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Bio-Buzz No.08 / August 2007
IN THIS ISSUE
HEADLINE NEWS
INDUSTRY CORNER
EDITORIAL
EVENTS LISTINGS
Welcome
Dear reader,
A very warm welcome to the August edition of the South West’s BioBuzz publication. You may be aware that I joined BioApproaches SW as the new network manager at the beginning of August and in the last month have been discovering the diverse range of industrial and research activity here in the South West. For those of you that haven’t met me yet my background is both industrial (pharmaceutical) and academic (tissue engineering) and I have also worked in the public sector (Yorkshire Forward).
I am delighted to be working in one of the most vibrant areas for biotechnology in the UK and look forward to meeting you before too long. I should also like to take this opportunity to invite you to get in touch with us if you have ideas you’d like to discuss or have suggestions regarding the support we offer.
With very best wishes,
Dr Pauline Lee
New BioApproaches SW contact details:-
BioApproaches SW
Regus House
1 Friary
Temple Quay
Bristol.
BS1 6EA
Telephone:- 0117 9008250
INDUSTRY CORNER
New report on marine biotechnology compares the USA with the UK – Produced by Artur Wilandt, sponsored by UKTI as part of a Masters in Biotechnology Enterprise degree with support from the Bioscience from Business marine bio team. A full report is available on UKTI web-site to registered users however please click HERE for a PowerPoint presentation overview. For registration information to gain a full detailed report please click HERE
Antibiotics - Where Now?
Royal Society of Chemistry conference
21 January 2008
Royal Institute of British Architects, London, United Kingdom
As we are more acutely aware of the dangers of MRSA and superbugs, it has become more widely accepted that new drugs are needed which act upon new bacterial targets. However, the cost to pharma of developing a new antibiotic - which could be rendered useless before the investment in its discovery has been recouped - has meant that many companies have no new drugs in the pipeline and more worryingly, have no active research in the area.
This timely meeting will focus on one active research field still uncovering new drug leads - natural products, an area that has strong interest amongst academic scientists, medics, clinical scientists, pharmaceutical scientists. For more information please click HERE
Business Opportunities
GWR and ICT opportunity
A significant research funding programme that has just been made available for the first time to ICT companies. With over 90 partnerships already sponsored, Great Western Research is a project that aims to promote collaborations between the highest quality research groups in the South West and regional businesses in order access world class research that meets both company and customer requirements. The project has just extended funding to include ICT which will be open for submissions until January 2008. There is over £1m still available to businesses for PhD-level research studentship programmes. Other themes include sustainability, materials, applied maths, creative arts and psychology.
To be eligible for this funding, your business must be based in the South West (or have a 'significant presence'), be a commercial entity and be passionate about innovation and creativity. GWR will provide 50% of the funding for your research project.
We will be holding a short launch and networking event on the 25th September at Bristol and Exeter Universities - this will enable you to find out more about the scheme, how it will benefit you and meet academics from the South West Universities. There are only 40 places remaining so please phone 01392 269103 to book your place as soon as possible or e-mail p.richterova@ex.ac.uk.
Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry (PCMD) sponsored by BioApproaches SW is holding a business event on Wednesday 10th October from 12-2 at its three main locations in Exeter, Plymouth and Truro. The purpose of this video-linked event is to highlight the College’s research strengths and opportunities now arising from this for collaboration and joint working with external organisations, in particular bio/medical and healthcare orientated businesses and SMEs. Following several talks and a panel discussion lunch will be provided at each location to allow networking. Further information and registration for this free event, contact Nick Church (nick.church@pms.ac.uk) or see website HERE
EDITORIAL
Communications – it’s a miracle it ever works – and I am not talking technology based comms – I am talking about communication between people.
Hi my name is Bill Wells MD of 2.0 Ltd, and I am going to use this editorial as an opportunity to reflect on some common communication hurdles, and why I believe I am helping people communicate better as the founder of a multi media company.
Let’s remember the key components in any form of communication –
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Content
- Source
- Form
- Channel
- Destination
- Purpose
Now I am not going to review these, I share them purely to remind you that this whole process is so much more than words. Yet even those we often use without a second thought. Leaving the recipient the task of working out what on earth is going on.
How often do we dash off a quick email, and either regret it at our leisure, or are shocked by the unexpected reply. I have a 5 second delay programmed into my email system to let me catch those moments. I have a good friend and customer whose emails are so terse they make me wince when I read them, however a quick phone call to the embittered client reveals a happy and satisfied person, unfortunately for me his email style is as corrosive as acid.
Now my frustration with communication is at the heart of my company. I hate watching brilliant presentations and having nothing more than a dozen PowerPoint slides as an aid to my memory, I feel the injustice done to the performer who is not only conveying knowledge, experience, and personal perspective, but has worked hard to present it in an imaginative and palatable way.
I found myself in an increasing blur of information overload, which meant in the end that the effective shelf life of ideas conveyed at a conference was at most a month, and it was only subjects that had an immediate resonance that were understood and acted upon. To then have an obligation to my peers to disseminate information was less than effective.
So at 2.0 Ltd (www.2dot0.co.uk) we set out to develop a cost effective solution for recording lectures and conferences. The results of this development can be seen at http://www.2dot0.co.uk/pages/newfilm.html - this quality was only achieved after considerable R&D and with the support of Peter Carss (iDat - University of Plymouth).
So we are one step towards achieving our goal of facilitating effective communication between people by using web based technology – in a high quality form and at an affordable price – to publish the thoughts and passions of great people – and enabling them to use as many aids as they have at their disposal for effectively communicating their ideas.
Bill Wells – MD 2.0 Ltd
EVENTS LISTINGS
Covering Lifesciences (biotechnology) and Medical interests can be found at HERE
Contact Us
For further information on any of these items, please visit our website:
www.bioapproaches.co.uk or contact us directly.
Jade Fulbrook-Smith – Project Coordinator, BioBuzz Editor
Tel: 07715 856262 Email: Jade@BioApproaches.co.uk
Dr Pauline Lee – Network Manager
Tel: 07710 779548 Email: pauline@BioApproaches.co.uk
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