Mentoring students and helping teachers across the globe

Mentoring students: Each year, the Novartis NetPals program pairs up forty Novartis scientists from Cambridge 7th grade students from Cambridgeport Elementary School for a five-month mentoring program. Netpals meet face to face at least three times during the four month long program and correspond regularly via email. 

“In our neighborhood schools today are the scientists of tomorrow, but many find the field irrelevant. The impact of science on drug discovery means we must help to engage these students…”
Mark Fishman, President of NIBR

Helping teachers to advance: Each spring, the renowned Boston Museum of Science  holds a biotech symposium to highlight best practices in high school science teaching, with NIBR as the symposium's lead sponsor. In 2004, NIBR went a step further, partnering with the Museum of Science to create an international exchange program enabling science teachers from the US and Europe to share ideas for developing innovative instructional materials and approaches for teaching biotechnology at the high school level.