March 31, 2008

A spoonful of DNA

A spoonful of DNA

Talk of a high-tech economy can summon fears that every worker will need an advanced degree to avoid flipping burgers.

Talk of a high-tech economy can summon fears that every worker will need an advanced degree to avoid flipping burgers.

But Central New Mexico Community College's biotechnology program is one piece of evidence to the contrary. As the program illustrates, there is plenty of need for workers with specialized, but brief, training to do the hands-on work of science and engineering.

Kathie Winograd, president of the college, sees its biotech program, like its photonics technology program, as just another response to work force needs -- just like the needs that power the truck driving or culinary arts programs.

"CNM is historically committed to trying to make sure we develop programs that support the economy of Albuquerque and central New Mexico," Winograd said. "We do needs assessments with our community, identifying those areas that will be hiring."

In the college's region, the strongest driver for biotech employment is basic science research, with leading employers including the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute and the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. However, the skills students develop prepare them for a wide variety of industries. The community college in Oklahoma City, for instance, focuses its biotech program on agricultural science.

 

Please read the complete article at The New Mexico Business Weekly.