ELKHORN, Neb. (KMTV) — Nebraska is vying for its slice of the increasingly valuable biotechnology pie.
- The state has inherent benefits, including plentiful corn and access to water.
- What's lacking? The workforce to expand. "They're looking for entry level, median level and the executive level," Rob Owen said of his Bio Nebraska members.
- Some of those members serve as industry partners with MCC's Biotech Lab, currently under construction in Elkhorn.
Continue reading for the broadcast transcript of this story.
Framing, electrical - it's all done. Drywall is next for this first-of-its-kind biotech lab in the region.
"Taking a living cell like bacteria or yeast, or a living system, and just making products that help people. And that could be humans themselves, it could be companion pets, it could be livestock, it could be the environment," Jackie Clifford, MCC Biotechnology Program Director said of the science.
She talked with Mary Nelson in what will be the gowning room when MCC's Elkhorn lab opens this fall.
It represents a collaboration between community and industry.
"Top two issues: workforce development and capital, raising money. But, workforce? They're looking for entry level, median level and the executive level," Rob Owen said of his membership.
He heads up Bio Nebraska, which has roughly 150 members including Streck, Phibro and Cargill. Metropolitan Community College is also a member, and that brings us to the increasingly familiar phrase - brain drain.
"I think, the awareness component. So, if I'm in high school and I'm really interested in science, and I don't think there's a career here for me? So, then I'm thinking, I need to leave the state to go to college because that's where the jobs are," Owen observed.
Or, he said, stay and give up on science. He believes both stifle Nebraska's potential.
A place with corn, feedstock - and access to water; inherent advantages in biotechnology.
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MCC recently received a grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation, an independent federal agency, for $770,663.
The money will be used in three areas: an associate degree, a workforce microcredential and a training program for high school students, all of which connects to the lab launch this fall.
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