NIIMBL Selects Largest eXperience Program Cohort to Date

The National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL) has announced the selection of 44 college freshman and sophomores to participate in the 2023 NIIMBL eXperience Program, the largest cohort to date since the program launched in 2019. Students were selected from 34 educational institutions across the United States to attend one of three cohorts hosted at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (ACPHS) in New York, Kansas Bioscience Association (BioKansas) in the Kansas/Missouri Region, and Raritan Valley Community College in New Jersey. The program aims to introduce Black, Latinx, and Indigenous students to the biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry to ultimately increase the diversity of the school-to-industry pipeline and to build a workforce that supports and leads in innovation.  

“We are thrilled at the response and growth of the NIIMBL eXperience Program this year,” says John Balchunas, director of workforce development for NIIMBL. “This new model has given us the ability to reach more students in one year than we were able to reach in four years which translates into highly qualified and more diverse prospective candidates to fuel the biopharmaceutical talent pipeline.”

In November 2022, NIIMBL awarded over $200k to the three host sites through a request for application process earlier that year. Starting in June, the first of the three cohorts will begin and host students for a weeklong expense paid biopharmaceutical immersion program. The students will visit leading biopharma companies, tour manufacturing facilities, and receive hands-on introductions to state-of-the-art equipment. They also will become familiar with the types of organizations in the biopharmaceutical manufacturing ecosystem and the role they play in bringing life-saving treatments to patients.

“Biopharma, like many other industries, is a growing industry with more jobs than they can currently fill in most cases. We see this as an opportunity to not only help fill key roles but to also ensure a diverse workforce in the process,” added Balchunas.

The 2023 NIIMBL eXperience will be hosted as follows: June 4-10, 2023 - ACPHS in New York; June 10-16, 2023 - Raritan Valley Community College in New Jersey; July 31-August 5, 2023 - BioKansas in the Kansas/Missouri region.

To learn more about the eXperience program and get to know the 2023 NIIMBL eXperience cohort visit NIIMBL.org.