Amgen, a Fortune 500 company with more than 17,000 employees, is a leading international human therapeutics company in the biotechnology industry. Headquartered in Thousand Oaks, Amgen also has a research facility in South San Francisco and a showcase manufacturing facility in Fremont.
Amgen is an avid supporter of biotechnology education and has been actively involved in its promotion in the Bay Area for years. The company advocates youth education and donates equipment and supplies to a number of neighboring high schools and community colleges. It also takes an active role in supporting the need to educate the future workforce by getting intimately involved in a variety of community programs. For example, Fremont's Senior Manager of Corporate Communications, Peggy Kraus, is a member of the Biotechnology Education and Training Alliance (BETA) Advisory Committee at Ohlone College. Kraus arranges plant tours with the aid of scientists and technical personnel, so that students can begin to explore this career pathway. Amgen personnel also volunteer as guest instructors at local schools, making presentations to students, or judging bioscience contests. College instructors are encouraged to consult with Amgen on safety procedures and needed skills to enhance and update their curriculum to meet the workforce needs of this industry. And, Amgen supports summer bridge biotechnology programs for high school students at Ohlone College which has resulted in many of graduates working in the manufacturing facility in Fremont.
"Amgen is very committed to science education and fostering the growth of the biotech industry," shared Kraus. Two of Amgen programs exemplify this commitment.
The Amgen Scholars is an international program open to undergraduate students, sophomores (with four quarters or three semesters of college experience) and up. After acceptance into this program, students have the opportunity to engage in a ten-week hands-on summer research experience with researchers at some of the world's leading universities such as Berkeley, Stanford and UCSF.
The second program is the Amgen Award for Science Teacher Excellence (AASTE). Every year, six awards are given to K-12 science teachers, and each teacher receives $5,000, with an additional $5,000 going to their school. A total of 34 awards are given out each year in the U.S. and Canada.
The Bay Area is an environment that provides wonderful opportunities for careers in science; Amgen is a proud example of the biotech industry's commitment to science education and the role they play in the development of a well-trained workforce. To learn more about the CCCEWD's California Applied Biotechnology Centers and their programs, go to www.cccbiotech.org or contact Jeff O'Neal at (916) 484-8052 or onealj@cccewd.net.
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