Mitsubishi: Enhancing Accessibility of Career Guidance Digital Platforms for Students with Modified Curricula

Project Name

Building a Better Bioeconomy: Including Students with Disabilities in Career Guidance in Biomanufacturing

Project Description

With funding provided by the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation, CAST is refining a web-based ePortfolio and simulated work-based learning experiences to broaden the participation of persons with disabilities in biomanufacturing. The curriculum will be implemented in CTE classrooms that offer dual enrollment options.

In the short term, we will employ user-centered co-design activities to enhance existing work-based learning simulations, develop a prototype training program, and test the feasibility of the training program resources. Our co-design sessions will include students with disabilities, special education and CTE teachers, and educators involved in dual enrollment programs.

Highschool students in a science class setting, mixing test tubes.

The longer-term expected impacts of this work include:

Adoption of these accessible, universally designed, and publicly available resources.
Students with disabilities being better positioned to benefit from the shift away from degree-based hiring towards skills-based hiring.
A strong model for creative, inclusive career guidance in STEM industries.

To learn more about our biomanufacturing career exploration website, check out Biofab Explorer here.

Timeline

2024-2026

Funder/s

Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation

Contact

For more information about this project, please email Alison Kent.