AstraZeneca launches mentoring collaboration with Lucy Cavendish College

paul.brackley@iliffemedia.co.uk

Published: 10:27, 06 April 2018

From left, AstraZenecas Shaun Grady, vice-president, business development operations and a mentor; Emma Barton, alliance and integration management director and a mentor; Bethany Haworth, student and mentee at Lucy Cavendish College; and Jo Ryan, development director at Lucy Cavendish College

The partnership with University of Cambridge college will help women advance in science and business leadership

The courtyard at AstraZeneca at Cambridge Biomedical Campus will be open to the public - a physical sign of the new era of openness

AstraZeneca has launched a strategic collaboration with Lucy Cavendish College to help women advance in science and business leadership.

Employees at the company will mentor students from the University of Cambridge college, supporting their scientific projects along with their career and personal development.

Mentors will offer advice on career and work placement opportunities in the life sciences sector generally and the biopharmaceutical industry in particular, including at AstraZeneca’s new global hub in Cambridge.

Shaun Grady, vice president of global business development, said: “Mentoring is not only a fantastic way to support talented individuals who benefit from the shared expertise and experience, but it is also a great way for mentors to ‘give back’ while developing their leadership skills.

Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca, delivers the second annual Kate Pretty Lecture on What Science Can Do: The Cambridge life science cluster at a pivot point at Homerton College, University of Cambridge. Picture: Keith Heppell

“We’re pleased to have mentored numerous entrepreneurs emerging from the Judge Business School Accelerate and Pitch@Palace programmes, and we recently announced a partnership supporting start-up companies at the Babraham Research Campus incubator.

“Our new collaboration with Lucy Cavendish College is a natural extension of our partnership network and offers a great model for how we might work with other colleges in Cambridge. It’s very exciting to be working with such a high calibre group of inspirational women studying in what is a uniquely supportive environment.”

The initiative is part of the AstraZeneca Exchange programme, which supports innovation and collaboration among diverse stakeholders in life sciences clusters around the company’s three global strategic R&D hubs.

AstraZeneca, which is building its new £500m global HQ and R&D centre on Cambridge Biomedical Campus, has had a relationship with Lucy Cavendish since 2016.

An artists impression of the new AstraZeneca site at Cambridge Biomedical Campus, viewed from Robinson Way

A ‘speed mentoring’ pilot event has taken place and a series of group and individual mentoring programmes are being planned.

A lecture programme promoting Women in Science and Leadership is also due to be held during the year.

Jackie Ashley, the president of Lucy Cavendish College, said: “Relatively few women embark on careers in science, and we want to ensure that there are as few barriers as possible for women who have the potential to be successful in this field.

“Our partnership with AstraZeneca aims to tackle this issue head on, with exciting initiatives for our enthusiastic students, including mentoring, careers advice and personal development for those interested in having a scientific career. We look forward to working with AstraZeneca on this exciting new venture.”

AstraZeneca and MedImmune have about 70 employees from a range of specialisms and disciplines who are volunteering as mentors and sharing their expertise with partner organisations around Cambridge.

The collaboration with Lucy Cavendish – the only women’s college in Europe exclusively for over-21s – is the latest in AstraZeneca’s programme of inspiring and supporting careers in STEM through outreach initiatives.

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Business News Science Paul Brackley