Industry Engagement

The Biotechnology Leadership Training Program seeks to inform trainees about the wide array of research-related careers available to them upon graduation. Thus, engagement with industry is an integral component of our program.

Several ways companies may engage with trainees in the BLP, as well as with the faculty members who participate as mentors in the program, are described below.

Industry Internships

The major goal of the internship is to expose trainees to new experimental techniques and a different way of doing research. The research done during an internship will not be identical to work done in a trainee's home dissertation lab, but will ideally represent a unique experience that informs his/her graduate research and expands the career opportunities available to the trainee after receipt of the PhD. The BLP industry internships aim to foster a spirit of collaboration and entrepreneurship between faculty, trainees and host companies. Biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies at any stage, from startup to well-established, that do biomedical research are eligible to be sponsors for interns. 

• Most internships are expected to occur in the summer term; Caltech's summer term is from mid-June through late-September.
• Internships must be full-time and at least 8 weeks in length.
• Internships must be paid; salary negotiations are the responsibility of the host company and trainee.
• Assistance and/or advice for short-term living arrangements for non-local (outside Pasadena, CA) internships is welcome.

Trainee Site Visits

The BLP invites companies to host site visits to give trainees the opportunity to learn about the variety of roles available and the venues in which their colleagues work. These site visits expand the experiences of our trainees beyond what is covered in typical instructive workshops, seminars and courses and give our trainees an opportunity to network and interact directly with scientists and entrepreneurs. Site visit agendas can be tailored to fit individual companies and may span a morning, afternoon or full-day. Activities may include presentations by the trainees and/or company representatives, panel sessions, poster sessions, working lunch discussions, and tours. Trainees will attend each site visit as a group; the BLP Coordinator and other Caltech representatives may also attend.

On February 23, 2017, the BLP trainees were hosted by the J. Craig Venter Institute and Illumina. We encourage you to read more about these visits and see photos from the day here.

On-Campus Information Sessions

Your company may sign up to host an on-campus information session; these are coordinated by the Career Development Center. These sessions are typically held Monday through Thursday from 4:00pm-6:00pm. Most information sessions are presented in The Brennen Conference room (depending upon availability) in the Center for Student Services. You may refer to the Career Development Center's Employer FAQ for more information. If you have questions regarding On-Campus Information Sessions, please call (626) 395-6361 or email career@caltech.edu.

Employers that have recently held Information Sessions for life scientists include: Gilead Sciences, Johnson & Johnson, Google, Naval Research Laboratory, and Amgen.

Caltech Career Fairs

The Career Development Center hosts two career fairs at Caltech each year, one in Fall and one in Winter. The events are open to Caltech undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral scholars and recent alumni. You may refer to this summary, the Career Development Center's Employer FAQ and the Career Fair website for more information. If you have questions regarding Caltech Career Fairs, please send an email to careerfair.registration@caltech.edu or call (626) 395-6361.

Corporate Sponsored Research and Partnerships

Caltech is one of the world's leading science and engineering institutions. We are recognized for our high output of innovative ideas and technologies, as well as our development of creative and courageous science and engineering practitioners, thinkers, and leaders. The Office of Technology Transfer and Corporate Partnerships (OTTCP) team connects companies to Caltech's researchers. If your company would like to interact with one of the faculty mentor labs participating in the BLP, we invite you to learn more about Caltech's corporate partners programs and patent & technology licensing opportunities. Please contact the OTTCP team for more information. 

For more information about how your company can engage with the Biotechnology Leadership Program at Caltech, please contact:

Ngozi Eze, Executive Director, Rosen Bioengineering Center