The Amgen Biotech Experience is celebrating its 30^th anniversary this month. Since 1990, ABE has empowered secondary school science teachers around the world to implement real-world biotechnology labs in their classrooms, providing teacher training, curriculum materials and research-grade equipment at no cost.

By Ann-Marie Barry, ABE Ireland technical support specialist

On Monday 29th June we ran an online teacher training workshop to try out ABE Ireland’s new material on bioinformatics with two wonderful teachers and their great students. 

We were delighted to work with our partners in the National Institute of Biotechnology Research & Training (NIBRT) to facilitate a visit to the ABE Ireland site in University College Dublin by 6 pupils on the 2020 NIBRT Transition Year programme. 

The ABE Ireland team were delighted to partner again this year with the Junior Cycle for Teachers Support Service led by Aine Woods and her team.  The global theme for STE(A)M in Junior Cycle 2020 is ‘SOLUTION GENERATION’ and the premise is to empower young people to think, choose and innovate in ways that will enhance and sustain our communities into the unknown tomorrow.

ABE teacher, Emily Collison from Oatlands College got in touch with the ABE team to ask if she could bring 24 pupils from two 5^th year biology classes on a visit to us on the UCD campus to see first-hand what our researchers do.