Educational awareness of biotechnology issues among undergraduate students at the United Arab Emirates University

Social Non-profit Bioentrepreneurship: Current Status and Future Impact on Global Health

For-profit biotechnological and pharmaceutical companies have played an essential role in the research and development (R&D) of innovative medical products and drugs for many decades and embody a trillion-dollar industry. The past decades have been marked by an increase in growth of social non-profit biotechnology companies and organizations led by entrepreneurs committed to solve (global) health issues. In this review, we define the concept of social bioentrepreneurship and consider the potential impact of such ventures on global health. We analyse the current status of non-profit biotechnology and clarify the strategy, motivation, funding, and marketing techniques of these enterprises. We find that these non-profit ventures mainly focus on neglected and rare diseases by using different but also similar funding, marketing, and business strategy approaches to for-profit biotechnology enterprises. We also identify good leadership, multidisciplinary teams, and public awareness as key components to achieve long-term survival and higher success rates. Challenges faced by bioentrepreneurs include the lack of a clearly defined regulatory environment or governmental incentives to support their endeavors. Overall, with this qualitative data review and market analysis we draw a promising picture of social non-profit bioentrepreneurship and underscore its current and future impact on global health issues.

Integrating SDGs in Higher Education—Case of Climate Change Awareness and Gender Equality in a Developing Country According to RMEI-TARGET Strategy

Universities play an essential role in spreading climate change awareness. However, slight information on climate change and environmental issues had been integrated into the curricula. Moreover, minimal research had been carried out to understand university role in spreading awareness, and students level of awareness and daily behaviour towards climate change, especially in developing countries. This paper aims to investigate the aforementioned issues. An experimental study was carried out on 448 undergraduate students enrolled at An-Najah National University Palestine. The study aimed to examine students’ knowledge and daily behaviour towards climate change, and the important role the university and students’ societies play in terms of spreading and enhancing awareness. The results revealed that female and male students had a non satisfactory interest level in environmental topics and activities, and gender equality did not seem to be an issue. Moreover, female students tend to have a significantly lower level of awareness on climate change compared to male students. On the other hand, being an engineering students or a member in students’ societies had a positive impact on students’ level of awareness and especially females. The results revealed that female students who are enrolled in the engineering faculty or members of students’ societies had a significantly higher level of awareness compared to female students who are enrolled in other faculties or not members of students’ societies. In general, students had a low level of awareness regardless of gender or faculty and universities should offer undergraduate students and especially female students’ opportunities to learn more about climate change by integrating climate change topics into higher education. Moreover, universities should support extracurricular activities held by student societies, and some of these activities should be directed towards environmental and climate change issues. This study entails the activities of the Mediterranean Gender Equality Community of Practice co-created by the Mediterranean Network of Engineering Schools (RMEI), where An-Najah University is an active member, with the support of the EU TARGET project entitled ’Taking a reflexive approach to gender equality at Institutional transformation’.

Basic-education mexican teachers' knowledge of biotechnology and attitudes about the consumption of genetically modified foods

Over the past few years, a new research field has emerged, focusing on the social-scientific criteria for the study of opinions toward genetically modified foods (GMFs), since these may be limiting factors for the success or failure of these products. Basic education is the first step in the Mexican education system, and teachers may wield an outsized influence on the attitudes and preferences of children, prospective future consumers of these products. To better understand the current state of knowledge of biotechnology issues and opinions toward the consumption of GMF of Mexican teachers, a questionnaire was distributed, and 362 Mexican teachers of basic education responded. The survey included questions about the benefits and risks of consuming GMF. The mean percentage of teachers expressing knowledge of a given topic in biotechnology was 50%. More than 60% of teachers believed that GMFs would be useful in preventing world hunger, while 39.2% considered GMF to be hazards for future generations. Although 47.0% reported not having enough knowledge about these topics, almost all (90.3%) respondents expressed an interest and willingness to learn about biotechnology. In light of the fact that teachers of basic education represent the first and potentially most lasting stage in the education of young children, this survey establishes the urgent need to develop strategies to improve the scientific knowledge of teachers and to facilitate decision making and the promotion of scientific and technological advances for their students. © 2017 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(5):396-402, 2017.