Growing Leaders for the Emerging Bioeconomy: A Personal Experience with CABLE

by Leyla Battista* (Advanced Biofuels USA) The Consortium for Advanced Bioeconomy Leadership and Education (CABLE) grant was established by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to prepare the next generation of leaders and integrate them into the emerging bioeconomy. The grant was split between nineteen partnering universities across the country. Each university was tasked with contributing one student delegate and one faculty delegate. I was fortunate to be selected as Auburn University’s student delegate for this past academic year.

Back in August of 2017, I received an email from my department about an open position for a student delegate. The job description emphasized opportunities for leadership, growth, and networking within the “bioeconomy.” At the time, I did not have the slightest idea as to what the “bioeconomy” was but welcomed the potential for an added section on my resume. Shortly after applying, I was told that I secured the delegate’s position and that my presence at an introductory webinar was required.

The very first webinar served as an introduction to the CABLE program and to help students better understand the “bioeconomy.” The first webinar was a blur. I recall feeling thoroughly inspired and completely saturated with new information by the end of the session. The “bioeconomy” still lacked a clear definition for me but I thought it to be any companies dedicated to environmental sustainability.

Over the course of this past year, the CABLE program took me to San Francisco for the ABLC Next conference, to Washington DC for ABLC 2018, to Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and introduced me to industry leaders and like-minded students. My CABLE project tasked me with analyzing the Renewable Fuels Standard and designing a project to advance the bioeconomy through public policy. At the start of the project, I had little knowledge of public policy. I failed to consider the impact of public policy on the success of industry and mistakenly believed policy to be of little importance in the drive for technological advancement.

My work on the project taught me about the relationships between the bioeconomy, industry, policy makers, and the general public. Furthermore, I observed the dynamic of these aforementioned relationships and better understand how to utilize policy to aid industry and initiate successful educational outreach. With each webinar, conference, project, and event, I witnessed myself grow as a young professional. As I expanded my network and developed my public policy project, my definition of the bioeconomy and professional goals matured. I now consider the bioeconomy be a broad industry comprised of all companies and individuals working on bio-centric solutions in any sector of the supply chain.

Why are projects like CABLE important? At a time when most funding goes towards focused research and development, funding for a multidisciplinary educational project such as CABLE is rare. However, I wholeheartedly believe that educational outreach projects focused on developing leaders within the upcoming generation of workers are of the utmost importance.

In the case of the bioeconomy, the industry is in its infancy and will need the next generation to invest their careers fully within it if it hopes to be sustainable in the long-term.
Even as a student in a STEM field, I was completely unaware of the bioeconomy prior to my CABLE experience. I was not alone in this as my fellow delegates also entered into CABLE with the same knowledge gap. This is a major hurdle for the entire bioeconomy. Without investing in educating those who could be potentially working to further to bioeconomy, the industry will be unable to grow.

The CABLE program succeeded in helping nineteen student delegates become better leaders, network with experienced professionals, and realize their place in the bioeconomy.

Moreover, the industry cannot hope to succeed if the general public is unaware of the importance of promoting the bioeconomy. Even as just a singular student delegate, I was able to inform nearly 300 other students and community members about the emerging bioeconomy through my campus and community outreach events.

Without CABLE I would not be where I am today. CABLE allowed me to discover my passion for the bioeconomy. The resources made available to me helped me better direct my academic career to build a professional presence in the bioeconomy. I cannot say thank you enough to the grant coordinators and industry partners for facilitating my growth.

I would like to implore all those reading this to consider new ways to invest in educating and growing new leaders. While the return on these investments may not always be quantifiable in the short-term, the positive effects will be far reaching and long-lasting. Educational initiatives in the bioeconomy have the capacity to inspire passion in the next generation and foster greater diversity within the industry. Projects like CABLE will be what make the bioeconomy not only viable, but prosperous.

*Leyla Battista has a Bachelor’s degree in Biosystems Engineering from Auburn University. She is currently a Master’s candidate in Environmental Sciences at Emory University. For more information on her current and past projects visit her online portfolio at lmb00432.wixsite.com/eportfolio.