More than 250 guests gathered at London’s Grand Connaught Rooms to witness the inaugural UK Life Science Skills Awards, organised by Cogent, the strategic skills body for the science industries.
The event saw 30 finalists and 11 winners receive Awards across ten categories. An extra Award for Excellence in Skills was also given.
‘We are absolutely delighted to be able to recognise the achievements of apprentices, employers, individuals and providers who have excelled in contributing to the development of skills within the life sciences sector,’ said Joanna Woolf, Cogent’s CEO.
The winners included Eden Biodesign, which took the Employer (small) of the year Award, sponsored by Amgen. The company is the foundation and catalyst for Actavis’ evolving biologics strategy in the area of oncology biosimilars, women’s health and urology. In 2005 Eden Biodesign had a total of seven staff and now employs nearly 150 people.
We are absolutely delighted to be able to recognise the achievements of apprentices, employers, individuals and providers
Amgen took the Employer (global) of the year Award, sponsored by the National Skills Academy Process Industries. The company runs a Scholars programme, which is a large initiative in the US and Europe. In 2008, this programme was launched in Europe giving students the opportunity to undertake original research in labs at the University of Cambridge, Karolinska Institute or LMU Munich. This programme has given students the opportunity to work alongside some of the most influential academic research scientists.
The Outstanding Leadership in Skills Award, sponsored by UCB, was won by Linda Millett of Takeda Cambridge, who has influenced the firm to take on the first Higher Apprentice in the Life Science Sector and championed the initiative from the outset. Millett believes that awareness-building in schools will go a long way to develop life scientists of the future and sourcing new talent will be what fuels the sector’s ability to innovate and collaborate. She plans to take on two further higher apprentices in 2013.
Oxford Gene Technology’s David Blaney won the Placement of the year Award, sponsored by BBSRC. When the firm moved into RNA sequencing, Blaney was given the task of developing the RNA sequencing pipeline. After he mastered the basics of the Linux operating system, he was able to apply his skills as part of the Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) development team. His newly acquired knowledge gave him the opportunity to take part in other programming areas.
The extra award for Excellence in Skills, presented by Cogent, went to Novartis. Cogent said the firm scored so highly across a number of categories, it became clear that its commitment to skills and workforce development was deserving of a special accolade.
