DEARBORN – Henry Ford Community College’s biotechnology program has received a $100,000 grant from the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan to help the college make nanotechnology and microsystems training available for community college students.
The grant seeds a partnership between HFCC?s biotechnology program, the University of Michigan Lurie Nanofabrication Facility, the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network and the Southwest Center for Microsystem Education.
HFCC established its biotechnology program in 2009. The program prepares students for jobs in the growing industries of the biotechnology field. This grant will allow HFCC?s biotechnology program to implement nanotechnology and microsystems training, thereby providing students with additional career opportunities and additional pathways into high-skills careers.
?Many HFCC students are also considered ?non-traditional? because they are attending college for re-training after having lost their jobs due to the current economic climate in Michigan,? said Jolie Stepaniak, director of HFCC?s biotechnology program. ?This grant provides these students with additional skills that would allow them to return to the workforce and support the growth of nanotechnology-based industries in the region.?
Additionally, this grant makes the substantial resources of UM?s LNF available to students. It also enlists the expertise of the NNIN and SCME in developing curriculum in nanotechnology and microsystems courses and training HFCC?s Biotechnology faculty.
