Summer Biotechnology Workshops for Educators

Summer Workshops offer teachers the training they need in the many areas of biotechnology, featuring hands-on activities that engage students and improve learning.  Workshops include basic introductions to the science behind biotechnology and practice techniques  with laboratory equipment.  Advanced topics workshops have included agricultural and marine biotechnology, microarray technology, and bioinformatics.  Workshops are essentially free: although a non-refundable $75 registration fee must be paid at the time of registration, all participating teachers will receive  free workshop tuition, free room and board,  CEUs and $50 per diem stipends.  Since the Program's inception in 1987, more than 1,800 North Carolina educators have successfully completed these workshops. Questions about our workshops should be directed via e-mail to Amy Black or Bill Schy. 

Teachers who graduate from summer workshops have access to follow-up support programs that enable them to bring hands-on biotechnology to their classrooms.

• Free Laboratory Supplies - Workshop graduates receive annual gift certificates for lab supplies from Carolina Biological Supply Co.  This program receives support from the Biogen Idec Foundation. 
• Lab Equipment Loans - Graduates from most Summer Workshops qualify to borrow equipment at no cost from the Center. Equipment ranging from micropipettors to thermal cyclers can be borrowed through this program for up to  two weeks. 

Through this popular professional development program for educators, any teacher in North Carolina can bring hands-on biotechnology into his or her classroom.  Only teachers who teach at an academic institution located in North Carolina are eligible for our workshops.

Workshop Features

• Participants learn about specific applications of biotechnology in ways that can captivate students and shape career choices.
• Lesson plans are provided at all workshops.
• Participants are granted access to Biotechnology Center programs that provide free lab supplies, lab equipment (depending on workshop activities) and access to a new website page devoted to Biotechnology-related multimedia resources, including streaming and downloadable videos; interactive lessons, activities, and games; key biotechnology resources; and case studies.
• Workshops address multiple objectives of the NC Standard Course of Study for high school Biology or middle school Science. Teaching staff typically include one or more outstanding college or university faculty instructors and master high school teachers who are expert at implementing biotechnology in the classroom.
• Teaching staff typically include one or more outstanding college or university faculty instructors and master high school teachers who are expert at implementing biotechnology in the classroom.

Registration Information

Registration for the summer 2012 workshops will be posted in mid-March, 2012.  Please check back here at that time to enroll in one of our summer workshops.  Be sure to register early, as these workshops do fill up quickly.  Workshop graduates receive:

• Free workshop tuition
• Free room (double-occupancy*) and board (two meals per day)
• $50 per day stipend** (you must successfully complete the workshop to receive the stipend)
• Renewal credits (CEUs). Graduate credit is not available.

* Participants may elect to lodge in single rooms, but will be responsible for the total cost of their room.

** Stipends will be mailed from the host institution within three weeks of the final day of the workshop.

Refund Policy

The $75 registration fee is refundable ONLY in the event of cancellation during the initial registration period (four weeks prior to the beginning of each workshop).

Sample Workshop Descriptions and Articles of Interest

Click here to view a small variety of workshops previously sponsored by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.  To read about our 2011 Marine Biotechnology workshop by Jim Shamp, our Senior Editor, click here.  The Concord Independent Tribune featured an interview with an 8th-grade sicence teacher, who attended the 2011 Introductory Biotechnology workshop at UNC-Charlotte.