Careers in Industry
And how to get them
January 2016
Kevin Parker
KKI Associates Limited
kevin@kkitech.com
25
My Background




B.Sc Chemistry Edinburgh, Ph.D Cambridge
BP R&D, various commercial roles
‘Portfolio’ with own company, think-tanks,
HEI’s – KT/KE, impact, employability
Voluntary work with Scouting, Princes Trust
25
Working in R&D


Fundamental Research - performance related
Technical Service


‘We’ve run out of hydraulic fluid, can we use gearbox oil
instead?’
Trouble-shooting/problem-solving

‘We are being sued - a customer’s engine has blown up’
25
Working in R&D


Fundamental Research - performance related
Technical Service


‘We’ve run out of hydraulic fluid, can we use gearbox oil
instead?’
Trouble-shooting/problem-solving
 ‘We
are being
sued - a customer’scuriosity
engine has blown up’
Key
Skill(s)
– problem-solving,
25
Product Development
Key Skill(s) – team working, knowledge sharing
25
Technical Sales
Key Skills: technical & financial awareness,
patience, persistence, negotiation
25
Technical Sales
Key Skills: willingness to fly a lot
25
Technology Management - HSE
Key Skill(s) – attention to detail, working with people
25
Technology Strategy and Planning
35
30
Concepts
25
Feasibility
20
15
10
Detail
Proposal
Full Project
Completed
or KT
5
0
Key Skill(s) – analytical, influencing
25
Technico-economic Studies

Trade Bodies, Governments, NGOs
25
Market Research for Bioscience
Key Skill(s) – curiosity, communication, commercial awareness
25
Business Development

‘Selling Slovenia to Slough’
Key Skill(s) – curiosity, communication, persistence,
commercial awareness
25
Project Management
Technical Activi ti es
Joi nt Activi ti es
Commercial Acti vities
Check no conflicting patents
Management structure
Hire staff
Release funds
Purchase PC
Brief Royal Infirmary
Confidentiality agreements
Commercial partner
identification
Model detector alignment
Patentability review
Design rights
Review Instrumentation
options
Write Software
Initial approach to
commercial partner
Review Project Status
Year 1
Purchase and assemble
prototype
Fall-back
commercial
option
Patent filing
Test operation
Review/improve
Copyright software
Route into partner
Review market scope
Sample oncology departments
Sensitivity/specificity
Resolution
software
assessment &
Reproducibility verification
Heads of agreement with
commercial partner
Systematic trials
Clinical benefit analysis
FDG supply contract
Cost benefit analysis
Transfer to regular use at ARI
Detailed license agreement
Key Skill(s) – problem-solving, team-working, communication
25
This all sounds great… what do I do?
25
What Makes for Employability?
KKI Associates and the University of Edinburgh asked 6 major
employers of chemistry, physics and life science graduates what they
looked in their recruits
Key findings – potential recruits need to be good at
Innovation
Working in team based activities
Problem solving
Working through formal project/process systems
Integrating their specialist knowledge with others
Communication Skills
25
What Makes for Employability?
We interview hundreds of potential ‘strategic recruits’ each
year. Most fail their technical interviews, not because they
don’t know their science but because they are not good at
Key findings – potential recruits need to be good at
applying what they know to problems we might ask about
Innovation
Working in team based activities
Problem solving
We use games, activities, and
Can they identify
technical
targets
andproject/process systems
Working
through
formal
problem solving exercises in our
challenges Integrating
2, 5, or 10 years
away,
and
their specialist knowledge with others’
recruitment and management
the route toCommunication
getting where we Skills
want to be?
assessment processes and students
should experience these
If they are the only chemist on
the team, they’ve got to convince
the rest of the team that they
know what they are talking about
25
Making yourself Employable







Know how things work
Contextualise
Know some basic finance
Curiosity and problem-solving
Co-ordination and facilitation skills
Presentation and interpersonal skills
Likeability
25
Successful Academics …
Want to work on
big problems
Good with people,
team-work
Good at Problemsolving
Communication skills
Can put research into
context
Christine Ortiz Dean for Graduate Education MIT
25
What do you need to be an entrepreneur…
Determination
Communication skills
Good with people,
team-work
Good at Problemsolving
25
Environment YES and Biotechnology YES








Competition for Post-grad students
Teams 4-6
‘Pretend technical idea’
Real business plan presentation to ‘real
dragons’
Learn about operations, markets, finance
3 days in Holiday Inn in November
Winners get 2 days in London in Dec
£1000 top prize
25
Why Should I do this?







Prof. Andy Porter,
Fonder Remedios,
Haptogen,
Grampian
Biopartners
Hosea
Fun!
Handoyo,
H2020to
expert
Free
students
Erfurt Germany
No IP issues
Nice Hotel(s)
James Lapworth,
Prizes
Head Life Science
Commercialisation
Networking
Univ. Leicester
Deborah O’Neil
Founder CEO
Novabiotics
£25m+ VC Funding
£20+ Pharma dealflow
It builds your skills and its life-changing!
25
Some Successes!
HW/Edinburgh Team
Environment YES national runners up 2011
Sheffield Team BioYES finalists 2013
25
Some Successes!
HW/Edinburgh Team
Environment YES national runners up 2011
Sheffield Team BioYES finalists 2014
25
‘Three Minute Thesis’
25
Job Search and being unemployed

Job searching is ‘your job’ – do it 9 to 5
Get out and meet people, don’t just stay at
home answering adverts
Learn how to do networking and
informational interviews
Build your skills doing voluntary work

TAKE LOTS OF EXERCISE




be and look healthy
25