Category Archives: Business and Entrepreneurship

Three effective tools to get your start-up noticed (or ‘what we can all learn from Gok Wan’)

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Tamsin Henderson

If you’re reading this there’s a good chance you have at one time considered the possibility of running your own business. And as we all know, going it alone takes guts and more than a sprinkling of self-belief. That’s why I joined other existing and potential start-up owners to soak up some inspiration and insider knowledge, at the recent AWiSE event, ‘Do you have a business in you?’

“With the right support, you can set up and grow a successful enterprise to the level that fits your needs,” Liz Lyon of Rise Business Circle enthused. “Everyone has something useful to offer.”

Defining your ideas and mapping them to your skills and resources is the first step in turning the hypothetical into the viable. “Whether or not you want to develop your potential is a decision only you can make,” she added.

Mastering the psychological challenges budding business owners face is often the biggest barrier to getting started.  Continue reading →

Join us for an exciting workshop & discover your hidden talents: Do you have a business in you? 24th April – book soon

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RISE 35At Rise Business Development Circle, Luanne and I believe that, just as everyone has a book in them, so we all have ideas/skills that are potentially viable businesses.

Whether or not you want to develop that potential is a decision only you can make: all we ask is that you don’t make it until we’ve helped you to examine your resources (far more than you probably give yourself credit for), your options (the same!) and shown you how, with the right support, you can set up and grow a successful enterprise to the level that fits your needs and brings you the fulfilment we all deserve from our working lives.

Our workshop on April 24th is your opportunity to start exploring whether or not you want to take your idea forward or even to examine what that idea might be.

We’ll be making a start on the process of choosing the right objectives, mapping out the route to get there and mastering the psychological challenges.

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Self Employment Opportunity (part-time): CamAWiSE Coordinator

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AWiSE logoThis position is now filled – thank you to everyone who applied.  We had a strong & talented field of candidates and are looking forward to our new coordinator joining the AWiSE team next week.

Cambridge Association for Women in Science and Engineering (CamAWiSE) is a regional network established to help retain and improve the representation of women in science, engineering, technology and mathematics (STEM) fields in both industry and academia.

We run a broad range of talks, workshops and networking meetings, and keep our members informed about events and relevant information of interest to them. With an ever expanding and very active network, CamAWiSE is seeking a part-time self-employed Coordinator to provide high quality support to CamAWiSE and its members in collaboration with the Steering Group.

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Is There A Book In You? – Cambridge Event Explores What It Takes To Be A Published Author

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Budding female authors are invited to learn what it takes to write a novel at an event to be held in Cambridge next week.

‘Is There A Book In You?’, a joint event between Cambridge Businesswomen’s Network (CBN) and the Association of Women in Science and Engineering (AWISE), is being hosted by St Mary’s School, in Bateman Street on Thursday 22nd November, starting at 6.30pm.

The evening will feature two speakers – Kate Kirk and Louisa Reid – both published authors, who will talk about what inspired them to write, the challenges of the process and the joys!

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To tweet or not to tweet

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By Tennie Videler

I missed the last WiSE Up workshop but know online presence was part of it.

Here is my take on using twitter, which I use in a pretty low level way for my job. I’ve not used twitter to find out what celebrities have for breakfast but rather for finding out what is happening in my work sphere, build a presence and ask questions. I really think you need to start using it to find it useful….. Key is finding the right people to ‘follow’, by searching, for example using hashtags (#word). Once you’ve found a group of people to follow, look at who they follow too. Some people make recommendations, especially on Fridays (follow Friday or FF in twitter speak). These days twitter recommends people for you to follow too based on your searches and ‘tweets’.

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Does the way scientists think lend itself to entrepreneurialism?

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Cambridge is famous for its many innovators, some of whom have gone on to be very, very successful in the business world.

What kind of mind do you need to be a successful business person? Clever, innovative and resourceful all help. Visionary, maybe? Process-oriented? Organised? With plenty of the “soft” or people skills?

It’s a rare bird who combines all of these so no need to despair if you think you’re missing some. We can all benefit from adopting a different type of thinking.

For example, you might think that, if being a woman in science or engineering isn’t as rewarding as you’d hoped, you’d like to try something else and maybe being your own boss has an attractive sound. Do you then immediately think “Well, what could I do – I don’t have any ideas.”?

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Did you know that our region is home to one third of UK’s biotech?

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L to R: Jenny Brookman (CamAWiSE), Harriet Fear (One Nucleus), Amie Blake (MRC-LMB)

“What Next After Academia: Life Science Careers and Company Networks” with Harriet Fear, CEO, One Nucleus
Joint CamAWiSE/MRC-LMB Meeting, Cambridge, 25th May 2012.

As a PhD graduate with couple of years experience in industry, I have always wondered what could be the right career path for me if I cannot peruse an academic career. How and where can I start my quest for success? If I want to start up a business what are the available resources and where can I get help? Hence the MRC-CamAWiSE event, that hosted One Nucleus CEO, Harriet Fear, was an excellent opportunity to answer my questions.

The event introduced by Jenny Brookman from CamAWISE who welcomed the attendees with a short introduction to the CamAWISE network, a non-profit organisation that brings together women in STEM careers from academia, enterprise and industry and acts as a source of support, information and inspiration.

Harriet started her presentation with a brief introduction of her career history with the British Foreign Office for 21 years serving in over 17 countries around the globe. She joined One Nucleus (formerly ERBI) as CEO in 2009 with a mission to redefine the OneNucleus membership (now life science and healthcare, not only biotech) and to form strong and strategic relations with like-minded US counterparts for the benefit of its members. In order to achieve these goals One Nucleus merged with the London Biotechnology Network to enhance the offer to members and create a stronger critical mass on the international stage.

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2012 WISE Awards – nominate inspiring women in STEM (deadline extended to 25th June)

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The UK Resource Centre for Women in Set and the Women in Science and Engineering campaign have merged and therefore the UKRC’s Women of Outstanding Achievement Awards and the WISE Annual Awards will be merged to deliver one prestigious event – The 2012 WISE Awards in association with Amey, to be held in October 2012 at The Institution of Engineering and Technology, London. The WISE Awards will be presented in recognition of the achievement of companies and individuals in promoting science, engineering and construction to girls and young women. The high profile annual photographic exhibition, the Women of Outstanding Achievement Awards, will feature at the same event. The exhibition is a collection of creative and dramatic portraits that profile outstanding contemporary women within science, engineering and technology.

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“What Next After Academia: Life Science Careers and Company Networks” Harriet Fear, CEO, One Nucleus

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“What Next After Academia: Life Science Careers and Company Networks” Harriet Fear, CEO, One Nucleus (www.onenucleus.com)
Friday 25th May, 12:15-14:00 (talk from 12:30-13:15, followed by networking lunch).  Max Perutz Lecture Theatre, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Addenbrooke’s Site

Cambridge AWiSE are delighted to welcome Harriet Fear to our 5th MRC-AWiSE event.  Harriet will discuss the role company networks play in global business and how networking on all levels contributes to success.  One Nucleus (formerly ERBI) is the largest membership organisation in Europe, with over 450 members including pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device and diagnostic companies. Its mission is to maximise the global competitiveness of its members.  This talk will be of interest to those pursuing a career in academia or industry and looking to make the most of networking and networks to augment research, development and commercialisation.

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Profile: Harriet Fear – CEO, One Nucleus

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Harriet joined One Nucleus (formerly ERBI) as CEO in February 2009. She previously worked as a Diplomat with the British Foreign Office for 21 years serving in over 17 countries around the globe. Half her career was spent in the commercial field, latterly heading UK Trade & Investments national life sciences trade team for over 5 years.

During her varied Foreign Office career she was Deputy Ambassador three times, Private Secretary to the Minister for Europe, led an evacuation of Brits out of the Congo and worked in Khymer Rouge territory with Scotland Yard on a hostage crisis. She now enjoys a calmer life in the UK!

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