Four ×ö°®ÊÓƵ students joined bioscience industry leaders and innovators at the recent to talk trends, biotech talent, and career exploration.
Given the summit’s emphasis on future generations, Concordia promoted its new biosciences major there.
“The curriculum of the biosciences major is intentionally designed to serve as excellent preparation for the bioscience industry or admission to graduate programs across related disciplines,” said Dr. Julie Mach, chair and associate professor of chemistry at Concordia, who spoke at the conference.
The new biosciences major currently has a pharmacy concentration but will have additional concentrations such as biotechnology implemented into the curriculum.
This announcement came on the heels of Concordia’s $2.5 million National Science Foundation grant to aid students interested in biotechnology. The college has created the Concordia Leads: Instructing and Mentoring in Biotechnology program to offer students exposure to the biotechnology industry beyond the classroom.
Delia Denis ‘27 was one of the Concordia students to attend the Career Exploration Event at the Bioscience Summit. Denis is an environmental and sustainability studies major with a concentration in natural sciences and minors in German and pre-engineering.
“My biggest takeaway from the conference was how vast the opportunities are in bioscience, not to mention how many of these options are just about helping people in new, easier ways,” she said.
Denis is also a member of the newly implemented CLIMB program.
“I am hoping to get a head start on internships and networking opportunities through this program, as well as extra STEM help,” she said. “It’s also nice to have a community of STEM students who are all reaching for the same thing.”
Written by Alyssa Czernek '25