Dundee & Angus College Science Department organised a very successful Science Careers Conference Day on the 30th October. The event gave a good insight into the different career or further education pathways available to students studying science.
Dr Katie Paget from Dundee & Angus College opened the event and welcomed the first speaker Joanna Fry from the University of St Andrews followed by Shona Cooper a Biomedical Scientist based at Ninewells Hospital talking to students about all the different roles within the lab! Before we broke for a tea break, we heard from Liam Hayman a former D&A College student about his “wibbly, wobbly road to a PHD”. It was great to hear a student perspective about the highs and lows of starting a career in science.
After the tea break, there were three more speakers: Natalie Sweeney gave students an insight into the overseas opportunities available studying at the University of Stirling; Dr Mhairi Towler CEO and Founder of Vivomotion talked about her journey of combining art and science and we heard from Professor Kim Dale from Dundee Uni’s School of Life Sciences.
Did you know that if you do an undergraduate degree in Life Sciences you have the opportunity to take a year out and work in industry?
Students had a great opportunity to network, browse stalls and chat with the speakers one to one throughout the lunch break. After lunch, we heard from our final four speakers of the day. Dr Athina Tziboula-Clarke from Abertay University opened the second half of the Career Conference chatting to students about careers in Food Sciences.
Did you know that Scotland will need 19,000 new recruits by 2024 to meet the skill needs of the food and drink sectors.
Next was an inspiring and heartfelt presentation from Kim Morrison about how attending D&A College helped grow her confidence. Kim has since went on to complete an undergraduate degree in cell biology, a master’s degree in cancer biology and now a PHD in medicine! Alex Combes from Scottish Water followed on from Kim who gave us a great overview of all the different jobs available within the company from water quality sampler to risk technician. The speaker to conclude the Science Career Conference Day was Dr Anne Savage, talking to students about Abertay Uni’s Biomedical Science degree, which is an accredited programme from the Institute of Biomedical Sciences.
This was a jam-packed day full of interesting speakers from all different sectors and stages in their career which gave the college students a great overview of the different pathways available to them.