Where Should Biotech Companies Recruit Scientists For The Future, And How Should Universities Prepare Students To Be The Biotech Workforce For The Future?

A | TECHNICAL SKILLS ARE ONLY PART OF WHAT WILL DETERMINE JOB SUCCESS. We also need people who have strong interpersonal skills, since they will likely be working as part of a team. A positive attitude is also important since things rarely go according to plan, and we need to be able to restart if an initial approach fails. We are rarely doing something that has been done already — and if it has, we no doubt need to do it better, so we need creativity, too. University training alone cannot provide all of this; some will come through work and life experiences. But a university can provide a solid multidisciplinary academic experience enhanced by opportunities to do work in teams.

RACHEL KING has nearly 30 years of experience in various management roles in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. In 2003 she cofounded and became CEO of GlycoMimetics, a publicly traded biotechnology company.