Creating places for people to drive life science
While technology and collaboration has made it possible for many to consider giving up their commute entirely, Jane Kennedy looks at those whose only option is to work out of a laboratory and why we should continue to create spaces where talent can be nurtured.
While the pandemic has undoubtedly brought life sciences to greater prominence, we should also consider the human impact it’s had on the ‘invisible frontline workers’ delivering the medical advances that we take for granted.
The Life Sciences industry gave a herculean effort, developing and rolling out vaccines at rapid speed, but our scientists are first and foremost human beings. The stress and scrutiny many of our people have been under over the last two years has been intense.
While staff across the NHS, in care homes, charities, supermarkets and many more have, rightly so, been celebrated as crucial cogs in the machine to keep the country running, I want to applaud those who aren’t as visible – the individuals continuing to work tirelessly to advance science, treatments and therapies.
This is where the life sciences community really comes into its own. Collaboration may be a word casually thrown around but it’s something which science park staff and resident companies live and breathe. We work together with our tenant companies to achieve common goals, to foster change, share knowledge and above all, to support one another
The Life Sciences industry gave a herculean effort, developing and rolling out vaccines at rapid speed, but our scientists are first and foremost human beings. The stress and scrutiny many of our people have been under over the last two years has been intense
The pandemic also presented me with a positive career opportunity which may not have been available in a pre-pandemic world. Taking on the role at Discovery Park last year required me to commute between my home in Edinburgh and Kent. It would have been hard to imagine taking on this role BC (before Covid) but technology and collaboration have made it possible. However, for many in the life sciences industry a lab is the only place they can work from – therefore working from home simply isn’t an option.
That’s why collaborative spaces like science and innovation parks offer such a healthy environment for our sector to continue to thrive. I think it’s so important that we continue to create spaces where we can nurture exciting new talent, collaborate for success, and make our people feel part of a wider, very special community.
- Jane Kennedy is Chief Business Officer of Discovery Park in Kent (discovery-park.co.uk)
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