goal is to create the "pathways" for city youth to enter the science fields and grow the work force. Employers and studies have shown Berkshire County to have a lack of skilled workers to fill vacant jobs in high-tech fields.

 

"We have to invest in our future today to have the workers in the future," said state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier. 

 

"We want to really enhance our learning experiences at the high school level. It is hard to dream of what you want to be if you haven't seen it. This isn't about showing a film about possible careers, these kids are right here doing the lab work."

 

Thursday's effort is yet another way state officials and private companies say they are working toward building the industry in Massachusetts.