The National Centre for Biotechnology Education (NCBE) is a national resource centre at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

to teach pre-university

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

in schools in the UK. It was founded in 1990.

History

It began as the National Centre for School Biotechnology (NCSB) in 1985 in the Department of Microbiology. It became the NCBE in 1990. For many years it was the only centre in Europe that was devoted to the teaching of biotechnology in schools. The Dolan DNA Learning Center had been set up in the USA. It was set up as an education project by the Society for General Microbiology, now the

Microbiology Society The Microbiology Society (previously the Society for General Microbiology) is a learned society based in the United Kingdom with a worldwide membership based in universities, industry, hospitals, research institutes and schools. It is the large ...

. Money from the

Laboratory of the Government Chemist LGC Group, formerly the Laboratory of the Government Chemist, is an international life sciences measurement and tools company. It provides the role and duties of the UK Government Chemist, a statutory role and adviser to the government. LGC al ...

set up the National Centre for School Biotechnology (NCSB). Money also came from the

Gatsby Charitable Foundation The Gatsby Charitable Foundation is an endowed grant-making trust, based in London, founded by David Sainsbury in 1967. The organisation is one of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts, set up to provide funding for charitable causes. Although the ...

. For the first five years, the UK government's DTI was involved, but from 1990 onwards wanted the organization to become self-supporting as it had to cut back on budgets. By 1992 the government provided no money for the centre.

Structure

The site was set up in former buildings of the University of Reading's Department of Microbiology.

Function

It reaches out to schools to give up-to-date information on biotechnology. Biotechnology is a rapidly evolving subject, and schools cannot keep up-to-date with all that they would be required to know. It produces educational resources. It runs the Microbiology in Schools Advisory Committee (MISAC).MISAC
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References

External links

NCBE

DNA to Darwin

Education resources from the University of Leicester

European Initiative for Biotechnology Education
{{Biotechnology 1985 establishments in the United Kingdom Biology education in the United Kingdom Biotechnology in the United Kingdom Biotechnology organizations Educational institutions established in 1985 Genetics education Science education in the United Kingdom Scientific organizations established in 1985 University of Reading

History

Structure

Function

See also

References

External links