BiotechBuilder is a proven curriculum that prepares students for purposeful and wealth-building career pathways in biotechnology, biomanufacturing, and synthetic biology.
Developed in partnership with industry-leading companies, BioTechBuilder is a complete solution for educating a future-ready workforce that will solve some of the world’s greatest challenges with life science.
Benefits of BioTechBuilder:
- Comprehensive Curriculum. Our “biotechnology-in-a-box” curriculum teaches essential lab skills and foundational approaches to DNA and protein analysis, biomanufacturing, and synthetic biology.
- Industry-Recognized Certifications. BioTechBuilder prepares students for stackable microcredentials assessed and granted by the Bioscience Skills Core Institute (BCSI), documenting their readiness for entry-level positions in the biotech industry.
- Hands-on Learning. Accessible and engaging modules build scientific understanding and student confidence through at-the-bench training, lab practicals, and peer-to-peer learning.
- Resources for Teaching with Confidence. The BiotechBuilder program includes all the resources needed to cover each aspect of classroom instruction with ease, even if you don’t have a background in biotechnology. From slide decks to formative and summative assessments to pre-lab activities, BioTechBuilder has you covered.
Think of BioTechBuilder as a complete yearlong biotechnology course in a box.
BioTechBuilder consists of 3 modules of curriculum and/or hands-on activities, available together or individually, to meet the unique needs of your classroom and students. With curriculum powered by our easy-to-use Carolina Science Online® platform and kits built with the high quality you expect from Carolina® Kits, modules are available as a classroom or institution licenses to accommodate the size of your program. Each curriculum module combines 45-minute lessons and lab training, preparing students for professional certifications and microcredentials. The corresponding hands-on lab kit modules provide all the consumable materials needed to perform hands-on lab experiments and practicals. Interested in implementing this CTE program or Professional Development to support faculty teaching BiotechBuilder? Our team can help you design a program for your district for larger implementations.
The Modules of BiotechBuilder are:
Module 1: Lab Skills
Introduces essential lab concepts and techniques.
Topic 1: Building a Solid Foundation. 4 Lessons, 1 Lab Practical.
Students learn the fundamentals of lab safety and documentation as they work toward independently weighing solid chemicals and responding to chemical spills.
BCSI Microcredential Alignment:
Essential credentials: Lab Safety & Hazard Assessment; Numeracy.
Topic 2: Making Solutions. 8 Lessons, 2 Lab Practicals.
Students learn the math and procedures used to prepare and dilute solutions, and measure and adjust pH; they use heat and aseptic techniques where needed.
BCSI Microcredential Alignment:
Essential credential: Small Volume Metrology. Advanced credentials: Instrumentation–pH; Preparation of Solutions; Quantitative Skills.
Topic 3: Growing Cells. 4 lessons, 2 Lab Practicals.
Introduces students to methods for culturing bacteria on solid and liquid media and the use of a spectrophotometer and plating to measure viability.
BCSI Microcredential Alignment:
Essential credential: Aseptic Technique.
Module 2: Foundations
Uses a molecular framework to introduce techniques in DNA and protein analysis.
Topic 4: Analyzing DNA. 12 lessons, 3 quizzes, 2 Lab Practicals.
Introduces students to DNA techniques used in modern biotechnology including DNA isolation, PCR, restriction digest analysis, gel electrophoresis, and sequencing. This topic reinforces solution preparation and lab math, micropipetting, and documentation.
BCSI Microcredential Alignment:
Essential credentials: Numeracy; Small Volume Metrology; Aseptic Technique. Advanced credentials: Preparation of Solutions; Quantitative Skills.
Topic 5: Analyzing Proteins. 14 lessons, 2 quizzes, 3 Lab Practicals.
Students express and analyze a protein of interest. Hands-on experiments unify and apply content related to gene expression, protein induction, enzyme activity, protein concentration measurements, and separation techniques including column chromatography and SDS-PAGE.
BCSI Microcredential Alignment:
Essential credentials: Numeracy; Small Volume Metrology; Aseptic Technique. Advanced credentials: Preparation of Solutions; Quantitative Skills.
Module 3: Applications
Introduces industrial biotech applications and commercialization practices.
Topic 6: Biomanufacturing. 14 lessons, 3 quizzes, 3 Lab Practicals.
Explores the life cycle for production and manufacturing of bioproducts, including upstream processing, downstream processing, GMP, and quality control. The labs include seed train process, viability assays, and product activity tests while students document their work with batch records.
BCSI Microcredential Alignment:
Essential credentials: Numeracy; Small Volume Metrology; Aseptic Technique; SOP & Documentation. Advanced credentials: Preparation of Solutions; Quantitative Skills; Hemocytometer.
Topic 7: Synthetic Biology. 20 lessons, 3 quizzes, 3 Lab Practicals, 1 project.
Students explore each stage of the engineering "design-build-test-learn" cycle, first using existing BioBuilder® kits and then through the application of BioBuilder's abstraction hierarchy to design a novel biotechnology project. Lab skills focus on microbial culturing, transformation of both bacteria and yeast, and measurement of cellular outputs.
BCSI Microcredential Alignment:
Essential credentials: Numeracy; Small Volume Metrology; Aseptic Technique. Advanced credentials: Preparation of Solutions; Quantitative Skills.
Available as curriculum and/or kits by module for classrooms and institutions.
BiotechBuilder is aligned with industry recognized microcredentials from the Bioscience Core Skills Institute (BCSI). Completion of the BioTechBuilder program prepares students with the knowledge and skills necessary for obtaining microcredentials from BCSI for use to obtain employment in the biotechnology workforce. Microcredentials are certifications that accurately, reliably document an essential competency. This allows students and employees to acquire abilities directly aligned with skills-based hiring and employment practices. Especially in the biosciences sector, possessing a credential in areas such as aseptic technique, small volume metrology, and standard operating procedures can prepare students for rapid entry into the workforce.
Looking for CTE standard alignment? Click this link to view how BioTechBuilder is aligned to MA CTE Chapter 74 Biotech Framework (2014).
