Think Bigger Series - Episode 14: Beyond the Golden Triangle – Embracing Skillsets Outside the Golden Triangle

[00:00:04] Welcome to SRG's podcast, the Think Bigger Series.

[00:00:07] A business podcast aimed at tackling key issues around the workplace and inspiring positive change.

[00:00:14] This podcast is hosted by me, Jacob Midwinter, Sales and Client Solutions Director at SRG.

[00:00:20] And me, Phillipa Clark, Operations Manager for SRG's Southern Hub.

[00:00:28] Hi and welcome to another episode of the Think Bigger Series.

[00:00:32] It's kind of a part two for us really.

[00:00:34] Last time we had a great conversation with our ex-colleague Andrew,

[00:00:39] who's working in the West Midlands in UK Life Sciences piece.

[00:00:44] And today, Phillipa and I are joined by Jane Kennedy, Chief Business Officer at Discovery Park in Sandwich, which is in Kent.

[00:00:53] Hi Jane.

[00:00:54] Hi.

[00:00:55] Good to have you with us. Hi, Phillipa as well.

[00:00:58] Yeah, good to be back. Hi guys.

[00:01:00] So, yeah, really interested. I know you've worked in the industry for a while.

[00:01:05] So I'm interested to hear about your experiences of the UK Life Sciences sort of networked, these hidden gems outside of the Golden Triangle.

[00:01:15] But before we go there, I'm a non-scientist working in SRG that's full of scientists doing recruitment and you're a non-scientist working in science.

[00:01:28] So I think that's a really good place to kind of give you the opportunity to introduce yourself and just see where that conversation takes us before we move on to talking about Life Sciences is outside of Golden Triangle.

[00:01:41] If that's all right, Jane.

[00:01:42] Yeah, absolutely. And you're right. I am a non-scientist and have basically spent most of my career apologising for that fact.

[00:01:51] Interesting word apologising.

[00:01:53] So why, why do you do that word?

[00:01:58] Because I think like everybody when you work in a sector of highly skilled individuals, you feel always a little bit of an imposter.

[00:02:09] You know, I fell into this industry by mistake really.

[00:02:13] I did a comms degree and I spent the early part of my career working in advertising and marketing.

[00:02:22] And then I got to that stage in my life where I would be, I live in Edinburgh and I would be in Glasgow recording radio ads and get a call from the school to say, so and so has been sick.

[00:02:34] Can you come and collect them?

[00:02:36] And so I realised that I probably needed to find a job that was a little bit more on the doorstep of where I lived.

[00:02:43] And at the time, Roslyn BioCentre was advertising for a marketing manager and Roslyn's fairly close to where I live.

[00:02:52] So it was just on the back of Dolly the sheep, the world's first cloned mammal.

[00:02:57] So Roslyn was right up there in terms of profile and the Institute had made the decision to create a bio incubator basically to house early stage life sciences companies.

[00:03:10] And so I became the marketing manager of Roslyn BioCentre with a biology upgrade and no further scientific education.

[00:03:19] And I mean, I often joke about it and say if someone had told me that I'd spend sort of 20 plus years working with science and technology based businesses, I probably would have cried.

[00:03:30] I would just thought that was some kind of punishment.

[00:03:32] And yet I absolutely loved it.

[00:03:35] Brilliant.

[00:03:37] Obviously, you know, doing well, successful.

[00:03:42] We've talked about kind of that you mentioned about that imposter piece and an imposter syndrome is something that we've talked about on this podcast before and something, Philippa will probably ask you, but maybe I've jumped the gun here or got ahead my question in.

[00:03:55] But I was intrigued as to sort of flipping it a little bit on the on the benefits and sort of what you found the kind of upside of not being a scientist and working in a life sciences park, for example, amongst a load of scientists and maybe what angle you've been able to bring to the table that diversity of thoughts, I guess is what I'm coming at.

[00:04:20] Yeah, it's a really good point. And I think particularly in incubation. It's really been a big tick, not to be a scientist, because you know I would talk to what I would term two men and a microscope.

[00:04:35] It was when I first started always two men never women it's great to see more women coming forward now, but two men and a microscope to scientists absolutely fixated on their technology and who would come in and tell me and you know my new show detail about exactly what they were doing and most of it would go over my head.

[00:04:56] And I used to say to them you know if you want to make an investor understand what you're doing, you need to be able to put this into layman's terms.

[00:05:05] You can make me understand what you're doing, then you've got much more hope of attracting investment into this business.

[00:05:12] And so I think, you know initially that was that was really where I could kind of see that I could help some of those companies and bring value to them.

[00:05:20] I think what I've witnessed over the time is that you know that inevitably the most successful early stage companies come with a really strong mix of skill sets within that founding team and whether that's a scientist upskilling to gain more commercial acumen or bringing in a commercial CEO who has some scientific

[00:05:41] understanding, you really do need that mix of you know I always say the startup business is a bit like a rock band.

[00:05:51] You know you need a good front man who can sell the story and bring other people along on that journey with them.

[00:05:58] You need someone to keep a steady rhythm and keep the finances ticking over.

[00:06:02] You need someone who's got a good strong base to the technology and can develop all of that.

[00:06:08] And then you need a lead guitarist who's going to keep on and create those moments of spectacular excitement, you know so whether that's a CMO or a chief ops or whatever it is but you need those mix of skill sets and you need everybody singing the same song in order for it to be successful.

[00:06:25] I have to say I'm loving the analogy to a rock band that's definitely amused me and that's a first but I think that's a great example Jane and I think it really emphasises the need of a combination of skills and experience to come together.

[00:06:40] And it's great to sort of hear about that confidence you have and bringing that non science background to your role.

[00:06:47] As Jacob's alluded to already we often speak to individuals within the industry who don't have a technical background or perhaps people that want to get into STEM but they don't have necessarily those qualifications or that previous experience and you feel that imposter syndrome straight away.

[00:07:05] What advice would you give to people who perhaps are already in the industry without a technical background or perhaps people that want to come into this industry that don't have that background but are very interested to get involved.

[00:07:18] What advice would you give those individuals.

[00:07:20] The main piece of advice I would give would be understand your value.

[00:07:25] You know just because you're not a scientist doesn't mean that you don't bring value to what you're doing.

[00:07:31] I mean my crowning moment when I was running Biocity in Scotland was walking St Andrews head of life sciences round the park to introduce her to some of our companies and then as I took her back over to the gatehouse we were sort of chatting on the way back and she said to me so Jane did you do your postdoc locally.

[00:07:51] And I said hello Geo great and she absolutely got smacked you know and I think that's the reality you know in the roles I've had where my job has been very much about you know bringing tenants into a science environment.

[00:08:09] You know my job is not necessarily to understand the science.

[00:08:13] My job is to understand the needs of the business and you know I can learn from my companies what they do and I can be you know I can regurgitate that information.

[00:08:22] It doesn't necessarily mean that I could walk into the lab and run an experiment from them but I do understand a little bit about what they do and you know that that's my value is being able to make connections on the science part to bring different people together.

[00:08:36] And I always say that the role of the science park is to create serendipity to bring people together who would never normally meet.

[00:08:45] And you know I am quite a people person so for me that's the part of the job that I really enjoy and that where I add value to the park.

[00:08:53] Nothing make a really good point Jane I was one of very very few non scientists here at SRG so Kelly now CEO of our sort of STEM portfolio at Tim Pelham here.

[00:09:06] Kelly is a scientist, Philippa is a scientist and was a scientist who hated the lab right.

[00:09:15] Don't put me in the laboratory now I think it'd be a disaster but technically I have a degree yes.

[00:09:21] Love that I love that.

[00:09:23] I was quite nervous I think about well I know I was about coming into SRG as a non scientist because I had this reputation of scientific recruitment done by scientists or life science recruitment done by technical experts.

[00:09:34] And whilst I'd worked in the life sciences sector of recruitment and staff institutions for the past sort of what at the time was about eight or nine years.

[00:09:44] Everyone was scientists and I was like whoa but Kelly was great because she was able to sort of look at it and go actually we need more diversity of thought we need to look at somebody coming in is maybe more commercial to what they had we need to bring in people who do think differently to scientists.

[00:10:00] And I think since we've done that here at SRG over the last few years and Philippa interested to get your thought but I do feel we've really advanced as a business we've looked more at our culture we've looked more at our values we've looked more at our you know our value proposition we've looked at you know are the way in which we engage do new business bring on partners in other ways rather than just being technically led.

[00:10:24] And I think that's really been an advantage to our business.

[00:10:28] And I can see how that probably resonates to the point that you made a moment ago Jane about being on a science park full of lots of scientists but actually different people different skill sets are needed to really enable it to flourish and to bring together the right partners and the right people onto the science part.

[00:10:47] Absolutely and I think I probably have a slight advantage over you there Jacob because when I start working at Rosalind Bio Center.

[00:10:57] As I said it was just on the back of Dolly the sheep and bio incubation was brand new at that stage. In fact incubation was probably pretty new.

[00:11:06] And so we were the only people doing it in Scotland and so we kind of reached out the hand of friendship to others who were further down the line so Martino Picardo who's now my chairman at Discovery Park was at you make it Manchester Glen Crocker was at bio city and

[00:11:23] they only had one site then and David Hardman was running Bay Bram and I really learned a lot from those three guys about how to run a science park you know.

[00:11:35] I mean when I first started you know I didn't even know how to get the autoplave service. You know so it was really learning on the job and I probably have the advantage that you know because incubation was brand new and the facility was new.

[00:11:47] We were bringing in companies for whom this was a brand new experience as well and so we were all kind of learning from each other in that environment.

[00:11:57] So I probably felt less of an imposter then because it was it was so brand new whereas in roles that I've had subsequently where I've had to kind of you know up my game and there's been more of an expectation on me as an individual to deliver and the knowledge that I've gained over the years.

[00:12:14] I've probably felt a bit more of that imposter syndrome since.

[00:12:18] Okay interesting.

[00:12:20] I mean just to sort of add to the to all of that I mean it's interesting because on paper yes I have a science degree.

[00:12:27] I went to university and then I worked briefly in the laboratory but I absolutely am so fiercely passionate about science and all the innovation and everything that comes with comes with the industry.

[00:12:37] But I never really worked in the lab for a long period of time so although on paper I am a scientist in inverted commas you know I almost had elements of imposter syndrome early on in my career because I wasn't somebody that could speak with experience about what it was like to work in a laboratory but as cliche as it sounds I think it's about having a genuine passion for science and for the STEM industry.

[00:13:01] And I think you can have that passion whether you have a science degree, a PhD or you don't have any qualifications in science.

[00:13:09] I think it's just about that genuine interest and then I think that interest naturally fuels you to ask questions to explore to engage and I completely echo what you've said Jacob I think naturally obviously one of s or g selling points is that we have a lot of technically trained consultants and I think that will always continue and there's always been a need for that but I absolutely agree with having that passion.

[00:13:30] And I think having a diverse range of people in s or g I think it's definitely made us you know a stronger company it's enabled much more diversity of thought and that can only be a good thing.

[00:13:40] So yeah just thought I'd sort of add that to the discussion.

[00:13:43] I think the onus is on all of us, particularly us non scientists to actually you know create opportunities for young people and children, you know school children to see the opportunity that they're in science regardless of whether you're a scientist or not.

[00:14:00] You know, we're on the science part but I'm now you know we have an award winning community lab where we bring in teachers and school children to learn about science in a practical application and I think, you know had science been more exciting for me in school.

[00:14:17] I potentially would have seen this more as a career opportunity, but you know I hated science school I found it really dull I found it really difficult.

[00:14:26] And actually, you know, it's because you were looking at it, really kind of technical focus. Have they given us more application of how science was used or how they show us how innovation happens.

[00:14:38] You know, I think that would have made me think really differently about STEM subjects.

[00:14:43] Yeah, and I think that's such a valid point Jane I think you know there's definitely some really positive steps and some great initiatives that are happening now.

[00:14:50] And Jacob and I were talking about that this quite recently it's about going back to the grassroots.

[00:14:55] It's it's speaking to children in education about science about STEM and applying it to everyday things like you know phones that they see all the time you know there's a lot of initiatives to get children into sort of coding.

[00:15:08] And a lot of these jobs haven't even been defined yet because it's going to be based on technology that's not been developed yet, but it's about getting children really inquisitive early on.

[00:15:18] Absolutely.

[00:15:19] I mean I'm excited about STEM.

[00:15:21] My kids are both in their 20s now, but I remember when they were choosing their subjects at school, the headmaster saying to us you know we are training young people for jobs that don't even exist yet.

[00:15:35] And if you look at the pace of technology and the way that it's changed the way that we operate that you know you can absolutely see some of the challenges.

[00:15:43] I mean you'll know from a recruitment perspective, you know around those convergent pieces where you're starting to bring together tech and biotech so bioinformaticians for example, where you need a contextual understanding of biotech but you

[00:15:57] need to be able to slice and interpret data differently to the way that a scientist would.

[00:16:03] You know those new roles are really interesting and exciting where you're bringing together lots of different skill sets and lots of different viewpoints in terms of developing products.

[00:16:13] I couldn't agree more, couldn't agree more.

[00:16:15] Two topics actually touched upon there we had one podcast we did on sustainable talent, which talked about exactly that quote that you gave and I gave that quote about jobs don't exist.

[00:16:25] I was challenged on it directly but I fully believe in that quote.

[00:16:29] And the second was we actually had a lady called Georgia from I want to say it was Welcome Sander I think it was.

[00:16:36] Yes, from Sander.

[00:16:37] And she was data science and she was talking about exactly that journey actually that she'd been on.

[00:16:44] So we talk about talent we talk about you know I'm really thank you for your insight in being a non-scientist in science because I do think it's a voice that needs to be heard

[00:16:53] and one that actually you don't need to be a scientist to add value in STEM.

[00:16:57] We need that diversity and that's great.

[00:16:59] So we talked about grassroots we talked about schools.

[00:17:02] We developed this talent.

[00:17:04] Now this talent just doesn't need to look in the Golden Triangle.

[00:17:06] There's so many more areas around the UK where life science is happening.

[00:17:10] We talked about the West Midlands on the last podcast.

[00:17:12] So I'd love to hear what's going on in Kent.

[00:17:15] I've been to the park but I'd love to hear from you maybe what's going on some of the challenges that you're facing.

[00:17:22] Sure.

[00:17:23] So, yeah, I mean, you know, I'm working in Kent now I still live in Scotland.

[00:17:28] So that's an interesting commute for a starting point.

[00:17:31] But you know when I first came down to the site for interview, you know, I was just literally blown away by what they've got.

[00:17:42] So the Science Park is a 220 acre park.

[00:17:47] We have 1.6 million square feet of built space and the site was developed originally by Pfizer and wholly owned by Pfizer.

[00:17:57] And then when Big Pharma made the big restructure and looked to solidify operations, the park was sold for a multi occupancy.

[00:18:09] Having said that, there's a big misconception that Pfizer have left the building about like Elvis.

[00:18:15] But the reality is that Pfizer still occupy about a third of our park and actually are still growing on the park and have invested substantially over the last couple of years and they employ about 1000 people.

[00:18:30] And then in addition to that we have another 160 plus companies and throughout our various different buildings.

[00:18:40] What's interesting is that when the park was sold initially, the previous owners just ran it very much as a business park to the point where there's a rumor that I've heard that building 500 which was

[00:18:53] Pfizer's R&D sort of jewel in the crown.

[00:18:57] They talked about ripping all of that out and creating apartments in that space.

[00:19:02] Thankfully, that didn't happen.

[00:19:05] The current owners acquired the park I think six years ago now.

[00:19:10] And I joined the Stubbery Park coming up two years ago and my remit, it was a brand new role.

[00:19:17] My remit was to basically catalyze innovation and create a knowledge exchange on the park and really turn it back into a science and technology park.

[00:19:29] And so over the last couple of years, we've made significant strides forward in terms of building that cluster.

[00:19:37] We have 50,000 square feet of wet lab incubation space that's just opening.

[00:19:44] And we've already got four tenants moved into that space and heavy pipeline of other companies coming through.

[00:19:52] And that space is sort of 250 square feet upwards so you know really sort of great for early stage and startup companies.

[00:20:02] And then I wanted to look at the sort of business support that we pulled together to really make sure that those companies had the best opportunity for success.

[00:20:11] And we've got a lot of service companies on the park.

[00:20:15] So we've got, you know, lawyers, accountants, recruiters and sort of marketing firms.

[00:20:20] But it felt like there was still gaps in that and particularly around that kind of investor readiness piece where, you know, companies are really starting to feel the pinch,

[00:20:29] particularly now where money's becoming tighter and more difficult to attract.

[00:20:33] And so we partnered with Barclays Eagle Labs and brought Barclays into the site in November last year, and we're already seeing huge benefit from that relationship.

[00:20:46] And you know, we found a number of companies that we've spoken to who we like to look off but who maybe aren't quite ready for investment yet.

[00:20:54] We've been able to signpost them to Barclays and investor readiness program that they run.

[00:21:00] And then those other companies who we've invested in, who are looking at the next tranche of money or those who, you know, are already in our pipeline but are already received that first round.

[00:21:12] And Barclays have a demo directory where you can upload a pitch video and you're matched directly with investors who have an interest in your particular technology and want to invest at the stage that you're at.

[00:21:26] And so that kind of wraparound business support has been fantastic for our tenant base and we've got co-working space in there and we've got a number of early stage companies, particularly in the sort of digital health arena,

[00:21:39] who are benefiting from the sort of health tech vertical that Barclays operates.

[00:21:44] And then we've got a whole range of other initiatives going so we're running, you know, events to sort of stimulate and bring wider community into Kent.

[00:21:55] So we've got an innovation conference coming up, you know, where we've got speakers from Microsoft and Norway AI talking about AI and how it's being used in healthcare.

[00:22:05] We're running health hubs so we're bringing all of our healthcare companies together to look at shared challenges that they face and how we might work collaboratively to address some of those.

[00:22:15] I've been working with the universities, our local universities, so Kent, Canterbury Christchurch and Greenwich.

[00:22:23] And we have various different initiatives running with each of them but I was really pleasantly surprised in coming into Kent to see how much innovation was actually happening there already.

[00:22:35] And that's actually the biggest challenge for me is when people think Kent, they don't necessarily think science and technology.

[00:22:43] And actually we've got a really thriving community that we're building around the park, working with partners.

[00:22:49] And we're finding that that's becoming very attractive to young companies who perhaps can't find space in the Golden Triangle but want to remain somewhere close to London.

[00:23:00] You know, we've got a new train line opening next month which will mean we're less than an hour into St Pancras.

[00:23:06] And that connectivity and that ability to bring together a biotech cluster in Kent and a tech cluster at Kings Cross is really exciting.

[00:23:16] Yeah, definitely. It's a really good point you make there about thinking, you know, the association because if you do hear Oxford, Cambridge,

[00:23:26] even before, especially Cambridge, even before I moved into life sciences, you'd think science or I certainly would have.

[00:23:32] I hear Cambridge, I think, oh, life sciences.

[00:23:35] When I hear Kent, I think of, you know, Garden of England, I think of farming, I think of vineyards or whatever.

[00:23:42] You don't, yeah, life sciences doesn't spring to mind but it's interesting to hear that landscape is changing.

[00:23:50] It all sounds really positive. It all sounds shiny and fantastic.

[00:23:54] What are some of the challenges that you've faced? I mean, you've got a lot of companies that you mentioned.

[00:23:59] How's the talent market? Is there the talent available in Kent as in scientists themselves?

[00:24:05] I mean, talent's a challenge everywhere, right? You guys know that better than anyone.

[00:24:09] It's absolutely a candidate-led market at the moment but that's where I think we can win because in Kent, the lifestyle is fantastic.

[00:24:19] You know, and you can still have that accessibility to London but live in this beautiful coastal environment.

[00:24:27] It's interesting. I was talking to someone recently who was with Pfizer and now works for another company on site.

[00:24:35] And he said that when he came down for interview, he left the interview and went and sat on the beach with fish and chips.

[00:24:42] And he and his wife just said, why would we not want to move here?

[00:24:46] You know, and I think that's really one of the biggest selling points that we have, that whole location piece that we can offer.

[00:24:54] It's really interesting what you were saying because obviously as a Scott, that golden triangle message is constantly thumped and foremost for us.

[00:25:03] And that is one of the challenges for the area because, you know, when I first came to Kent, you know, I had heard the mantra forever.

[00:25:11] You know, 70% of VC money goes within 100 miles of the houses of parliament and most of it goes into the golden triangle.

[00:25:20] And I think my perception of Kent was that it would be, you know, almost kind of the next tier down from that.

[00:25:27] And yet the reality is it's kind of almost a little forgotten county at times.

[00:25:32] As most of the people who live there will tell you, they're quite happy with that fact because, you know, it means that it's not a crowded environment.

[00:25:40] But you know, if you look at the price of housing and the quality of life that you can have in Kent, it really is exceptional.

[00:25:46] I mean just to, yeah, just to comment on the on the facility.

[00:25:50] I mean, I've been to the park, you know, over the years, particularly when Pfizer obviously had a bigger presence.

[00:25:56] And I went down, I think it was last November for your 10 year anniversary event and I was just so impressed with what I saw the development and listening to what Pfizer had achieved.

[00:26:09] I mean, the facilities look fantastic.

[00:26:11] And I completely echo what you're saying, Jane.

[00:26:13] I think there's challenges no matter which part of the golden triangle for going to focus on golden triangle in terms of hiring and attracting talent.

[00:26:22] And interestingly, a lot of the talent we recruit for Cambridge, Oxford and London often has to relocate to the area.

[00:26:30] So many respects we should be promoting these other UK hubs because often the talent is prepared to relocate there if the opportunities there and the science is there.

[00:26:40] And I think in order for us to stay competitive within a global STEM market, you know, we need to create other hubs and mirror what we've done so well in the golden triangle.

[00:26:50] We've seen this starting in the West Midlands, I know Bristol, Edinburgh, you know, there's a whole host of hubs across the UK and it's about spreading the wealth really isn't it?

[00:26:59] And just creating more and more opportunities.

[00:27:01] But I have to say the facility you guys have there in Kent is really, really impressive.

[00:27:06] And yeah, I'm excited to sort of see how things continue to evolve.

[00:27:11] It feels like we're really gathering momentum now, you know, there's lots happening and the pipeline of companies that we've got who are interested in space is growing constantly.

[00:27:21] And certainly, I think over the next couple of months, we've probably got about another 10 lab based companies that are set to move in imminently.

[00:27:28] You know, the more that we bring in the more attractive the site becomes.

[00:27:32] Yeah, and it's really interesting, you know, you're right there's challenges in the golden triangle, you know, if you look at the cost of housing, it's horrific.

[00:27:40] And there isn't much housing, you know, if you look at public transport, it's not fantastic.

[00:27:46] So actually having been to Oxford and Cambridge and listen to some of the challenges that they've got on the parks there.

[00:27:53] A lot of that is down to lack of housing, lack of affordable housing and lack of space.

[00:27:58] So many companies are being curtailed within the golden triangle because they can't afford to expand or there isn't the space to expand.

[00:28:07] Well, there hasn't been a need to right? So this is my view on it, right?

[00:28:11] First of all, Phillip, I'm really pleased that you didn't start attacking Jane because I know you live in Cambridge.

[00:28:15] And I know she was saying how beautiful, how beautiful and lovely Kent was.

[00:28:20] And I know you're Cambridge here. So I'm just glad you didn't start getting into a bit of a battle about, well, you know, actually it's still beautiful here.

[00:28:26] So I'm pleased to do that.

[00:28:28] But within the UK, everybody needs to look internally.

[00:28:31] All science plants across the UK, all companies across the UK need to look internally and go right, we actually need to up our game.

[00:28:38] We need to improve. We need to advance this forward so that we can still attract the best talent and bring it to our area.

[00:28:44] So for example, when it was just a golden triangle, there was a monopoly of talent really there.

[00:28:49] But now we've got these other hubs starting.

[00:28:51] There's great things that you're doing, the great things that's happening in the West Midlands in Edinburgh is Manchester, even now in the Northeast.

[00:28:57] You look at it and you go right.

[00:28:59] We now have to be competitive.

[00:29:01] We now have to look internally.

[00:29:02] We have to develop.

[00:29:03] We have to advance.

[00:29:04] We have to think actually what investments are needed.

[00:29:07] And what that will do is that means that we are only improving our global stance as a life science powerhouse.

[00:29:14] Absolutely.

[00:29:15] I mean, you know, the UK is tiny when you think about it, you know, and so to suggest that the only life sciences talent is based within three different locations is just nonsensical.

[00:29:26] I mean, the golden triangle is the golden triangle.

[00:29:29] You cannot take away the success that they've had.

[00:29:32] The talent that they've got there, the money that's been invested there, the quality of the companies that they've built.

[00:29:38] However, that's not to say it's the only place that successful companies locate.

[00:29:44] And I would argue that Discovery Park is for people who think outside the triangle.

[00:29:49] You know, people who want to be in a different location, you know, who don't want to be paying over the odds for space, who want to get the money from their investor and invest it in their technology rather than paying, you know, ridiculous square footage rates.

[00:30:02] Because we have, we have facilities that are better than most that you'll find elsewhere in the UK.

[00:30:07] And yet they're a lot less expensive.

[00:30:10] And, you know, building that cluster is really exciting.

[00:30:13] I think, you know, that's one of the things that I've learned on each of the different life sciences parks that I've been on.

[00:30:19] You the site morphs, the park morphs based on the companies that you bring in.

[00:30:26] You know, I always think it's interesting when you first start working in incubation in particular, you think you get to this age where you're sort of 75% full and you think, oh job done.

[00:30:35] But no, the job's not done because it constantly changes and it constantly evolves based on who's in the space and what needs they've got as a business.

[00:30:44] So, you know, at Discovery Park, the facilities we've got, the infrastructure that we've got is second to none.

[00:30:51] You know, it was put in by a big pharma company. And what's really interesting is, you know, Pfizer in sandwich is still an integral part of Pfizer's operations globally.

[00:31:03] So for example, here's a great stat for you.

[00:31:06] 85% of all the small molecule products that Pfizer produces globally are touched in some way by the team at sandwich.

[00:31:18] Now that's quite an impressive statistic. And that tells you the sort of level of talent that's within sandwich working for Pfizer.

[00:31:27] You know, and so if Pfizer can attract those companies, anybody else who locates on our park has the same opportunity to attract.

[00:31:35] You know, as well as I do, one of the interesting things about the pandemic is that it's made people really think about wanting to work for an organization that's got purpose at its core.

[00:31:46] Well, what better purpose than a life sciences business which is looking to improve health? There's no better purpose.

[00:31:54] You know, so it doesn't matter the scale of the organization. If you're doing something interesting, exciting, novel, different, you will attract Alan.

[00:32:04] I love that. That's a really nice place to actually end it.

[00:32:07] How we like to end these conversations, Jane, is just really some takeaways.

[00:32:12] Obviously, we cover quite a lot in our chats.

[00:32:15] So it'd be good just to get your takeaway points. And if you've got three points, great.

[00:32:21] If fewer, more doesn't really matter. But just summarizing really some of the takeaways that you would like our listeners to take from this.

[00:32:30] Wow, that's quite a tricky question.

[00:32:33] Phillip, do you want to kick us off?

[00:32:35] Yeah, I can certainly go first. I mean, I think for me, you know, early we spoke about the role of non-scientists in STEM.

[00:32:42] And I think that's something we should continue to encourage and celebrate just to create that diversity of thoughts.

[00:32:48] And then really just on the piece of the UK hubs, I think it's about celebrating all the great stuff that's going on in Kent.

[00:32:55] And we just need to continue creating these UK hubs up and down the country to make sure we attract and retain the best talent.

[00:33:03] And as I said earlier, it's about us remaining competitive on that global level.

[00:33:07] So I'm here for it. I think Kent is a great example.

[00:33:10] I've seen firsthand the wonderful facility that you've got there.

[00:33:14] And I'm just excited to watch the journey. They're kind of my key takeaways.

[00:33:21] I would say my sort of key takeaways are regardless of whether you've got a scientific background, you can have a career in science and technology.

[00:33:29] I would say my second thing is regardless of whether you're a scientist or not, you know, it's our role, each and every one of us who work within this sector to inspire young people to think about the opportunities that lie ahead and where science and technology might be going and how they might find a career within that space.

[00:33:49] And then the third thing I would say is, you know, life sciences doesn't stop within the golden triangle boundaries.

[00:33:55] You know, there are fantastic scientists working the length and breadth of the country.

[00:34:00] You know, if you look at, well, I would say Dully the sheep, you know, great example developed in just outside Edinburgh, but you know, one of those global happenings that only happens once.

[00:34:12] And so, you know, remain open minded. Life does not stop beyond the boundary of the golden triangle.

[00:34:18] Agreed. Okay, so for me, your closing remark really hit home with me actually around about making a difference and working in STEM.

[00:34:29] And I think that was quite powerful and the way you summarized it, I thought was really good.

[00:34:34] But my kind of takeaways, one, I wasn't quite aware actually as to the presence that there was in Kent prior to talking to you and also then doing some research prior to this podcast around what you're actually doing there.

[00:34:48] So that's already my naivety not being on the ground doing the recruitment like my colleagues do.

[00:34:55] Can I just say something on that? Here's a learning for you that I didn't know either.

[00:35:00] Okay, University of Kent is number two in the ref for impact in biosciences.

[00:35:07] There you go. Well, that could be my third takeaway then. You've got my third point for me there, but it is really fascinating.

[00:35:14] And just on this series that we're doing speaking with Andrew, speaking with yourself, Jane, hearing about the great stuff that's happening across the UK and life science.

[00:35:22] I'm really enjoying hearing about it. I hope the guys that listen to this are enjoying it too because there is so much happening.

[00:35:29] There's so much investment and you read the news, you read about what's going on with lack of investment, missed opportunities from life science in the UK.

[00:35:38] And I'm not saying that's not going on, but there is still so much great stuff going on.

[00:35:42] And I think it's great to talk about it and celebrate it.

[00:35:45] So I really loved having you on, Jane, talking to you about it.

[00:35:49] So thank you so much for joining us.

[00:35:51] Thank you for having me.