Overview

The Bioscience Academic and Career Pathway (BioPath) is a partnership between the city of New Haven and Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU). BioPath is housed within the SCSU Innovation Hub, which is a unique STEM-inspired team at Southern serving students, faculty, and community members throughout Connecticut. Our mission is to advance awareness of, experiences and skill development for, and access to jobs and internships with STEM companies.

The BioPath program was established in 2015 as a result of the land development agreement that brought more STEM companies to New Haven. Since then, we have had a growing role contributing to Connecticut’s workforce development by helping to not only prepare the next generation of researchers, technicians, and scientists.

We are driven by two questions: 1) What are companies looking for AND 2) how can we help students and community members in terms of meeting those needs?

BioPath helps sustain the Greater New Haven region as a leader in STEM and Bioscience through four actions:

  1. Building Capacity through alignment of academic programs Middle – Graduate school based on industry needs assessments and consulting with school districts and other institutions of higher education
  2. Fostering Community awareness of and access to job and internship opportunities in STEM through community building events including signature events like Connecting Students and Professionals of Color and the Bioscience Careers Forum
  3. Facilitating Skill-Development and experiential learning programs through research fellowships and bootcamps led by university faculty
  4. Individualized Coaching through career-oriented conversations and professional development for students and community members throughout the Connecticut State College and University System

Why SCSU?

The Greater New Haven region is home to the second-largest cluster of biotechnology companies in New England. Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) was chosen as the lead academic institution on this initiative as a result of its longstanding commitment and support for STEM disciplines, strong connections with local high schools and regional community colleges, and prime geographic location near the heart of New Haven. 

Impacts and Services

For more information about STEM-related opportunities and partnerships at SCSU, please visit the STEM-IL page. For more information about SCSU programs in general, please visit the SCSU homepage.