Why are we doing this?

There is a shortfall of entrants into the sector

There is a serious workforce shortage in the life sciences. A survey by carried out in February 2024 by OBN (UK) revealed that nine in ten life science employers experienced skills shortages in the past year. If left unchecked this shortage will hinder the life science industry’s ability to maximise the UK’s strength in biomedical innovation and improve patient’s lives.

The sector is growing fast

At the same time the industry is growing fast. Nearly 2,500 new life science companies registered with the UK Companies House in the last year alone, meaning that the labour shortage is likely to get worse.

There is limited exposure to and understanding of the life science sector

There is a fundamental lack of understanding in schools, colleges and higher education institutions and among teachers and students about the life science sector. This means that career teachers are not able to advise students about the many different career paths into the sector.

Much of the information that teachers and students get presented with about the life sciences is lost in the other information about the vast range of companies in the STEM-related sectors that includes engineering and technology. Careers teachers have to cover all sectors so do not have time to acquaint themselves with the life sciences. Science teachers’ knowledge of the sector and much of the science is often years out of date.

Students have very little exposure to the industry and very few chances to explore the wide range of opportunities the sector has to offer. Most teachers and students assume that the only entry paths available into the sector are limited to students with a university degree in biology, chemistry or another related science subject.

The Future Biotechnologies model

Future Biotechnologists is solely focused on the life science sector, offering insights and information in depth about its developments and opportunities for schools, colleges and institutes of higher education. In that way it is very different from traditional STEM and general career services which expose teachers and students to a broad range of companies in very different sectors.

We currently have two core delivery models:

Future Biotechnologists, Oxford April 2024

We are pleased to announce our launch event at Wheatley Park School, Holton, Oxfordshire took place on Thursday 25th April 2024. The event was a great success with students really embracing the opportunity to talk to a wide variety of people from different companies.

We had an exciting range of participants from local companies including: Arctoris, Brainomix, Evotec, National School of Healthcare Science, OMass Therapeutics, Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Pandemic Sciences Institute, Perspectum, Precision Life, Refeyn and Sonosine.

As well as students from Wheatley Park School, students came from Gosford Hill School, Lord Williams's School, Oxford Brookes, Oxford Spires Academy and UTC Oxfordshire.

The event was described by Rebecca Vaughan, Careers & Work Experience lead at Lord Williams's School as: "...the best external careers event I've attended (of which there have been quite a lot over 12 years!)."

Students particularly enjoyed interacting with the participants both in the round table science speed dating sessions and at the stands set up by the participating companies. They valued learning about the many different paths for getting into the sector and the wide range of jobs that are available.

One student said: "I thoroughly enjoyed last week’s trip to Wheatley Park and thought it really helped solidify some questions I had regarding working in the BioChem industry. I thought the best parts of the trip were when we were able to talk independently to the visitors and go see them personally at their tables, this provided us free access to ask any questions we had on our minds and meant we were able to discuss specific topics in depth. Overall I really enjoyed the trip and thought it was a great experience."

Another said: "I loved the range of different companies/ businesses on display as well as the range of different jobs within these companies. I learnt that just because you begin with a certain degree, doesn't mean you have to stay in this field forever - there are loads of different jobs within one company that involve loads of different choices of career. I also learnt that science research companies aren't just about the science - there is a big focus on the business side of it in order to successfully advertise and market their businesses."

Another student said: "I enjoyed talking to the biotechnologists at their stalls about their science, seeing their equipment and hearing about their research.

Elizabeth Shumbayawonda from Perspectum Ltd, one of the company participants, said on her LinkedIn page: "I was privileged to be part of a panel discussion, and what quickly became apparent is that, despite the vast differences in our current careers - be it lab/bench science, graphic design, business development, clinical science, software development, etc. - we were all united in our reason for pursuing our paths: *helping people and making a positive impact on society* I look forward to attending more events like this in future! Thank you Lara and team for allowing me to pass it forward!"

We'd like to give a massive shout out and thanks to Val Wolstenholme and Katie Clifton Rabone from Wheatley Park School for all their efforts in helping to make the event a success.

A picture of students and the participants (Lara Marks (Future Biotechnologists), David Herbada (Sonosine), Becky Wiffen (Evotec), Elizabeth Shumbayawonda (Perspectum), Neus Torres Tamarit (Refyn) and Karolina Collins (PrecisonLife)) during the first panel session. Credit: Val Wolstenholme.

A picture of students and speakers (Lara Marks (Future Biotechnologists), Jon Roffey (OMass Therapeutics, standing), Poppy Roworth (Arctoris), Rachel Baggs (Brainomix), Emma Bolam (Pandemic Sciences Institute) and Mikie Kukwikila (Oxford Nanopore Technologies) during the second panel session. Credit: Mandy Hoosein (Oxford Spires).

About Future Biotechnologists

Future Biotechnologists has been developed by The Biotechnology and Medicine Education Trust (BiotechMet). BiotechMet is a registered charity with the Charity Commission. Registered Charity Number 1165469. The charity aims to support the development of different free-to-access educational resources around the life sciences and medicine for a variety of audiences.

One of the projects it is supporting is the website WhatisBiotechnology.org. Launched in February 2013 the website gets over two million page views a year. It attracts visitors from around the world, including school students, policy makers, industry experts, scientists and financial investors. Many schools and universities across the world use the site as a major teaching resource.

Future Biotechnologists is open to all schools and students in higher education interested in attending to learn how the biosciences industry is open to everyone with a passion to make the world a better place. Diverse and inclusive, the industry is not just about shaking test tubes in a laboratory and welcomes people who have not gone down the traditional scientific pathway and have university qualifications. If you are interested in learning more contact Dr Lara Marks at lara@futurebiotechnologists.org.