What is the BioExperience?
Why is the
BioExperience
important?
We cannot predict what the next breakthrough will be. But we can prepare the next generation of researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs take advantage of these breakthroughs whatever they might be!
The growth of the Canadian bioeconomy is driven by advancements in biotechnology, which has dramatically expanded the realm of possibilities for the development of sustainable products from renewable resources.
These products include biology-based textiles to replace petrochemical polyesters and water-draining cotton, and biology-based building materials to replace highly polluting cements. This may sound utopian, but so did animal-free meats, mRNA-based vaccines and genetically engineering cancer cures just a few years ago.
Student-centred
Learning
The unique program facilitates the development of hard-to-learn “soft” skills that are aligned with evidence-based talent and skills development priorities specific to the Canadian economy, as well as field-specific competencies related to their applied research project.
How does the BioExperience work?
There is consensus among bioeconomy employers, including academic and non-academic scientists, that Canada's post-secondary graduates lack essential ‘soft skills’: such as problem-solving, collaboration, communication, adaptability, and interpersonal relations.
These skills are difficult to acquire through undergraduate programs that rely on conventional instructor-led, didactic teaching methods.
​The BioExperience is a unique talent and skills development program where students work in teams to define their own goals and develop their own ideas and problem-solving strategies to achieve these goals. In this student-centered, project-based learning approach, students work together to construct a learning environment that reflect their individual interests, needs, and strengths, and rely on the collective knowledge and abilities to solve an applied research challenge.
The challenge is chosen by students' interests and career goals, is presented to the team by a community partner, the team 'client', which can be a biotech start-up or established business, a government or non-government organization, an academic or non-academic research labs, or any other BioGroupe Canada partner with a meaningful unsolved bioeconomy-related problem that motive and inspire students.