VBI’s Education and Outreach group is committed to building strong connections with external audiences and developing education programs, which serve as integral components of the Institute’s success. The group promotes VBI’s involvement in educational programs to the Virginia Tech community and beyond.

VBI is a full-time research facility that places a strong emphasis on education. From K-12 to undergraduate and graduate students, the institute incorporates initiatives that provide learning opportunities in areas such as bioinformatics, computational biology, and mathematical modeling. VBI recognizes that the scientists and researchers of tomorrow are the students currently enrolled in elementary, middle, and high schools.

VBI’s Education and Outreach group has been involved in the development and implementation of various programs aimed at encouraging these students’ interests in scientific research. In addition, the institute provides training opportunities for science and math teachers at all levels, assisting them with the incorporation of bioinformatics concepts into their curricula. The group also fosters VBI’s strong commitment to outreach. By welcoming collaborators, partners, and researchers from around the world to the institute’s state-of-the-art conference facilities, the group makes it possible for researchers from VBI and across the globe to share scientific information.

Outreach within the walls of the institute is a focus of the group, as well, and includes an offering of activities designed to create an atmosphere of connectedness.

Finally, the group places a major emphasis on communication with the general public and strives to keep this audience up to date on the institute’s educational and outreach initiatives.

K-12 programs:
Kids' Tech University
Kids' Tech University Faculty Network
Climate Change Student Summit (C²S²)
VBI High School Summer Internship
Kids' Tech University Virtual Lab

Undergraduate programs:
MAOP (Multicultural Academic Opportunities Program)
Research Experiences for Undergraduates Site: Microbiology in the Post Genome Era
Research Experiences for Undergraduates Site: Modeling and Simulation in Systems Biology (MSSB)
VBI Undergraduate Scholars Program (USP)
Global Summer Research Institute (GSRI)
2012 MBI Undergraduate Summer Research Program

Graduate Programs:
GBCB (Genomics, Bioinformatics, Computational Biology) Graduate Program
VT Graduate school

• If you have a group of students (any ages), professors, or anyone interested in touring VBI, contact Dr. Kristy Collins at (540) 231-1389 or by email at kdivitto@vbi.vt.edu, to schedule a time.