Free training with immersive VR? Too good to be true? Guess again!
31 July 2024
Over fifty undergraduate and postgraduate students from all over Scotland attended a careers fair in Glasgow last week. Students were "absolutely blown away" by the RESILIENCE programs and future plans. RESILIENCE Research Associate at Heriot-Watt University Laura Porcza explains more...
Organised by IBioIC at the University of Strathclyde, the 2nd annual IBIoIC Careers Fair successfully provided a platform for students, potential employers and support bodies to make connections and inspire one another about next steps and career opportunities.
RESILIENCE was at the heart of the day, represented by the Centre’s group at Heriot-Watt University / FlexBio Bioprocessing scale-up facility. As Laura Porcza explains, “I was delighted to be joined on our stand by Aaron Reid, a placement student from FlexBio.”
“Aaron has been working for the last year on a placement as a lab trainee where he assists the FlexBio team with lab maintenance and ongoing projects primarily related to downstream processing. After his placement finishes in September, Aaron will be going back to Aberdeen University for the final year of his MSc in Biomedical Sciences (Pharmacology).”
“I don’t think Aaron could have imagined that his placement would involve demonstrating an immersive VR lab training environment to fellow students, but he did a fantastic job!”
Reflecting on the day, Aaron Reid said, “It was a fantastic experience to represent FlexBIO at the RESILIENCE stand. We had engaging discussions about the potential of VR as a training tool in biotechnology and beyond.”
“It was a fantastic experience to represent FlexBIO at the RESILIENCE stand. We had engaging discussions about the potential of VR as a training tool in biotechnology and beyond.”
(Aaron Reid, FlexBio Downstream Processing Lab Trainee)
The students visting the RESILIENCE stand were similarly impressed with what they heard and saw. According to Laura Porcza, “The students were absolutely blown away by our programme and future plans, and everyone who stopped at our table signed up to receive more information about upcoming training opportunities. Many of them couldn’t even believe that we’re offering all this training for free, saying that ‘it sounds too good to be true’. But it really is!”
“Many of the students couldn’t even believe that we’re offering all this training for free, but it really is!”
(Laura Porcza, RESILIENCE Research Associate, Heriot-Watt University)
Just as pleasing was the interest amongst attending companies to engage and collaborate with the RESILIENCE programme, which is intended to help businesses address their emerging skills gaps in the rapidly changing world of advanced medicines manufacturing. We are seeking to build a network of educators, trainees and employers working together to ensure the competitiveness of UK medicines manufacturing in this emerging landscape.
If you want to be part of the journey get in touch today, or better still JOIN US for our official launch event in Birmingham on September 12th, and don’t forget to watch out for forthcoming opportunities and regular announcements on LinkedIn.