Biotechnology YES!
Two of our students, Harriet Johnson (BBSRC PhD) and Féaron Cassidy (MRes), have just returned from the annual East Midlands Biotechnology YES competition.
In case you don't know, Biotechnology YES (Young Entrepreneurs Scheme) is an innovative competition developed to raise awareness of the commercialisation of bioscience ideas among postgraduate students / postdoctoral scientists. It originated at the University of Nottingham, but is now a nationwide competition.
In their own words, they ...
"created" a small start-up biotechnology business called "Omega-E" which we had to sell to the judges as if proposing a real business to a group of venture capitalists. Alas, the competition was tough and we didn't win a place in London. We did, however, gain a unique education in the biotechnology industry as well as a crash course in business and finance. We were introduced to a whole new world of career paths as our eyes were opened to the wide-reaching applications of our scientific education. It was a unique and fulfilling experience that I highly recommend to other postgraduate students or postdoctoral scientists looking to broaden their skill-base or do something a bit different during their studies!