Enterprising & employability skills

The Soft Matter and Functional Interfaces centre for doctoral training (SOFI-CDT) combines expertise from three universities and from industry with central facilities. It delivers a comprehensive training programme and a wide choice of research projects from across the full range of science. The centre provides post-graduate training in research, enterprise and innovation for future industrial leaders.

SOFI-CDT students receive enterprise-focused, soft skills training and business awareness including communication training and a mini-MBA. Topics covered include project management, finance, marketing, entrepreneurship and research commercialisation. The CDT aims to help students appreciate the business context and multidisciplinary nature of SOFI science and to develop business awareness. The training programme also has a focus on social responsibility in innovation.

PhD projects are inspired by industry and every student in the CDT has the opportunity to gain international experience in a three-month overseas placement. These are either at an international site of one of the industrial partners or within a research group at of one of the SOFI global academic partners.

Further information: About the SOFI CDT

BizzInn, an initiative hosted by the University of Birmingham and run by their Enterprise Acceleration team, provides the Medici Enterprise Training Programme. The course aims to help entrepreneurial academics and researchers to exploit the commercial value of their research. The programme has been running for 14 years and has provided training to over 400 attendees from across the country.

The training introduces delegates to a wide range of business areas, giving a better understanding of the business world. This gives them more confidence and awareness when approaching commercialisation of their research. Delegates also go on to use the training to enrich their teaching and research.

The programme explores the various routes available to academics to commercialise their research so they can make the best choices in how to develop their product. The course also covers skills such as networking, dealing with intellectual property, financial skills, marketing and pitching ideas.

Further information: BizzInn training

For more than 12 years the Business partnership unit (BPU) has run a successful Business Science Fellowship (BSF) programme. This scheme enables post-doctoral level chemists to gain training and hands on practical experience of working at the interface between academia and industry. BPU staff mentor the BSFs, who also receive extensive formal training in key business, innovation and entrepreneurship skills.

Recipients of the fellowship typically work on a range of projects selected from the school’s technology transfer portfolio, which are commercially related. These are often in collaboration with industrial partners. Work ranges from following up industrial queries via patent filing to finalising licensing deals for novel technologies.

Former BSFs have taken up positions within, and are making a significant contribution to, a range of organisations. They continue to support the BPU as visiting and returning speakers.

Further information: The University of Nottingham School of Chemistry - Business Partnership Unit

The University of Reading embed professional skills for chemists through a stream of specialised modules running vertically through their undergraduate courses.  Chemistry students develop skills that are fundamental to many careers through a problem-based learning approach. They can then use their experiences as anecdotal evidence in job applications and interviews. The Royal Society of Chemistry Undergraduate Skills Record is used to record these skills.

In year one, students carry out a number of group problem based learning activities. They give presentations, write reports and design a poster to explain how they have completed the task. Students also carry out an IT and numeracy skills based challenge, using teamwork and communication skills. Besides these group tasks there are individual activities, including scientific writing.

Second year training focuses on the chemical industry and careers. Teams of students act out the role of a management group for a chemicals production company. The teams develop skills including pitching proposals, long term strategic planning, business and entrepreneurial skills such as financial planning. Teams then have to defend their plans in an “Apprentice-style” boardroom interview. Alongside this, the university provides careers support from a Careers Advisor focusing on CV preparation and career planning. This allows the students to see the relevance of the professional skills developed to placement and employment applications.

In the final years, students carry out research projects and draw on their experiences of independent investigative and analytical skills, problem solving, ICT and communication as they write project reports, deliver presentations and attend vivas.

Further information: Elizabeth Page, Department of Chemistry

Since 2012, the school of chemistry at the University of Leeds has been hosting an Industrial Advisory Board (IAB). The board is composed of an independent Chair and representatives from 10 companies from multiple sectors, drawn largely from Leeds chemistry alumni. The IAB provide advice on embedding transferable skills development in teaching programmes. It meets with department staff twice a year to provide employers’ perspectives on teaching and employability.

The IAB are involved in introducing employability skills into the curriculum. They help to identify which skills are most important for specific target sectors and ensure courses deliver and embed all the professional skills that students should develop during their degree.

Module leaders mark which professional skills students develop on a comprehensive mapping document set by the University of Leeds. This forms a large matrix that gives a clear overview of exactly which professional skills are covered in each chemistry unit. The IAB also provides additional opportunities for students, e.g. networking opportunities and bespoke advice on CVs and job application preparation.

Alongside this, a bespoke chemistry alumni LinkedIn group exists to help connect existing students with individuals working within a range of sectors, both scientific and non-scientific. This LinkedIn group now has over 530 members and is used to identify external visitors (e.g. for networking events) as well as future IAB members.

The University of Oxford’s department of chemistry set up an Alumni network for all former undergraduates and postgraduates in 2012.  The alumni programme’s mission is “to develop and strengthen ties between our Alumni and the department of chemistry by providing diverse tangible benefits including career services, networking opportunities, special events and lectures, and the opportunity to connect with and inspire students and graduates.” They also aim to “engage Alumni with departmental research and future goals, in order that each individual feels welcome and valued as a member of the Oxford chemistry community.”

Alumni receive regular e-newsletters, which have an open rate over twice the industry standard, as well as Periodic, an annual magazine that is sent by post to around 7,500 alumni in October and is also online.  Every year, the department hosts an alumni reception in London. All alumni are invited, and the events have been popular and well-attended, each attracting around 100 guests. The head of the department speaks at the events, and in the past two years these have also featured Oxford chemists as guest speakers including Peter Atkins, Carol Robinson, Andrew Goodwin, Claire Vallance and Tim Donohoe. The department also participates in the annual Oxford Alumni Weekend, offering talks, tours, and a networking/drinks reception. The department has webpages dedicated to alumni, a LinkedIn group that alumni are welcome to join, and a popular twitter feed.  Chemistry alumni are also invited to join the recently established University-wide Oxford Alumni Community, and receive College and University communications, e.g. Oxford Today.

Connections with alumni have led to the establishment of the Alan Howe Prize for best junior demonstrator, speakers for careers events and IP workshops, sponsorship of Periodic magazine and the provision of workshops and professional advice for students.  In a connection made via Chemistry alumnus Dr Humphrey Bowen at an alumni event, the Meniere’s Society has agreed to support a graduate student in Prof Dame Carol Robinson’s group.  The Oxford-R E Jones Scholarship in Chemistry was established in 2014 under the Oxford Graduate Matched Funding scheme with the support of alumnus Clara Freeman and her family in combination with a philanthropic donation from the biopharmaceutical company, UCB.

Further information: Susan Davies, Alumni Relations Office

The Royal Society Industry Fellowships is a grant scheme for knowledge transfer partnerships. They are available to academic scientists who want to work on a collaborative project with industry, or scientists in industry who want to work with a university department or not-for-profit research organisation.

The project aims to enhance knowledge transfer in science and technology between those in industry and those in academia in the UK. The fellowship provides a basic salary for the researcher and a contribution towards research costs. The Royal Society, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and Rolls-Royce plc. currently fund the project.

The grants are for researchers at a stage in their career where they could particularly benefit from establishing or strengthening personal or corporate links between academia and industry as a foundation for long-term collaboration and development.

Further information: Royal Society Industry Fellowships

EnterprisePlus is a dedicated support scheme for chemical science SMEs, run by the Royal Society of Chemistry. As well as business support, the RSC provides opportunities for companies to strengthen links with academic research and provides grants to bring placement students into the company.

The industrial placement grants were introduced to help SMEs to recruit recently trained employees without the prohibitive financial cost. The grants provide up to £20,000 to help EnterprisePlus companies to cover the cost of a year-long placement for an undergraduate student to complete their year in industry within the SME. Working in partnership with Cogent, the sector skills agency, students are matched to a company and gain vital experience by working on real industrial projects.

The scheme brings benefits to the companies and the students. Fresh recruits bring new ideas to the company, and the increase in workforce allows the company to expand the range of their projects. The students gain valuable industrial experience for their studies and careers and learn new skills, both in the lab and through exposure to the business side of how a small company operates. Often students return to their placement company to take up a permanent position after completing their degree.

Further information: Royal Society of Chemistry industrial placement grants