The future of Biogen Idec, like the future of all companies, depends on the drive, dedication, creativity and educational excellence of generations to come. One way that Biogen Idec invests in the future is by supporting hands-on laboratory experiences for children of all ages.

Biogen Idec Community Lab

Open to local middle and high school students and teachers, the Community Lab helps transform today’s young students into the discoverers and scientific leaders of tomorrow.

The vision of the Community Lab program is to engage young people in science and biotechnology through participation in the actual experiments and scientific processes that are part of everyday life in Biogen Idec labs. In 2010, more than 3,500 students conducted experiments in our labs, one in Cambridge, MA, and one in San Diego, CA (this lab operated through September 2010). Since 2002, more than 20,000 students have worked with the Community Labs.

Biogen Idec employees also volunteer as lab assistants, speakers and mentors. Throughout the school year, the Community Lab hosts class visits, professional development seminars for teachers and student mentoring. To date, more than 500 Biogen Idec employees have volunteered their time in the labs.

China Community Lab

In late 2009, Biogen Idec began supporting science and technology education among Chinese youth through our sponsorship of the China Community Lab at Northwest University (NWU) in Xi’an. In addition to outfitting the lab with a complete set of equipment, Biogen Idec provides training for China Community Lab faculty members. Additionally, to promote cultural exchange, we created the Biogen Idec-NWU China Community Lab scholarship, an annual award that allows one instructor and two students to attend a two-week session at our Cambridge Community Lab. Since the lab opened in the summer of 2010, nearly 130 high school students have already participated in the program.

Kinder-Universität Zürich

In 2010, Biogen Idec became the exclusive health care sponsor of Kinder-Universität Zürich, a program providing lab-based curricula to third through sixth graders. This three-year commitment aims to make lab learning fun and supports courses on topics such as microscope use, climate change and electricity. The Kinder-Universität serves approximately 700 children per year.