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August 17, 2004
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Mike Andrei
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FIPSE Awards Daemen $214,596 Grant for Biotechnology in Healthcare
International Initiative Includes Two Additional U.S. Colleges, Three European Universities
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The Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) in the
U.S. Department of Education has awarded a $214,596 grant to the Natural Science Department at Daemen College for Biotechnology in Healthcare. The colleges will work with three European partners: Athlone Institute of Technology, IE; Umwelt-Campus Birkenfeld, University of Trier , DE ; and Central Ostrobothnia Polytechnic, FI. Under the guidance of Daemen Professor of Chemistry Dr. Kathleen Murphy, the program will develop a model for a one semester international exchange of science students.
The curriculum will involve coursework in traditional areas of science coupled with study of related areas of biotechnology, within the context of wound care management. Thirty-eight pecent of the total cost of the program is funded by FIPSE, with the remaining sixty-two percent funded by Daemen College, Pitzer College, and New College of Florida. The Biotechnology in Health Care initiative activities begin September 1, 2004 and extend to August 31, 2007. Wound treatment is a central focus of the Daemen College Natural and Health Sciences Research Center. This project fulfills a key tenet of the Daemen Mission: developing creative and innovative ways of expanding global consciousness among Daemen students. This initiative will provide students in Daemen's natural sciences, physical therapy, and nursing departments with expanded study and research possibilities. Daemen College President Dr. Martin J. Anisman said, "Wound care management is a pressing international problem from both societal and economic viewpoints, presenting a difficult, varied scientific challenge. With this unifying health care issue, Daemen College, and our project partners, will promote the understanding of the diverse scientific and international approaches to health care to students involved in this initiative." Daemen Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Edwin G. Clausen added, "Through the combination of the joint course, chosen scientific coursework, and opportunities for participation in undergraduate biotechnological research projects, students in this new program will apply basic science principles from the standard curriculum to an international healthcare issue while progressing towards their degree. Each student will also be encouraged to take one or more courses in the local history or language of the host country to add to their understanding of its people and culture, which we believe is critical to developing a global perspective." Each student in the wound care management program will be asked to construct an electronic learning portfolio of their experience, which will act as both a learning tool for the integration of the cultural and scientific perspectives, and an assessment tool. Formal agreements for credit recognition of the courses, as well as the necessary financial components needed for each institution, will be achieved by the end of the first year of the grant. In addition, the joint course modules and a rubic of learning objectives for the joint course reflecting its interdisciplinary nature, as well as guidelines for the student learning portfolios for the exchange experience will be developed. The exchange of students will take place in the second and third years of the grant; the joint course will then be offered electronically from the lead institutions each semester, but will also utilize a biweekly chat room and laboratory exercises at the host institution. |