STEM innovators in our Wood Centre for Innovation inspire future careers of a new generation

Wood Centre for Innovation-based companies Samsara Therapeutics and Human Centric Drug Discovery inspired year 10 students during Science Oxford’s STEM Insight Week and helped shed light on diverse roles and careers in life sciences innovation.

Many 14-year-olds think about careers as something in their distant future. Yet, their journey into future working life has already begun and they are navigating their way through a multitude of possibilities and choices that will shape their future world of work. To help guide them on this journey, Science Oxford’s STEM Insight Weeks give young people exposure to the many possible roles and types of work in STEM industries. Engaging with people ‘on the ground’ assists them to learn more about what real working life in STEM entails.

These experiences are valuable for the students and for STEM industry. It has been shown that career-focused activities improve young people’s perceptions of, and encourage them to consider, STEM careers, and lead to increased diversity and equity in STEM fields (read more from Engineering UK and British Science Association).

STEM Insight Week is an important component of Science Oxford’s STEM Careers Programme and its portfolio of career-focused engagements with secondary school students. The support of and partnerships with businesses in our innovation centres, like Samsara Therapeutics and Human Centric Drug Discovery (HCDD), add incredible value to students’ experiences and enhance the impact of these weeks.

Motivated by passion for engaging young people

Businesses who participate in STEM Insight Week and other STEM career activities generously give their time and space, share their expertise, and engage with students through a shared passion to inspire young people.

John Blackwood, Vice President Biology at Samsara Therapeutics said, “We are passionate about engaging with the next generation of scientists, ensuring they have the best chance of success in pursuing a career in science. That new scientist may make a breakthrough, impacting millions of lives.”

HCDD CEO James Peach also shared their motivation. “It’s great to have the opportunity to share our work with students and hopefully inspire some of them into a research career. Science requires not just intelligence and rigour, but also inspiration and motivation, and STEM Insight Week is a chance for us and the students to inspire and motivate each other,” he said.

Benefitting from interaction

Echoing their CEO’s thoughts about the mutual benefit of their interactions, Antigoni Katsikoudi, research scientist in the team at HCDD remarked on how she benefitted from the engagement. “I enjoyed the questions and thinking outside the box, which ultimately promotes creativity.” She also said, “It was great to engage with the students and give them the opportunity to interact with professionals involved in the biotechnology sector. The younger me would have appreciated this opportunity, particularly when deciding on a future career path.”

Matthew Williamson, Senior Scientist at Samsara Therapeutics, recognised the challenge young people face in considering their future careers. He said, “It can be quite daunting when you are [young] and you are asked what do you want to do for a career in the future? I think STEM Insight Weeks provide a perfect opportunity for younger students to get a feel for what a career in science actually entails.”

What STEM Insight Week involves

STEM Insight Week for year 10 students is part of Science Oxford’s STEM Careers Programme, which creates opportunities for secondary school students to learn more and gain insight that could steer them into a STEM Career.

STEM Insight Week includes a number of visits and experiences inside the laboratories and facilities of different STEM industries. Students interact with people fulfilling diverse roles in STEM – such as apprentices, scientists, operations teams, managers, and CEOs – who offer insightful career advice and a taste of what future work might be like.

Workshops are also offered during the week to develop the skills needed during higher education and the broader world of work. This includes how to prepare engaging CVs, how to find out about particular jobs and methods of work, and tools to manage stress.

In sharing feedback from the students, Madelaine Swift, Science Oxford STEM Projects Officer and coordinator of STEM Insight Week, remarked, “Students were happy that they were able to speak to different people within the companies, including members of operations teams in addition to researchers and scientists. This gave them a much broader view of opportunities within the STEM industry.”

In addition to the exposure to life sciences innovation through visits to Samsara Therapeutics and Human Centric Drug Discovery, this year’s October STEM Insight Week also spanned the fields of physics, cyber space, and other biological sciences, and included visits to national synchrotron Diamond Light Source, cyber security specialists Sophos, and Oxford University Museum of Natural History, as well as interaction with the team from Nikon Instruments.

Connecting two branches of our mission

The overarching mission of The Oxford Trust is to encourage the pursuit of science. To achieve this, we work to impact various stages of STEM journeys – from instilling wonder and excitement about science in early years and primary-age children, to inspiring students to follow STEM careers, to supporting the growth and maturation of innovation start-ups that occupy our innovation centres.

It is good to see the STEM innovators of today, who are clients in our Centres, connect with young people, who may be the innovators of the future.

Through the programmes offered by Science Oxford, and with the support of partners and businesses like Human Centric Drug Discovery and Samsara Therapeutics, we aim to contribute to developing the STEM workforce of the future, including the scientists and innovators who may go on to impact millions of lives.

We cannot do this alone and we thank our partners for their support!

Partner with us

To find out more about how businesses can partner with us, visit: https://theoxfordtrust.co.uk/support-us/become-a-business-partner/