Search | Menu Madison College Boosts the Future of Wisconsin’s Visionary Biohealth Hub
Madison College is poised to be at the center of Wisconsin’s emerging biohealth hub.
Last year, U.S. President Joe Biden designated Wisconsin a Regional Technology and Innovation Hub. Madison College, along with 15 public and private consortium members, collaborated to get the state designation and vie for up to $75 million in federal money to boost innovation.
Leading a vibrant coalition of employers, sister technical colleges and other post-secondary education and training providers, workforce boards, labor union relationships, and community-based organizations, Madison College is poised to launch our Actualized BioHealth Career Pathways (ABC Pathways).
The proposal, created with the help of a $350,000 grant, relies on data and employer-driven requests that forecast success with a focus on radiologic and advanced medical device manufacturing technologies.
As a component project of the overall Tech Hub consortium proposal, Madison College, with its partners Employ Milwaukee, Milwaukee Area Technical College, Workforce Development Board of South Central Wisconsin, and the Universities of Wisconsin system, are vying for up to $14 million in grants to be announced this summer.
Imagine the future of biohealth: personalized medicine boosted by image-guided therapies and “theragnostics” that diagnose and treat cancer patients with radioactive materials. It’s exciting advances in healthcare, and Madison College is part of it; helping people and communities get the healthcare they need.
The ABC Pathways Vision
ABC Pathways’ fortified effort aims to deepen employer engagement, place a strong emphasis on bringing good paying jobs to underrepresented communities, broaden awareness of career opportunities, expand training pathways, and remove barriers for training participation in biohealth occupations.
“With our partnership experience with industry leaders, Madison College has the savvy and skills to adapt and scale up our training of employees to be part of this cutting-edge bio health workforce, benefitting both workers and employers,” says Madison College Chief of Staff Mark Thomas. “I am excited for us to move forward with our consortium partners to transform and elevate lives in the great state of Wisconsin.”
Spotlight on the School of Health Sciences
Madison College’s targeted credentials, technical degrees and diplomas, and experience working with biotech industry leaders cement its place as an important bioheath hub contributor for training employees.
“Madison College's School of Health Sciences strategically pivots to meet workforce needs through innovative, tailored credentials and programming,” says Marissa Tokarczyk, interim dean of the School of Health Sciences. “We are ready to be a fundamental force to build, sustain, and grow Wisconsin’s biohealth industry.”
Madison College looks forward to building a strong symbiotic relationship with Wisconsin-based biohealth industry leaders, like UW Health, Accuray, Medical College of Wisconsin, Exact Sciences, GE HealthCare, Rockwell Automation and several more BioHealth Tech Hub consortium members.
Meeting the Needs of an Emerging Workforce
A long history of reacting swiftly to industry trends, collaborating with partners, and transforming educational programs strongly positions Madison College to meet emerging regional workforce needs now and into the future. This includes building awareness in the K-12 student population and creating more opportunities from historically underrepresented communities.
“We will be able to provide a better-trained workforce and an employee pipeline for these companies, especially if we can leverage historically successful efforts such as youth apprenticeship programs, and recruit post-secondary students,” says Kevin Mirus, Madison College’s Dean of the School of Engineering, Science, and Mathematics.
Madison College students’ training and education will be foundational to Wisconsin’s biohealth hub. It’s an industry with a $32 billion economic impact in Wisconsin and boosts the paychecks of 129,000 employees in manufacturing, research and development, and transportation and distribution, according to BioForward statistics.
This robust industry makes a biohealth career enticing and can increase Madison College’s enrollment of new students, as well as employees already in the workforce looking to elevate their skills.
“This will help recruit students to our programs,” Mirus says. “If they have a promise of a job, they will find it more attractive to enroll and continue the programs. This not only helps students and their families but creates a sustainable, competitive advantage for biohealth businesses in our region, and economic prosperity in Wisconsin.”
Madison College Joins a Consortium for Success
The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 provided $10 billion for the national biotech initiative in the next five years, and the 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act authorized $500 million to launch the program. The power of the combined effort and advocacy of consortium members, and support of Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and the state Legislature to provide $7.5 million state grants to launch Wisconsin’s BioHealth Tech Hub, forecasts success.
“It’s impressive how this initiative has real collaborations across a wide range of institutions, from Sen. Tammy Baldwin sponsoring this at the federal level, our local employers in Madison and Milwaukee, and the state’s technical colleges and universities,” Mirus says. “Everyone at every level is contributing, and that will make us more competitive with the grant and turn this into something huge and self-sustaining.”
