CASE STUDY

Celebrating Life Sciences Poster Competition

The poster competition was designed to encourage young people to develop an interest in life sciences and feel proud of the great scientific work going on within their local area. It aimed to provide young people with opportunities for personal achievement and give them an awareness of positive and sustained careers beyond education.

Date

29th May 2023

Employer

ONE BioHub

School(s)

St Machar Academy, Aberdeen Grammar and Northfield Academy

Industry

Life Sciences

Overview

ONE BioHub is the iconic new location for life sciences in Aberdeen. Inspiring ambition, giving scientists and innovators skills and knowledge to turn research and innovation into businesses, and supporting them on the entrepreneurial journey.

This poster competition challenged pupils to create a poster representing the life sciences sector. The posters were submitted and judged ahead of the official opening of the new ONE BioHub on 29 May, which a small number of pupils attended in person.

Results and effectiveness

Pupils from both St Machar Academy and Aberdeen Grammar submitted entries for the competition. Two pupils from St Machar Academy visited ONE BioHub with their teacher on the day of the launch and were among the first to view the new £40million facilities. Pupils from Aberdeen Grammar School and Northfield Academy hope to visit at a later date.

The pupils’ posters were of an excellent standard and demonstrated good planning, research and presentation. The finalists’ posters were on display during the official launch event and guests had the opportunity to ‘vote’ on their favourite, using a token system similar to those run in supermarkets for charity selection. This inclusion in the launch event provided additional recognition for the young people’s efforts and also connected young people with ONE BioHub from the outset.

Additional benefits

The St Machar Academy teacher who attended the launch with pupils is keen to arrange further class visits as ONE BioHub becomes populated with tenant organisations.

ONE BioHub will provide start-up, spinout and scaling life sciences businesses, tackling modern health challenges with incubator laboratories and offices, fully customisable grow-on space, commercialisation and growth programmes, and access to mentors, expert networks and investors.

Future school visits will be facilitated in partnership with DYW North East.

Syandayl Gove

Teacher, St Machar Academy

“Once they have biotech companies on the premises, I think the ONE Bio Hub would be a worthwhile trip for science students. They would be able to see real working labs and potentially speak to scientists working on exciting projects.”