GLOUCESTER, MA – Governor Charlie Baker and the Massachusetts Life Science Center (MLSC) announced last week $39 million in capital funding for research centers and life sciences training facilities at colleges, universities, middle schools and high schools across the Commonwealth.
The Shawsheen Valley Technical High School received a $110,000 grant through the Massachusetts Life Science Center’s STEM Equipment and Supply Grant program.
The MLSC’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Equipment and Supplies Grant Program funds the purchase of equipment and supplies for high schools and middle schools in the Commonwealth.
The program helps schools train students for life sciences careers, increase student achievement and student interest in STEM fields, and support the implementation of the state’s STEM standards.
The competitive program is open to vocational-technical high schools, public high schools and middle schools located in Gateway Cities, and public high schools and middle schools with economically disadvantaged student populations.
To date, the STEM Equipment and Supplies Grant Program has awarded more than $16.3 million to 149 different schools and organizations throughout Massachusetts, and leveraged more than $1 million in matching funds from industry partners.
“Our administration is proud of Massachusetts’s global leadership in the life sciences, and we are committed to advancing that standing, training the next generation of entrepreneurs, and connecting residents across the state to careers,” said Governor Baker. “The projects that we are announcing today demonstrate our commitment to investing in the innovation economy, supporting game-changing technological research, and creating jobs in every region of the Commonwealth.”
“These capital grants from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center deepen our administration’s efforts to build vibrant regions, from Cape Ann to the Berkshires,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. “By training middle school and high school students on state-of-the-art STEM equipment, and creating new pipelines for workforce development and scientific breakthroughs, these awards will create new economic opportunities in communities, and help build a stronger Massachusetts.”
“The MLSC continues to make major capital investments to support education and training at academic institutions across the entire Commonwealth in order to meet the workforce needs of our state’s fastest-growing industry,” said Travis McCready, President and CEO of the MLSC. “Through these resources, our academic institutions will be better positioned to connect students with job opportunities in the Massachusetts life sciences ecosystem, and our research institutions will have the infrastructure that they need to accelerate research and improve patient care.”
“One of our capital investment plan priorities is to make strategic investments in the future workforce of the Commonwealth, including STEM programs for our students,” said Administration and Finance Secretary Kristen Lepore. “By awarding these capital grants today, the administration is once again leveraging our resources to invest in the Commonwealth’s growing biotech industry.”
“Massachusetts is building the nation’s most competitive economy by investing in workforce development, and in the infrastructure of innovation,” said Housing and Economic Development Secretary Jay Ash. “By spurring new scientific breakthroughs, and improving the quality of STEM education for students across Massachusetts, these awards will help make the Commonwealth a more dynamic place to live and work, and they will equip local residents with the skills needed to retain Massachusetts’s title as the most innovative state in the nation.”
(NOTE: The above modified press release is from the Governor Baker’s Office.)
Wilmington Apple 