Workforce Training & Education
Open Positions:
Fermentation Fellowship - 9 month appointment
Pilot Plant Fellowship - 9 month appointment
Ethanol Plant Intern - Civil Service Extra Help
Resources for K-12 Education
Since opening our doors in 2003, NCERC has actively provided workforce training and education opportunities for the future leaders of the bioeconomy. These efforts include providing resources for K-12 education, such as participating in career fairs and presenting at schools.
Careers in Biotechnology - Job Shadow Program
As part of our ongoing effort to provide resources to K-12 teachers and students, NCERC hosts a “Careers in Biotechnology" job shadow program that facilitates on-site learning opportunities for high school students. Career opportunities in biotechnology continue to grow as the industry diversifies and expands, creating incredible long-term career options for students looking at higher education programs.
The new job shadowing program allows junior- or senior-level high school students to get exposure to these careers by job shadowing full-time NCERC staff who work in our facility on research projects. Interested in the program? Email info@ethanolresearch.com.
Informational One Pagers About the Three Track in the Job Shadow Program:
Students who participate in the program will receive a copy of the Careers in Biotechnology Job Shadow Booklet.
Internships
Whether a student is pursuing a Certificate of Completion in Process Technology or an undergraduate degree, they find their way to NCERC to gain hands-on experience in their field. Students are able to learn and earn while going to school full-time due to NCERC’s flexible work schedules and incredible research staff who serve in advisory roles to each and every student employee.
SIUE students can monitor the Student Employment job portal to see what opportunities are open. Non-SIUE students can monitor internship opportunities through the SIUE Careers webpage.
"My internship at NCERC was valuable to me because every day of work was different. I was exposed to a variety of relevant equipment in the plant, which I learned how to operate and troubleshoot. Also, most of my experience was hands-on work, which made the experience more fun and allowed me to develop relationships with a diverse group of people. There was also a strong focus on teamwork at NCERC, which was beneficial for facilitating problem solving and great learning experiences. I feel like I was able to contribute at NCERC while learning new things and building relationships simultaneously. I would recommend this internship to any engineering student as it helps build important engineering and interpersonal skills." - Will Hicks, Missouri S&T Class of 2024, Mechanical Engineering
"During my time as an intern at NCERC, I had extensive training in small and large scale: laboratory, instrumentation, bioprocessing, GLP, GMP, and QA/QA industrial experiences that were invaluable in gaining my current position at a top biopharmaceutical research and development company. Thanks to the entire team at NCERC.” - Liam Dixon, Saint Vincent College Class of 2022, Cell and Molecular Biology
Visiting Research & Post-Doctoral Research Fellowships
The Visiting Research Fellowship and Postdoctoral Research Fellowship programs are an unrivaled learning opportunity for recent graduates of a bachelor’s, master’s, or PhD program who are interested in pursuing a career in research in the bioeconomy. Fellows work under the guidance of two supervisors who provide them with the technical expertise needed to thrive in their research environments and the leadership skills they need to ramp up the trajectory of their careers. This joint supervisory model ensures the connection of theory to practice and builds upon the Fellow’s academic degree through applied, hands-on learning in an industrial setting. This program is designed to prepare the next generation of engineers and scientists for work in high-skill jobs in the bioeconomy.
Available Positions:
Biomanufacturing Fellowship
Laboratory Fellowship
Engineering Fellowship
Those interested in pursuing a fellowship position at NCERC should submit letter of application, current vitae, and transcripts (unofficial is fine for application), and professional references to:
Barb Randle
NCERC at SIUE
400 University Park Drive
Edwardsville, IL 62025
Or email: brandle@siue.edu
"The NCERC fellowship program was a huge part of my professional development. The program allowed me as a recent graduate to apply my scholastic knowledge base, to real world work. The knowledgeable staff takes pride in educating students, interns, graduate students and in my case, Research Fellows. During my time as a fellow I was able to work in the laboratory, fermentation suite, and pilot plant. Working in all three areas really gave me great perspective on how to think about process changes, top to bottom." - Kyle Sonderman, NCERC Fellow 2018 - 2019
Workforce Training & Education Report
As a leading provider of workforce training and hands-on learning in the United States, NCERC has published a Workforce Training & Education Report that summarizes various opportunities for students to learn outside of the classroom, as well as NCERC’s programs that train the next generation of leaders in the bioeconomy.
Click here to download the 2023 report.