College of Engineering News: Promoting Life Sciences to Local Students | College of Engineering

UMassD and Massachusetts Life Sciences Center Partner to Offer Internships to New Bedford High School Students

Pictured (L to R): Ryan Mudawar (VP Education and Workforce Programs), Dr. Tracie Ferreira (President and Associate Professor of Bioengineering), Ken Turner (President and Chief of management), & Joseph Sullivan (VP of Marketing, Communications and Community Reports)

UMass Dartmouth and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) have teamed up to offer internships to students at New Bedford High School. MLSC is an economic development and investment agency whose mission is to support the growth and development of life sciences in Massachusetts. “One of its most impactful programs is the grants given to middle and high schools to support STEM programs aimed at developing the workforce in Massachusetts,” says Dr. Tracie Ferreira, president and associate professor of bio -engineering at UMass Dartmouth. Ferreira works closely with Ryan Mudawar, Vice President of Education and Workforce Programs, to facilitate the summer internship positions offered at UMass Dartmouth.

A grant to New Bedford High School provides funds to purchase materials and resources for an annual biotechnology workshop that students can attend during the school year. These students are then eligible for a paid summer internship. Ferreira has successfully placed many high school students on internships at the University. This summer, all funded interns worked in the bioengineering lab with Ferreira with his doctoral student Merin Don Bosco. Recently, Mudawar and Ken Turner, President and CEO, Joseph Sullivan, Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Community Relations of MLSC, visited the interns at the UMassD campus.

During their visit, they met Dr Shakhnoza Kayumova, Associate Professor of STEM Education and Teacher Development at UMass Dartmouth. Kayumova’s STEM education team provides guidance to interns participating in summer programs at local elementary schools. The MLSC team also had the opportunity to hear about trainees who learned about mammalian cell culture, recombinant DNA technology, and work on drug release and biomaterials. “Two years ago, when New Bedford High contacted me and Shakhnoza, we realized that welcoming students was essential, so we got there,” said Ferreira.

Some of the high school interns will be enrolling as freshmen at UMass Dartmouth next year. Ferreira says she is excited to continue the partnership with MLSC and hopes to expand internship positions to many STEM groups on campus in the future. This is a step forward for people from underrepresented populations who might not otherwise have the opportunity to do these types of internships and might not realize that getting ‘a college degree is a possibility.

Ferreira also says it’s a way to promote the STEM workforce within the community. “I think it’s critical that UMass Dartmouth be a resource for New Bedford High School students in this program, as we are accessible but often unknown to downtown students,” she says. “The confidence that students gain by completing an internship is invaluable. Although our interns do not end up attending UMass Dartmouth, one of the main goals of this partnership is to encourage them to continue their education, which will ultimately improve the economic situation in our region.

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