140+
college biotechnology programs
Programs become easier for students, educators, and partners to find and compare.
About InnovATEBIO
A national center advancing biotechnology technician education.
InnovATEBIO provides leadership for biotechnology workforce education, supporting educators, programs, students, employers, and state partnerships as they prepare highly skilled technicians.
Austin, TX
National center home at Austin Community College
DUE 2349809
Current NSF Advanced Technological Education center grant
5 years
National center funding cycle
6
Leadership organizations and locations represented
Mission
Advance the people and programs behind the biotechnology workforce.
InnovATEBIO works to advance the education of highly skilled technicians for the nation's biotechnology workforce.
The center supports the development and sharing of best practices, emerging technologies, and workforce-development approaches that help biotechnology technician education keep pace with industry needs.
Ecosystem
InnovATEBIO is the connector between education, industry, and opportunity.
Programs, faculty, hubs, resources, employers, students, ATE projects, and state teams move through the same national network, each strengthening the pathways around biotechnology education.
Programs
College biotech programs
Degree and certificate programs prepare technicians and keep regional workforce pathways visible.
Open pathEducators
Faculty and K-12 teachers
Instructors share curriculum, professional development, mentoring, and classroom-ready practices.
Open pathLearning
Resources and articles
The knowledge library keeps articles, courses, videos, reports, and teaching resources findable.
Open pathHubs
Regional and topic hubs
Hubs focus community effort around biomanufacturing, high school pathways, careers, and entrepreneurship.
Open pathWorkforce
Employers and industry partners
Industry partners share skill needs, support work-based learning, and help programs stay current.
Open pathScale
State teams and ATE projects
State partnerships and ATE projects turn local models into broader biotechnology workforce ecosystems.
Open pathNational connector
InnovATEBIO National Center
Discover programs
Connect people
Share resources
Strengthen workforce pathways
Impact
The network turns shared knowledge into workforce capacity.
Impact should be visible as both reach and outcomes: the number of programs, schools, projects, and resources matters because each one gives students, faculty, and employers a clearer path into biotechnology.
130+
K-12 partner schools
Early biotechnology pathways connect high school learning with college and career options.
40+
active ATE biotechnology projects
Project work, mentoring, and shared practices move across the national community.
500+
articles and community stories
The archive preserves teaching ideas, program models, research examples, and network updates.
Impact story
The strongest case is not just scale. It is connection.
InnovATEBIO's value shows up when a student finds a program, a faculty member finds a teaching model, an employer shares skill needs, or a state team turns local momentum into a broader pathway.
See program reachStudents see where training leads.
Program discovery, career stories, certificates, and pathway content help learners understand biotechnology as an accessible career direction.
Faculty build stronger programs.
Educators can find professional development, curriculum examples, undergraduate research models, and peers working on similar challenges.
Employers shape relevant skills.
Industry needs feed back into programs through work-based learning, advisory connections, and emerging-technology conversations.
States scale what works.
State teams, hubs, and ATE projects help local wins become regional and national workforce education models.
Center footprint
A national center with leadership across the country.
The center is located at Austin Community College, with leaders based at community colleges, education organizations, and biology education partners in North Carolina, New York, Washington, and California.
National center location
Austin Community College
Austin, Texas
Center leadership
Forsyth Technical Community College
North Carolina
Center leadership
Finger Lakes Community College
New York
Center leadership
Digital World Biology
Washington
Center leadership
DNA Learning Center
New York
Center leadership
BABEC
California
Goals
Three priorities make the mission actionable.
Goal 01
Sustain, grow, and empower biotechnology educators.
Maintain the national website, expand the program database, strengthen network services, and broaden public awareness of biotechnology careers and technician education.
- Maintain and expand web, program, and educator support services
- Develop a hub governance model for scalable community support
- Share outreach communications that build public awareness
Goal 02
Support faculty in educating a skilled biotechnology workforce.
Connect faculty with industry needs, professional development, hubs, ATE projects, mentoring, and emerging biotechnology learning models.
- Gather industry workforce needs
- Develop faculty professional development with hubs and partners
- Expand undergraduate research and work-based learning in emerging technologies
- Mentor ATE biotechnology projects and programs
Goal 03
Help colleges and state partnerships shape workforce education.
Clarify biotechnology career pathways, foster community college leadership, assist state teams, and broaden participation in the talent pipeline.
- Delineate pathways across high school, two-year, four-year, and credential programs
- Foster community college leadership in biotechnology workforce education
- Assist state teams developing biotechnology workforce ecosystems
- Broaden participation in the biotechnology talent pipeline
Funding
Supported by the National Science Foundation.
Current support
InnovATEBIO is supported by NSF DUE 2349809, a five-year Advanced Technological Education national center grant.
Previous support
The center was previously funded by NSF DUE 1901984, helping establish the national biotechnology education network.