Over 150 guests joined us for the RSB’s Bioscience Careers Day events (BCD) in March, hearing from a selection of industry professionals about the variety of careers available to bioscience graduates.

A science communications competition was also held during the week, with one winner and highly commended entries also selected.

The first session looked at science communication including how to effectively share scientific ideas with a diverse audience. The key take home messages from this session included taking advantage of any opportunity that graduates can get, not selling yourself short when applying for jobs, and if interested in becoming a science communicator to go to as many science events as possible, especially whilst at university.

Among the speakers were Faye Watson, Public and Community Engagement Consultant at CollaborACTION, Aimee Eckert, Research Advisor at the British Heart Foundation, and Quang Tran, Science Communications Officer at Alzheimer's Research UK, and the session was chaired by the RSB’s Senior Events Officer Lucy Eckersley MRSB.

The second session focused on AI and machine learning, looking at the areas of the biosciences they are transforming, and the skills needed to utilise them. It was interesting to think about how future generations will be working with AI-driven bioscience breakthroughs so it is useful to become familiar with it. It was also exciting to think that, with new technologies constantly evolving, some future careers may not yet exist.

This session was chaired by Dr Matt Bawn, Senior Lecturer at Newcastle University, and the speakers included: Alice Morrell, Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Oxford; Joe Dixon, Principal Medical Writer at Costello Medical; and James Sweet-Jones, Business Analyst and Associate at Revena.

The final session shone a spotlight on career paths outside of academia and industry, looking at pharmaceutical science and working as a university technician. The speakers all agreed that anyone looking for a job in the biosciences should make use of any free resources and should be proactive in looking for experience. They also pointed out that work experience does not have to be paid – volunteering is just as important.

The RSB’s Senior Professional Development Officer, Dr Tia Salter MRSB, chaired the final session. The speakers were comprised of: Margaret Kadembo, Marketing Assistant at Novartis; Jasper David Chaplin, Multi-Faculty Technician at the Royal Veterinary College; and Suzannah Pearce, Deputy Technical Lead & Secondary Legislation Manager at Defra.

The RSB’s first ever Science Communication competition was also held during the week where applicants were tasked with converting and summarising a scientific journal article into a media format - either a news story or social media post. The winner was Binish Fatima Zaman, a biotechnology graduate currently studying towards a Masters in Biotechnology and Management at the University of Glasgow.

Commenting on the win, Binish said: “Winning this competition truly made my day! I wanted to make science communication fun and relatable using a light-hearted image of a pandemic puppy interrupting a meeting to highlight how research can help manage such behaviours. It’s a reminder that science isn’t just about discovery – it’s about reaching the right people at the right time, sometimes through humour and heart.”

The winning entry was awarded complimentary access to an RSB training course on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Highly commended entries will have their work displayed on our dedicated BCD microsite.