Synopsis
The meeting is designed for Early Career People with a particular focus on providing information about the wide range of careers covered in the chemical, and chemical using, industries. You may be surprised to learn that over 70% of people working in these industries work in SMEs (small and medium enterprises), so there are lots of opportunities beyond the large organisations you may have heard of so far.
There will be a wide range of talks covering:
- starting out in academia and in industry
- working in both bioscience and chemical SMEs
- careers in multinational pharmaceuticals and bioscience companies
- working in government
Talks will follow the speakers’ careers giving you a real sense of what it is like to work in these roles and industries. The formal part concludes with 'Reflections on Working in a Pharma Multinational and now for the Medical Research Council' and then 'Tips on Getting that First Job'.
The Science part of the meeting has our SCI Scholars presenting the latest results from their research work.
Programme
Event Day
Session One
- 10:30
- Registration
- 11:30
- Welcome, Dr Jack Melling (Chair, SCI Board of Trustees)
- 11:35
- Introduction, Professor Alan Heaton (Principal of SCI CoS and Chair of ECSSC; formerly Liverpool John Moores University)
Session Three
- 13:30
- Starting Out in Academia, Dr Samantha Alsbury (University of Greenwich)
- 13:50
- Starting Out in Industry, Dr Ben Wahab (ECSSC)
- 14:10
- Working in an SME, Dr Trevor Rhodes (Harman Technology)
- 14:30
- Working in a Biosciences Company, Dr Sharon Williams (Prometic Biosciences)
- 14:50 - 15:30
- Tea
Session Two
- 11:45
- 11.45 Choreography of RNA, Aditi Borkar (Cambridge University)
- 12:05
- Correlated electrons and complicated integrals, James Womack (Bristol University)
- 12:25
- The Value of an SCI Scholarship in My Career, Dr Kevin Back (Pfizer)
- 12:45 - 13.30
- Lunch break.
Session Four
- 15:30
- What can SCI do to support your career?
- 15:50
- From Bench to Boss, Dr Richard Weaver (XenoGesis)
- 16:10
- Working in innovation (from SMEs to Government), Dr Mike Pitts (Technology Strategy Board)
Session Five
- 16:30
- Career Reflections: Working in a Pharma Multinational and in academic translational research, Dr Andy Merritt (CoS Patron; MRCT and formerly GSK)
- 16:50
- Tips on Applying for that First Job, Dr David Barkel (Chemical Search)
- 17:10
- Summing Up, Sir Geoffrey Allen FRS (formerly Research and Engineering Director, Unilever)
- 17:20 - 18:30
- Evening wine reception plus opportunities for informal discussions, questions and networking
Venue and Contact
Fees
The meeting is FREE and open to all, both SCI members and non-members. Places are limited so early registration is advisable.
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Booking Process/Deadlines
Booking terms and conditions
CPD Info
SCI Members attending this meeting are able to claim CPD points.

Additional Info
Exhibition and Sponsorship
An exhibition will take place alongside the conference for companies and related organisations who may wish to exhibit. Please email conferences@soci.org for further information and prices. Spaces are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.