Previous Events
Finishing the PDIs cycle with teachers from the Regional Education Office North 1, we received them in a third visit to our lab, to do the bacteria transformation activity and the flex lab "Which dog ate my homework". At the end of our day, we finished with a conversation about their experience throughout our PDIs, and we took the opportunity to schedule school visits for their students during the next months.
Continuing our professional development path with teachers from the regional Education Office North 1, this Friday, they came to our lab to learn about restriction enzymes, doing labs 2 and 4, from the Abridged Series. Also, for this PDI, we took them to the computer science lab at the University to discuss some bioinformatics resources they could use with their students in high school. This has also been an opportunity for teachers to better explore LabXchange and understand how they can create classes and manage student activities from there.
We have recently partnered up with NGO Caritas Santa Suzana - an institution connected to the Catholic Church, which aims to improve education and access to the job market among students who live in one of the biggest urban communities in São Paulo.
With this partnership, we aimed to offer these students information and practical experiences about biotechnology while offering them a recapitulation of the content about genetics and molecular biology that is covered in our national curriculum. This experience was developed through our visits to the NGO, where students usually have classes, and their visits to Mackenzie University, where they could use the lab and try the practical experiences.
We finished this initiative by taking our interns to talk to the students about how to access higher education and sharing personal experiences about what it is to be a student at a university.
The public school system in Brazil is organized in State Departments of Education, and these are supported by regional Education Offices. In São Paulo City, there are 13 Education Offices and, one of those - North 1 - partnered up with us to disclose our PDIs for their teachers and invite them to our events.
In total, there are 21 teachers participating in a cycle of 3 PDIs that will cover the Abridged Series of Fundamentals of Biotechnology. This week, we had the first of these events. Teachers were received with a small lunch, and then we proceeded to the lab, to present them what ABE is and train them in the Introduction to Biotechnology Lab.
Volunteer staff members of Amgen Brazil came to the university last Monday to talk to high school students about career possibilities and share their perspectives on the moment of choosing a higher education program to enroll.
Most of the students we have been receiving in ABE Brazil do not have a clear perspective about higher education - its importance, how to access a university, and what course to choose. Having a moment to listen to people coming from different backgrounds and who today have a role in an important pharmaceutical company brings them new hopes, dreams, and perspectives. Some of them end up asking if they can have an intership at Amgen, and others leave inspired to learn more about universities and other fields of study, even if outside the biological and pharmaceutical field.
During this whole week, the Biology course at Mackenzie University held a series of events, fostering science education and the professional development of undergraduate students. This set of events also envolved ABE Brazil, and we took the opportunity to receive 2 schools in our campus.
On Monday, we received 65 students from years 10 to 12 of School Ordania Janone Crespo, located in the neighboring city of Santo Andre. And on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, we received 30 students from year 11, who are taking the Pharmaceutical Technician course at School Paulo Egydio. These students have completed the Abridged Series of Fundamentals of Biotechnology with us, while the previous ones had taken the Introduction to Biotechnology activity.
Altogether, it was an agitated week for the schools and for our team, and we are glad to have contributed to the education of these pupils.
Mackenzie School invited us to lead short workshops with their elementary school groups as part of their Science and Literature Week.
This was an opportunity for small children to get their first contact with biotechnology, handling advanced lab equipment, like the micropipettes.
To bring a joyful approach to these workshops, we chose the Dog Drool extension activity as our main practice, and we used the adaptation for paper chromatography we learned from Drew Spacht, from ABE Central Ohio.
The activities started in the school`s auditorium, with some children being invited to come up the stage and help us investigate the “drool” from our four dogs, and then we gave a kit with a disposable pipette, a “sample from the crime scene”, and filter paper and plastic cups for the teachers to finish the investigation in their classrooms. In total, there were 392 children, spanning from grades 1 to 5, and 16 teachers impacted by this event.
This November, we reunited a diverse group of 6 teachers, from 4 different schools, and who teach different subjects. We are encouraging all teachers, regardless of their original background, to learn about ABE. This is a great way to disseminate the project across schools and to integrate biotechnology to the curriculum as a full experience, discussing not only the scientific content related to Biology and Pharmacology but also all elements behind how Science is and has been produced through History. Working together with Arts and Physical Education teachers, we take the chance to discuss the role of creativity and motor coordination for the work of a Scientist.
Teachers learning about the equipment we use during our activities
On June 18 and 21, Year 11 students from Escola Estadual Paulo Egydio de Oliveira Carvalho Senador visited the university to participate in a training session under the Amgen Biotech Experience program.
The content covered included instructions on the use and care of micropipettes, and the students learned the importance of precision in handling this equipment through fun activities carried out on the Elisa plate, agarose gel, and laminated paper. In addition, the concept of electrophoresis was explained, as well as its practical applications and the importance of this technique for biotechnology. The students also had the opportunity to perform electrophoresis in practice and, at the end of the event, observe the results of their samples running in the electrophoresis tank.
It was two mornings of lots of fun and learning!
We would like to thank all the students from the school for their attendance and we are immensely grateful for all the affection left on the exit tickets. We hope to see you exploring science even further in the future. Keep dreaming big!
Students loading dye samples onto an ELISA plate
On June 13 and 20, we received at Mackenzie University teachers from Ordânia Janone Crespo Full-Time School and one teacher from Batista Brasileiro School to conduct the Amgen Biotech Experience program training.
Combining a fun and charming experience with a lot of educational content, this training was highly praised and appreciated by the teachers. They had the opportunity to learn and review the basics of laboratory work, as well as learn how to handle equipment that had not been explored in their initial education. The content was divided into two parts: on the first day, teachers were introduced to micropipettes and electrophoresis and prepared agarose gels. On the second day, after a tour around the Mackenzie Presbyterian University campus, teachers practiced the pipetting techniques learned on the first day, performed an electrophoresis experiment, and participated in an activity to explore plasmids and their various applications in the health field.
These were days of lots of conversation, lots of experience sharing, lots of learning and lots of fun!
We are very grateful for everyone's presence and we hope to see you again soon!
Teachers gathered after one of our training sessions