Biotech Partners

Established in California’s Bay Area 13 years ago by Bayer HealthCare and the City of Berkeley, Biotech Partners (www.biotechpartners.org) targets disadvantaged students from underrepresented groups and, through a program of hands-on in-school curriculum combined with real-world lab experience, prepares them for challenging careers in the important bioscience field.

“Years ago, Bayer recognized the potential bioscience talent pool that exists in our community, largely with students of color, and was determined to help tap it. The program is an outstanding example of an innovative industry-government-community collaboration that has benefited an entire region,” explained Deborah Bellush, Executive Director of Biotech Partners.

Biotech Partners’ summer internships allow high school students – many of whom speak English as a second language – to walk through a door that otherwise would not have been accessible to them. Many of the students have exceeded the expectations of the communities they live in and go back with a new perspective and sense of self-confidence. Since 1993, almost 700 students have participated in the program and been set on a path of learning and professional achievement. Program assessments show that students who join the program in the eleventh grade enjoy a 98 percent graduation rate, compared to the 70 percent state average.

Today, Biotech Partners’ work involves more than 35 corporate, government, education and health care partners, mainly located in the Bay Area. Still, Bayer remains unwavering in its commitment. In August 2007, the Bayer Foundation awarded a $150,000 grant to help Biotech Partners enhance the educational services it provides to Berkeley High School and Oakland’s Life Academy students, as well as community college students from Laney College.

Jack O’Connell, California’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction, praised both Biotech Partners and Bayer for its vision and longtime support, stating, “Biotech Partners is actively addressing California’s and the nation’s critical need to develop a more diverse STEM workforce and we’re extremely fortunate to have a program of this caliber in our state.”

Additional Facts About Biotech Partners

Approximately 97% of students who complete at least one year of the high school component, including the summer internship, graduate from high school. This is dramatically higher than the overall estimate of 71% in California and approximately 49% in the Oakland Unified School District.
Paid summer internships/employment opportunities are offered by Bayer Healthcare, Novartis, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, USDA, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Genentech, among others.
97% of Biotech Partners students pursue post-secondary education.
Upon completion of the program, graduates are qualified for skilled entry-level positions in the biotech field, with entry-level salaries between $35,000-$45,000/year.
Nearly all graduates seeking jobs in the bioscience arena have found employment within one month after graduation.
To date, 54% of Biotech Partners students who have enrolled at Laney College have earned a Certificate of Achievement in Bioscience, which is nearly twice the national average for similar certificate level training programs for high school graduates.

Last updated: December 2010

Bookmark this page