2008 international Conference on Biotechnology Education

June 14-19, 2008

San Diego, CA

Each year, the International Conference on Biotechnology Education integrates the Biotechnology Institute's core programs into a unique national conference that focuses on best practices, competitions, hands-on professional development sessions linked to education and skill standards, mentoring workshops, and career development for students interested in biotechnology. The conference coincides with the BIO International Convention.

How Do I Apply for the Conference?

To attend the Biotechnology Institute's International Conference on Biotechnology Education, qualified teachers and students may apply through one of the programs listed below. Click on the program for more details.

2008 International Conference on
Biotechnology Education

Programs:

National Biotechnology Teacher-Leader Program
Application Deadline: April 1, 2008
For middle or high school and two- or four-year college faculty
Planned events include Best Practices Day, hands-on sessions linked to education and skill standards, workforce training, teaching strategies, content updates and field trips to local biotech sites of interest. Participants recognized as National Teacher-Leaders are asked to conduct outreach professional development at the local, state or national level based on the Teacher-Leader Program. Participants also will have the option of attending the subsequent BIO International Convention for FREE.

Genzyme-Invitrogen Biotech Educator Award
Deadline: To Be Announced
This award recognizes exemplary teaching at the high school level that has positively impacted students’ understanding of biotechnology’s promise and challenges.

Minority Fellows Program
Deadline: Extended to March 1, 2008
For minority and indigenous undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students and faculty
Fellows are paired with industry Mentors and are introduced to the biotechnology industry and attend sessions on new and emerging technologies, mentoring, scientific content updates, and field visits to local industry and research facilities.

Dow AgroSciences-Lilly BioDreaming Poster Competition
Deadline: To Be Announced
For students grades K-12
Students are invited to submit a poster to showcase their artistic talent and their commitment to the public understanding of the promises and challenges of biotechnology.

sanofi-aventis International BioGENEius Challenge
See Regional/State Challenge Deadlines
For high school students
This annual competition recognizes outstanding research in biotechnology.

Past Conference Information

Highlights from the 2007 Conference on Biotechnology Education!

Highlights from the 2006 Conference on Biotechnology Education!

http://www.biotechinstitute.org/

Biotechnology

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Biotechnology is technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine. The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity defines biotechnology as:^[1]

""Biotechnology" means any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use."

Biotechnology is often used to refer to genetic engineering technology of the 21st century, however the term encompasses a wider range and history of procedures for modifying biological organisms according to the needs of humanity, going back to the initial modifications of native plants into improved food crops through artificial selection and hybridization. Bioengineering is the science upon which all Biotechnological applications are based. With the development of new approaches and modern techniques, traditional biotechnology industries are also acquiring new horizons enabling them to improve the quality of their products and increase the productivity of their systems.

Before 1971, the term, biotechnology, was primarily used in the food processing and agriculture industries. Since the 1970s, it began to be used by the Western scientific establishment to refer to laboratory-based techniques being developed in biological research, such as recombinant DNA or tissue culture-based processes, or horizontal gene transfer in living plants, using vectors such as the Agrobacterium bacteria to transfer DNA into a host organism. In fact, the term should be used in a much broader sense to describe the whole range of methods, both ancient and modern, used to manipulate organic materials to reach the demands of food production. So the term could be defined as, "The application of indigenous and/or scientific knowledge to the management of (parts of) microorganisms, or of cells and tissues of higher organisms, so that these supply goods and services of use to the food industry and its consumers.^[2]

Biotechnology combines disciplines like genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, embryology and cell biology, which are in turn linked to practical disciplines like chemical engineering, information technology, and robotics. Patho-biotechnology describes the exploitation of pathogens or pathogen derived compounds for beneficial effect.