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2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

AI-Driven Workforce Training through Industry Partnerships Using Educational Biodigital Twins (BDT) and Programmable Cloud Laboratories (PCL)

Presented at College Industry Partnerships Division (CIP) Technical Session 2

The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI (genAI) in biomedical and bioengineering industries is reshaping workforce expectations and exposing persistent gaps between academic preparation and industry practice. Effective AI training depends strongly on data context, including how data is generated, curated, validated, and used within operational workflows, rather than on algorithmic techniques alone. These contextual factors directly influence model generalization, which remains a central challenge for responsible AI deployment, particularly when models are applied beyond narrowly defined training conditions. In biomedical engineering, this challenge is further compounded by the use of patient-derived and clinical data, where data provenance, regulatory oversight, ethical constraints, and limited accessibility fundamentally shape AI development and evaluation. As a result, traditional academic training environments often struggle to provide students with exposure to the data practices and workflow constraints that govern real-world AI performance. This study examines industry perspectives on the potential role of educational biodigital twins (BDT) and programmable cloud laboratories (PCL) as scalable infrastructures for AI workforce preparation. The results indicate that industry views BDT and PCL as promising when they preserve workflow structure and decision constraints through the use of synthetic or constrained data, while avoiding direct exposure to sensitive datasets. However, scalability is limited by data governance requirements and internal resource constraints. These findings inform academic–industry collaboration models that emphasize context-aware training environments and support the design of partnerships aligned with industry realities.

Authors

Prof. Reem Khojah University of California, San Diego [biography]

Reem Khojah serves as an assistant teaching professor in the Shu Chien-Gene Lay Department of Bioengineering at the University of California, San Diego. With experience in instructing bioengineering at introductory and graduate levels, she actively contributes to enhancing accessibility to research tools for undergraduate research experiences. Her primary focus is on optimizing engineering education through data-driven pre-and post-lecture formative assessments and designing AI-proof assignments. Her educational background includes a B.S. in Medical Technology, a Master's degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering from KAUST, and a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of California, Los Angeles. Reem has also engaged in post-doctoral research at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the University of California, Irvine.
Dr. Isgard S. Hueck University of California, San Diego [biography]

Dr. Isgard Hueck
(Ph.D. in Higher Ed/ Leadership & Policy; M.Sc. in Bioengineering; M. Phil. in Education)
Affiliations: UCSD - Dept of Bioengineering, Whitaker Institute of Biomedical Engineering &
UCSD School of Medicine; Moores Cancer Center.

Born and raised in Germany, Isgard Hueck studied Biology at the Wilhelms- University in Munster and received her license as Cyto-Pathologist in Cologne, Germany, in 1987. After years of clinical work in hematology, cancer diagnosis and therapy, Isgard Hueck received a Master of Science degree in Bio-Medical Engineering in 1998 from the University of Applied Sciences in Aachen, Germany. In conjunction with the University California in San Diego, Dr. Hueck conducted biomedical research focussing on long-term medical implants, angiogenesis in diabetes, and stem cell research. She has published in scientific journals like Microcirculation and the American Journal of Physiology. She contributed two chapters to the Springer Verlag Books 'Applications in Stem Cell Engineering' and 'Biological, Physical, and Technical Basics of Cell Engineering.' In 2012, Dr. Hueck was recruited as the Program Assessment Specialist for the Dept of Bioeng., UCSD, leading continuous improvement processes in engineering education and for the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology. In 2022, Isgard Hueck completed her Ph.D. in leadership in higher education with a focus on engineering education. Dr. Isgard Hueck founded the Office of Industrial Relations (IRO) in the Department of Bioengineering at UCSD to provide engineering students better opportunities to build close industry relationships within the academic education. In addition, Dr. Hueck engages in enrichment programs for "learning beyond the classroom". She is actively assessing and researching opportunities to improve eduction for the modern and holistic engineer of tomorrow.
Dr. Alyssa Catherine Taylor University of California San Diego [biography]

Dr. Alyssa Taylor, Teaching Professor of Bioengineering, joined the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering in 2022. She previously served as an Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Washington. There, she was awarded the American Society for Engineering Education Pacific Northwest Section Outstanding Teaching Award in 2022; the University of Washington College of Engineering Faculty Teaching Award in 2021; and the University of Washington Distinguished Teaching Award, the university's top teaching award, in 2020. She was recently voted Best Undergraduate Teacher in Bioengineering at UCSD in both 2024 and 2025.
She teaches introductory, lab-based, and grad-level design courses in bioengineering, and ultimately aims to foster the development of inclusive, thoughtful engineering graduates who will integrate their technical and professional skills to positively impact society.
Taylor earned a PhD in biomedical engineering from the University of Virginia and a bachelor's degree in biological systems engineering from UC Davis.
Adam M Feist University of California, San Diego
Benjamin L Smarr University of California, San Diego

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

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