The review, commissioned by the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) shows that its Biotechnology Young Entrepreneurs Scheme gives early career researchers an edge in terms of encouraging entrepreneurial skills and enhancing future career prospects.
According to the review, participating in the Biotechnology Young Entrepreneurs Scheme competition prepares scientists to move into industry, where their improved entrepreneurial skills are highly valued. There is some evidence to suggest that past participants perceive their earning potential as greater following the competition and the review indicates that the skills gained are complementary to those acquired during a PhD.
Commenting on the findings, the Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts said it is crucial to translate discoveries in the life science into innovations which equip UK businesses to compete in the global marketplace. “That's why I welcome schemes like Biotechnology Young Entrepreneurs Scheme. It offers important entrepreneurial skills to our next generation of talented scientists and technicians so they can exploit the results of their research and help the economy to grow.”
The review shows participants have gone on to a wide range of different jobs and almost half of those who have now finished their postgraduate study are working in industry, compared with less than ten percent of non-participants who took part in the review.
GlaxoSmithKline is one of the industrial sponsors of the scheme. Malcolm Skingle, Director, External Science & Technology at the company, said, “It is absolutely clear to us that the scheme produces some of the most talented business-minded scientists in the UK. Just having a PhD isn’t always enough to do well in science-based business but the Biotechnology Young Entrepreneurs Scheme participants come out of the scheme with the full set of skills”
In all, Biotechnology Young Entrepreneurs Scheme has attracted over 30 sponsors over the years, from a range of local, national and international public and private organisations including research councils, charities, pharmaceutical industry, agri-food industry and financial and legal companies.
Celia Caulcott, BBSRC Director of Innovation and Skills, said, “We've put approaching 3,000 students from over 100 institutions through Biotechnology Young Entrepreneurs Scheme over the past 15 years. With the support of colleagues working in the private sector, we’ve been able to give them a really thorough introduction to the necessary marketing, financial and intellectual property skills to enable them to realise the economic potential of their science."
This year around 100 teams have entered the Biotechnology Young Entrepreneurs Scheme competition. Heats will be held in the autumn, followed by final rounds and a head to head competition in December to decide the winners
The full report is available at: http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/biotechyesreview
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