Hands-On Biotech Opens Doors for Students in Ireland
September 22, 2026
Every year, secondary school students studying biology from schools across Ireland take part in an Advanced Genetics workshop at University College Dublin (UCD) through ABE. Students explore genetic engineering and biology through hands-on experiments, including bacterial transformation, gel electrophoresis, and micropipetting. The activities give…
Have an ABE story to share?
Tell us about your classroom experiences, program updates, events, and accomplishments.
It's STEM Discovery Week, and ABE is in Dublin, Ireland, for our annual meeting, working to strengthen the biotech experience for students and teachers around the world. Our Director Rebecca Lewis discusses how global efforts to broaden biotech training start with just one teacher: Putting modern-… Read More
The ABE annual meeting in Dublin was a terrific success, bringing together teachers, site directors, coordinators, and lab technicians, to help chart future paths for the biotech experience worldwide. Here are just a few highlights from the three-day event: Day 1: ? Day in Ireland ??. Here for… Read More
In Hong Kong and much of the broader East Asia area, the educational system is highly focused on exams. Teachers have their hands full just trying to prepare their students for the intense testing that occurs. Lab time is often reserved only for after school extracurricular activities. But some… Read More
Counting bubbles of oxygen to measure the rate of photosynthesis, estimating the population size of an organism using quadrats – these are some of the bioscience activities Karen Stephens remembers from when she was in secondary school. And despite the dramatic progress in biology over the past… Read More
China recently announced a new strategic plan, stipulating that the biotechnology sector should exceed 4% of gross domestic product by 2020, with 10 to 20 biomedical parks, valued at more than $1.5 billion (US). It’s one of many recent new developments to accelerate biotech research in China, and… Read More
For almost half of his life, Dr. David Mangus worked as a research scientist. He loved working in the laboratory, trying to figure out how things work, designing experiments, and learning new things. As his own children started to grow, Dave began volunteering in their classes and schools,… Read More
With nearly 15 years of dancing under her belt, Kimberly Piper had hopes of one day joining the Boston Ballet – that is, until she took ABE during a high school AP biology class. Kim, not only an accomplished ballerina, but avid runner, had always been curious about science, although that mainly… Read More
"ABE was my only encounter with hands-on activities in science class which allowed me to actually experience the science and personally relate to the lessons." From an early age Randall Chin knew he wanted to pursue a scientific career. Advanced Placement biology was his favorite subject. But, he… Read More