MedTech Careers Come to K-12 Classrooms
Arizona Bioscience Week 2026
Guest post from Gale Beauchamp, Director, Industry & Education Partnerships
School Superintendent's Office
A week of medical device and technology spotlights brought Arizona’s MedTech industry into classrooms across the state.
Every pacemaker, glucose monitor, and surgical robot started as a spark of curiosity in someone who once sat in a classroom. During Arizona Bioscience Week 2026, the Maricopa County School Superintendent’s Office (MCSSO) set out to light that spark for students across Arizona with a week of resources focused on medical devices and technology in Arizona.
The work is part of MCSSO’s Exploring Pathways to Bioscience and Health Careers (EPBC) program with partial funding from the Flinn Foundation and offered free to schools. The EPBC program is built around the six bioscience sectors in Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap, commissioned by the Flinn Foundation, and gives teachers ready-to-use resources that connect classroom learning to real Arizona careers. For Bioscience Week, hosted statewide by AZBio.org, MCSSO shared a set of daily industry spotlights and classroom resources that put medical device and technology careers front and center. MCSSO partnered with MDM2 to plan the week’s focus on medical devices and technology, connecting students with Arizona companies leading the industry.
A new career spotlight every day
From October 5th to 9th, the spotlights featured medical device and technology companies in Arizona, with a new theme each day so students could see the many paths into the state’s growing MedTech industry. Every spotlight introduces students to the career itself, the academic and professional skills professionals use on the job, advice from people working in the field, and example pathways students can follow from middle school through college and into the workforce.
5 Mon
Welcome to Bioscience Week
Superintendent Shelli Boggs kicked off the week, and the Flinn Foundation’s Dr. Joanna Yang Yowler shared highlights from the Arizona Bioscience Roadmap.
6 Tue
Designing Tech-Enabled Health Solutions
Midwestern University’s CAREN Lab and Phoenix Children’s Hospital showed how virtual reality and 3D technology support patient care.
7 Wed
Engineering Smarter Biomedical Devices
PADT Inc. showed how simulation and 3D printing turn ideas into working prototypes.
8 Thu
Innovation in Medical Device Technology
Medtronic professionals explained how sourcing, value engineering and collaboration bring medical devices to patients.
9 Fri
Building Your Future in Bioscience Manufacturing Pathways
ASU’s Microelectronics Program closed the week (more below).
Teachers could use the spotlights as quick relevant lessons into specific content areas, full lessons, or future projects, making it easy to bring career-connected learning into any classroom.
Ending the week with microelectronics and pathways
The week closed with a spotlight on pathways that connect to microelectronics, a component in almost every medical device. From the sensors in a wearable heart monitor to the chips that power an insulin pump, microelectronics makes modern medical technology possible.
Tamara Gligoric, Program Manager in ASU’s School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks showed students how Arizona State University leads in microelectronics, with work spanning front-end innovation, advanced packaging, and large-scale manufacturing.
This connection matters in Arizona. The state’s semiconductor and microelectronics industry and its medical device sector share many of the same skills, from precision manufacturing and quality control to engineering and data analysis. By showing students how these industries overlap, the final spotlight helped them see that one set of skills can open doors to many Arizona careers.
Hands-on at Manufacturing Month
This year, Manufacturing Month coincided with Arizona Bioscience Week, a natural fit given how much of the medical device industry depends on advanced manufacturing. MCSSO exhibited at the Manufacturing Month event at ASU’s Polytechnic campus, where students learned about the industry spotlights and got their hands on real medical devices.
Holding a device, asking how it was made and talking with people who know the industry turned an abstract career into something students could picture themselves doing.
In the classroom with teachers and students
The MCSSO team also went directly into classrooms, sharing the spotlights with teachers and students and answering their questions in person. Two of the visits included Harold Smith Elementary in the Glendale Elementary School District and Chuck Balogh’s engineering classroom at Ironwood High School, where students explored medical device technology hands-on and viewed the industry spotlights. The response showed just how much these visits mean.
One teacher thanked the team for a day full of information, support, and enthusiasm, saying the experience made a tremendous impact on both students and staff. The activities “helped bring learning to life and created meaningful engagement for our students,” and the team’s dedication to student growth was evident throughout the day, making Bio Week a memorable and valuable experience.
The excitement didn’t end when the visit did. A 7th grade teacher shared that her students were still talking about it at parent-teacher-student conferences:
“They loved it and we heard all about it during conferences! -7th grade teacher, Harold Smith Elementary
When students go home and tell their families about bioscience careers, that is when a career pathway starts to feel real.
Building Arizona’s future MedTech and technology workforce
Arizona’s medical device and technology industry needs a strong pipeline of talent, and that pipeline starts in K-12 classrooms. By pairing real career stories with practical advice and clear pathways, MCSSO’s Exploring Pathways program helps students see where their interests can lead, right here in Arizona.
During Bioscience Week, the Maricopa County School Superintendent’s Office (MCSSO) shared its Exploring Pathways to Bioscience and Health Careers (EPBC) resources with more than 5,000 educators and 1,000 homeschool parents. The resources, which include free industry spotlight videos, classroom materials, and teacher professional development opportunities, are available year-round at schoolsup.org/bioscience.
Through these educators and families, the EPBC program reach an estimated 40,000 students.
Thank you to MDM2, Flinn Foundation and our valued industry professionals for partnering with us to plan this year’s Bioscience Week. Teachers, schools, students, and industry partners can explore the resources and get involved at schoolsup.org/bioscience.
