MCC Receives Funding from Healey-Driscoll Administration and Massachusetts Life Sciences Center

In July, the Healey-Driscoll Administration and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) announced $12.3 million in funding through four tracks of the MLSC’s Education and Workforce Development Grant Program. Middlesex Community College received $367,038 from the Post Secondary Education and Training track to enhance the Pathmaker Robotics and Automation Program on the college’s Bedford Campus.

“Thank you to MLSC for their extraordinary partnership over the past several years, as well as the Healey-Driscoll Administration for their continued support of MCC,” said Phil Sisson, MCC’s President. “This funding is crucial to expanding our premier workforce training opportunities. Combining comprehensive curriculum with practical experiences, we provide employees and job seekers with hands-on, real-world learning opportunities that prepare them for entry and advancement in in-demand and stable careers. While our students transform their lives for the better, the Commonwealth gains highly skilled, versatile employees in these much needed fields.”

MCC’s Pathmaker Robotics and Automation Program addresses a variety of skills, providing the basis for entry-level employment in medical device manufacturing facilities. The program helps with workforce development training recruitment and serves as a resource for a proposed robotics and automation credit program within the college’s STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) division.

The funding allows Middlesex to enhance the Pathmaker Robotics and Automation Program. Increasing capacity of the current program allows MCC to offer additional higher-level training to current employees and job seekers to serve individuals looking to get into the life sciences industry, according to Daniel Sherman, MCC’s Senior Director of Grant Development.

“This funding gives the program an appropriately outfitted and visible position in the building as it becomes the home for STEM programming at MCC,” Sherman said. “We received this award due to the impact of the long-standing relationship MCC has developed with the MLSC, in developing, operating, and expanding our highly successful industry-informed training programs that continue to innovate in order to provide the highest quality training and workforce opportunities for our trainees.”

A total of 68 awards will serve 78,000 students and train 720 teachers from more than 400 public schools, colleges, and nonprofit organizations across the Commonwealth. The four tracks include Elementary and Secondary Education, Out-of-School Time (OST), Post-secondary Education and Training, and “Gamechanger” matching grants.

Together, these investments will expand access to hands-on life sciences education, OST learning opportunities, industry-aligned certificate and degree programs, and transformational workforce development initiatives that strengthen Massachusetts’ life sciences talent pipeline and prepare learners for careers in the life sciences.

“Our life sciences industry is one of the biggest reasons Massachusetts continues to lead in innovation and economic opportunity,” Governor Maura Healey said. “These investments will prepare more students for high-demand careers, strengthen our workforce and ensure companies can continue growing and creating jobs right here in Massachusetts.”

“Our administration is committed to ensuring that students of all ages have access to the education and training needed to thrive in the life sciences,” Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll said. “By supporting learning opportunities from kindergarten through post-secondary education, these investments will strengthen our workforce while expanding opportunity for communities in every corner of the state.”

Since the inception of the Life Sciences Initiative, the MLSC has invested more than $240 million through various programs supporting education and workforce training that strengthens the state’s life sciences talent pipeline. These investments have supported more than 478 public schools, 30 nonprofit organizations, and 65 colleges and universities across all 14 Massachusetts counties and every Gateway City, expanding access to life sciences learning opportunities and training initiatives for residents in the state.

“The life sciences are foundational to Massachusetts’ economy, and maintaining our leadership in this ecosystem depends on building a strong, skilled workforce,” said Eric Paley, Economic Development Secretary and Co-Chair of the MLSC Board of Directors. “These investments strengthen the connection between education and industry, ensuring residents across the Commonwealth have the opportunities and resources they need to pursue rewarding careers while helping Massachusetts life sciences companies meet the workforce demands required to drive the next generation of groundbreaking discoveries.”

“Massachusetts maintains its leadership in the life sciences by investing early in the next generation of talent and ensuring that students have access to state-of-the-art facilities and industry-relevant curricula,” said Kirk Taylor, MD, MLSC President and CEO. “These investments also ensure that low-income, underrepresented, and non-traditional learners from every region of Massachusetts, whether located in our Gateway Cities or rural communities, have the skills and opportunities needed to enter and grow within the life sciences workforce.”

The MLSC is awarding more than $7.3 million through the Post-secondary Education and Training track to 22 academic institutions and nonprofit organizations offering industry-aligned certificate and degree programs. Funding will support the purchase and installation of laboratory equipment, materials, supplies, technology, and facility improvements that strengthen workforce training programs and prepare students for high-demand careers in the life sciences.

About the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center

The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) is a quasi-public economic development investment agency dedicated to supporting the growth and development of the life sciences in Massachusetts, home to the most verdant and productive life sciences ecosystem in the world. Through public-private funding initiatives, the MLSC supports innovation, research and development, commercialization, and manufacturing activities in the fields of biopharma, medical device, diagnostics and digital health. Since 2008, the MLSC has strategically deployed more than $1.1 billion in Massachusetts, through a combination of grants, loans, capital infrastructure investments, tax incentives and workforce development programs. These investments have created thousands of jobs and propelled the development of new therapies, devices and scientific advancements that are improving patient health and well-being in Massachusetts and beyond.

About MCC

Middlesex Community College is proud to serve the communities of Greater Bedford and Lowell. One of the largest, most comprehensive community colleges in Massachusetts, MCC meets each learner where they are. MCC is celebrating 55 years of impact and 10 years as an Asian American, Native American and Pacific Islander Serving Institution. Offering more than 80 degree and certificate programs – plus hundreds of noncredit courses – Middlesex features flexible course formats and a variety of award-winning student support services and resources. Find your fit at MCC!