Overview:

- iSciWNY program
- Center of Excellence Tours
- Hauptman-Woodward Tours and High School Program

iSciWNY (www.isciwny.com) - Stay here. Go Far. Careers in Life Sciences.

"UB has introduced iSciWNY , a comprehensive, life sciences workforce development program dedicated to preparing all Western New Yorkers—not just scientists—for new positions in Buffalo Niagara’s growing life sciences industry.

UB’s iSciWNY will use workshops, training programs, an interactive Web site and a career pathways kit to demystify the life sciences industry for Western New Yorkers and prepare them for employment in this sector, whether they’re high school students looking for their first job or established professionals looking for a new challenge.

In announcing the new program, Provost Satish K. Tripathi said the region already has achieved significant growth in the life sciences and is poised for additional expansion. “This sector is becoming more and more vibrant as UB and our partner institutions leverage UB research and faculty resources to spin off new companies, help existing firms grow and attract new companies to the region. “As the industry grows, so do the jobs,” he continued. “UB’s iSciWNY is the public’s pathway to better preparation for those positions.”

Supported by generous donations from the Bank of America and Life Technologies Foundation, in combination with grants from the New York State Department of Labor, iSciWNY is available at no charge to residents of Erie, Niagara, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties through the Buffalo and Erie County Workforce Investment Board Inc. and to residents of Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties through the Genesee County Economic Development Center. The program has two emphases: education and awareness to inform people about what opportunities are available in life sciences, and training to help prepare people for those opportunities.

“The iSciWNY slogan, ‘Stay here, go far,’ means that thanks to our growing life sciences industry, Western New Yorkers can stay here and find successful careers in many more fields than the typical laboratory position pictured by most people,” LaVigne said. “It is incredibly rewarding to be involved in a career with great opportunities at all levels—in technical and non-technical jobs that offer professional advancement—while helping people live better, healthier lives because of innovative life science products and services.”

Those opportunities are already here and are growing in number, according to Thomas P. Stewart, president and chief clinical officer at Gaymar Industries Inc., an international medical products manufacturing and engineering company in Orchard Park. Gaymar expects to see moderate growth in employment opportunities over the next two years, with more significant growth taking off after that. “We have openings right now,” said Stewart, “but sometimes we have difficulty filling them because people may not have the right set of skills. That’s fixable through iSciWNY.”

A key feature of iSciWNY is its focus on changing public perceptions about life sciences, said Casey DeBruyn, training development supervisor at Grand Island’s Life Technologies, a subsidiary of the Fortune 500 global biotech company Invitrogen Inc. “When you mention life sciences, people automatically think of someone wearing safety glasses and a lab coat, and possibly having earned a PhD,” added DeBruyn, who also is an advisor and trained instructor for iSciWNY and related programs. “Scientists are part of the industry, of course, but so are thousands of other positions in business development, human resources, marketing, law, manufacturing and many others.

  
educates, raises awareness and trains people through:

- A rich, interactive Web site  that helps individuals discover what life sciences can offer them.
- An informative, eight-minute video   featuring stories from Western New Yorkers currently employed in the life sciences industry.
- Career Ladder Kits, 2,500 of which are now being distributed to each middle and high school in the eight-county Western New York region, as   well as to job training centers and communityorganizations.
- Two-hour introductory “train the trainer” workshops presented by project personnel and partner organizations so that iSciWNY “ambassadors” can then train others in using the program.
- Two-hour introductory workshops, starting in EOC and expanding into the community, where trained iSciWNY ambassadors will introduce the program to students, career changers, displaced workers and others who want to better understand and access opportunities in life sciences
- Five-week work-readiness certificate programs in life sciences offered by EOC."

(Source: Ellen Goldbaum, Senior Editor, Sciences, UB. Story published 10/7/2009: http://www.buffalo.edu/ubreporter/2009_10_07/iSci_WNY)

Center of Excellence Tours

As a public resource, the Center works to accommodate most tour requests.  Group tours are arranged for organizations/representatives from organizations focused on scientific discovery, workforce development, and/or economic development in the life sciences industry.  While we are not able to accommodate every request, the CoE is committed to helping companies, organizations, educators, and organized community members learn more about the CoE’s mission.

For more information, please contact Betsy Gang, Center of Excellence Events Coordinator at 716-881-8219.

 

Hauptman-Woodward Institute Tours & High School Program:

For more information regarding tours of the Hauptman-Woodward Institute, please click here.

The Hauptman-Woodward Institute's high school program is a unique learning experience that affords area high school students the opportunity to study evolution and bioinformatics in the laboratory of H. A. Hauptman Distinguished Scientist, Dr. William L. Duax. In the summer of 2009, 25 students from 12 high schools participated. Scheduling is tailored to the needs of the individual students. Students who are accepted into the program can work on Fridays, after school, or during part of their summer vacations. If you are a Buffalo-area high school student, and you would like to join the team working on this exciting project, contact Dr. Duax for more information at duax@hwi.buffalo.edu.

 

Visit the website to learn more at www.isciwny.com
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Events

To view the complete list of events and event details, please visit our Events page.

"Smart Solutions for Small Businesses" featuring David Oestreicher from ROI Financial Group, COE Corporate Sponsor. Click here to register.

"Ideas into Revenue: Why Starting a Company Makes Sense" featuring Dr. Thenkurussi Kesavadas, UB faculty and founder of Simulated Surgical Systems. Click here to register.

2012 Venture Forum - May 16-17, 2012, Buffalo, NY. To learn more, visit www.brightbuffaloniagara.com  

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