Our People in Focus: “Inspiring the Next Generation of Scientists”
A spotlight from GSK's 2015 Responsible Business Supplement:
By 2020, the UK alone will need 1 million new scientists and engineers to solve future challenges, including some of the biggest health challenges of tomorrow. As a research-led healthcare company, GSK is playing a leading role in inspiring young people to get into science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) as well as providing a range of career opportunities.
Our Science Education and Early Talent team, along with our 362 STEM ambassadors across the UK, engage young people by demonstrating real-world science and engineering in schools, and manage our graduate and apprenticeship programmes.
Rhiannon Lowe heads up a team of 150 ambassadors, all volunteer GSK employees from our site in Ware, Hertfordshire. She has been part of the programme since it began in 1999 alongside her job as an investigator in Investigative Safety and Drug Metabolism, where she focuses on diseases of the developing world and gene therapy.
She and her team put their expertise into practice to inspire people of all ages. They go into schools to demonstrate scientific experiments and host visits to GSK labs where students are given an opportunity to get involved in science that connects directly to our work and the real world.
Rhiannon encourages girls, in particular, to pursue these subjects from a young age as women represent only 14% of all STEM jobs in the UK.
“When I was young I was told by one of my teachers to study drama, but I always enjoyed sciences and maths and ended up completing a PhD in Virology and Immunology, part-time, whilst at GSK,” she said.
In 2016, we aim to build on our experience in the UK by creating global STEM education programmes to give our employees the tools they need to inspire and foster the next generation of scientists and engineers worldwide.
GSK offers a range of career opportunities in the STEM areas; ranging from summer internships, to apprenticeships, graduate and postgraduate programmes. Our apprenticeship programme offers school and college leavers the opportunity to join the company in a variety of roles from Finance and IT to Laboratory Science and Engineering. Apprentices learn on-the-job and become valued members of the team as they progress, working towards nationally recognized qualifications and ultimately transition into a permanent role.
The scheme has grown steadily in the UK and our ambition is to continually expand the programme into new geographies, helping nurture this new generation of talent and adding to the diversity of our business.
More information on this topic visit GSK's website, 2015 Annual Report, and 2015 Responsible Business Supplement.
