John Innes Centre 2021 Flexible Talent Mobility Account
Lead Research Organisation:
John Innes Centre
Department Name: Molecular Microbiology
Abstract
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Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Barrie Wilkinson (Principal Investigator) |
| Description | What were the most significant achievements from the award? The FTMA3 programme has continued to build upon the successes of both the FTMA1 and FTMA2 schemes. In this award, the addition of career progression opportunities for technical and science support staff was timely and hugely welcomed. Interest in the variety of outward secondment placements for Early Career Researchers (ECRs) and less experienced industrialists have greatly expanded in their popularity as the FTMA programme becomes more widely known. Case studies, blogs and personal accounts from those taking part in previous rounds have ensured that FTMA calls are always greatly looked forward to and applied to. Considering the relevantly short timeframe of four months, through FTMA3 we have supported twenty-four (24) John Innes staff. The breakdown of which are five (5) Postdoctoral Researchers, and nineteen (19) Technical and Support staff. Between December 2021 and March 2022, nine (9) interchanges placements took place; seventeen (17) applicants applied for upskilling qualifications, and one (1) networking conference was attended. Overall impacts have shown us that four (4) staff have secured roles in new industrial roles; four (4) staff have secured roles in other academic institutes; eleven (11) staff have been upskilled with professional qualifications; three (3) staff have received promotions; three (3) staff have secured places on higher training courses, and one (1) staff has contributed to a policy publication. Out of our twenty-four (24) staff supported, sixteen (16) were women and eight (8) were men. Two (2) of the staff who secured higher training courses were successfully enrolled on the Herschel Programme for Women in Technical Leadership. |
| Exploitation Route | The Government's Industrial Strategy is focused on placing research and innovation at the heart of supporting an innovative economy. JIC's FTMA3 programme has continued to improve academia-industry links by seeking out placements that link high level skills with industry needs, creating opportunities to support early-stage industry innovation and providing industry experience to strengthen all staff employability. By running FTMA3 as a competitive programme, JIC has ensured it has supported our most talented and ambitious members of staff. By continuing to offer a free and bespoke mentoring service internally, we have been able to capitalise on individual's strengths as they strive to become tomorrow's top-class technicians, research leaders, entrepreneurs, or industrial researchers. Through the marketing of previous FTMA case studies and blogs on JIC's website and social media channels, we increased the awareness of the programme and built a waiting list prior to the start of FTMA3. We also secured interest from previous hosts, eager to utilise the mutual benefits of the programme and support future staff with further industry experience. With the popularity of the programme growing round on round, we find ourselves hoping that the FTMA programme will in some form become a main stay in our training and development arsenal for many years to come. By continuing to support the mobility of industry curious ECR and industrialist researchers to new environments, the FTMA3 programme has created a culture that reinforces the benefits of positive collaboration between academic research and industry. In respect of technical and support staff, movement between departments and companies in an allotted block of time has been more difficult. To overcome this, we have worked with our Technician's Commitment leads and focused on what our technical and support staff have told us would be more beneficial - which is professional qualification and training. Many of FTMA3's participants have reported feeling more confident and empowered by the experiences gained during their short intermissions from research and newly gained qualifications. Each member of staff has been supported to develop their own professional development plan prior to their placement and/or qualification and have been encouraged to get the best from their time on the programme. Collectively, this has strengthened all around continued professional development, and encouraged others to seek out opportunities too. By offering a range of bespoke placements (full-time, part-time, local, international, on location, and remote working) JIC has been able to support all members of staff with achievable career and personal commitments in equal measures. |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
| Description | By supporting the ever-growing SME sector in Norwich and the surrounding areas, FTMA3 allowed JIC to strengthen academia-industry links locally whilst providing industrial and business exposure to our growing cohort of ECRs. By reaching out to the wider network of JIC commercial partners, including non-lab-based partners (i.e., IP and commercialisation, policy, agriculture consultancy, farming, and scientific publication editing services), secondees were able to broaden their skills and mind sets, in areas of business not explored before. Based on the Norwich Research Park (NRP), JIC took full advantage of the opportunity to develop, and reinforce links between the academic base at JIC and a range of NRP-based companies including spinouts and spin-ins. Two (2) new JIC spinout hosts were identified in the FTMA3 offer - LEAF Expression Systems, and New Heritage Barley, however neither attracted suitable or timely applicants. With previously collected data showing that research at JIC continues its commitment to attracting top international talent, currently, staff come from 34 different countries with 66% from outside of the UK. By utilising JIC connections with the commercial sector, we were able to widen the scope of industry interactions within FTMA3. Areas included farmers, producers, scientists, technologists and entrepreneurs innovation (Agri-TechE); Agribusiness Legal Consultants (Brown & Co); Biodiversity Net Gain specialists (Wendling Beck Exemplar Project), and translational research (John Innes Enterprises) amongst some. Collaborating with our academic peers and partners, a well-timed policy placement with The Innogen Centre, The University of Edinburgh resulted in a joint publication with the researcher. Through the FTMA3 initiative we initiated a programme of outreach to JIC Alumni. This has established a foundation through which we will be able to develop a cohort of mentors and new opportunities for future FTMA secondments. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic |
| Description | Developing Next Generation Crops for Healthy Society - CROPIB conference attendance, Ghent, Belgium. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Secondee: Finishing his PhD in 2021, Dr Roland Wouters, Postdoctoral Researcher in the Steuernagel Group continues to build his career to gain a competitive CV for plant science/ biotechnology companies. Working in a Knowledge Exchange and Commercialisation role in 2021, Roland developed a better sight in the corporate side of a research institute and was able to strengthen his CV in the commercialisation of research within the institute. Impact: Upskilled after attending the managerial level plant breeding conference CROPIB. New connections made regarding potential new collaborations. Improvement in skillset and networking skills and ability to find better opportunities in industry. With newfound skills, Roland is seeking a management position within either a breeding company or a biotechnology company in the future. He is attending CROPIB Conference in April 2023 and worked as a visiting scientist in Nepal and South Africa in 2023. Roland also took part in FTMA2 BB/S507921/1 undertaking a six-month placement within John Innes Enterprises (JIE) focusing on ARMs - aphid RNA-mediated control strategies. Following his placement, Roland successfully transitioned to a permanent position in the John Innes Centre Bioinformatics platform. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.cropib.com/ |