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February 5, 2014

Life Sciences Summer Institute (LSSI) is accepting applications through April 4 for its 2014 summer program. Now entering its 10th year of connecting high school students with paid internships at local research institutions, the LSSI program includes a one-week pre-internship “boot camp” of hands-on research experience held at Grossmont and Miramar colleges, as well as the opportunity to earn college credit from the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Extension for the boot camp course and college prep units. 

The San Diego Workforce Partnership, in collaboration with BIOCOM and Southern California Biotechnology Center at Miramar College, created LSSI in 2005 to strengthen science and math education in the region and develop a future workforce for the life sciences industry. Originally funded using seed money from a Department of Labor grant, LSSI is now fully supported and funded by the life sciences industry.  

In addition to student internships, LSSI provides a 12-day professional development program for science teachers, exposing them to a new biotechnology lab curriculum called the Amgen Biotech Experience. Half-day externships provide teachers with access to biotechnology companies in San Diego. Prior participants include Conatus, Genentech, Illumina, Life Technologies, Pfizer, Pharmatek, Pfenex, and Sapphire Energy. At the end of the course, teachers are provided access to equipment and supplies necessary to implement the new curriculum in their classroom. To date, the program has trained more than 180 science teachers across San Diego, Riverside, and Orange counties, impacting 37,000 students.

LSSI applications for high school students can be completed online and are due April 4, 2014. Click here for more information.

Businesses can participate in LSSI by hosting teachers, hiring an intern or providing student sponsorships. For more information contact Erika Aranguré, LSSI project coordinator, at Erika@workforce.org

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