Industry careers for molecular bioscientists: an interview with Jennifer Mitchell

Jennifer Mitchell is a scientist at Redx Pharma and Board Member of the European Laboratory Research and Innovation Group (ELRIG). She completed her integrated undergraduate and master’s degree in biological sciences at the University of Liverpool and took on a graduate industrial role as an associate scientist at a biotech company. After 2 years in this role, she went back into academia to complete a PhD before moving back to industry. Jennifer began her involvement with ELRIG, a not-for-profit organization serving the life science and drug discovery communities, as a student volunteer in 2017 and she has been part of the ELRIG General Committee since 2018. She is also part of the ELRIG early career professional (ECP) workgroup, which aims to engage the ECP scientific community through career development workshops and outreach events. In December 2020, the Biochemical Society hosted a session on industry careers in the molecular biosciences as part of its Biochemistry Focuswebinar series dedicated to early career researchers. The Biochemist spoke to Jennifer, panellist on the day, to find out more about her experience working in industry and her broader contributions to the community.

Exploring the aspirations of young people to work in the British film industry through comparative focus groups in London secondary schools

This article explores the findings of research conducted with two focus groups of English high school students in 2018 that centred on the aspirations of young people to work in the British film industry. First identifying the conceptions of ‘aspiration’ articulated within British public and policy discourses associated with the film industry, this article goes on to explore some of the different factors shaping participants’ knowledge and expectations of what a film industry career looks like. Using direct quotations from participants alongside contextual analysis, I explore how factors related to family, financial resources, ambition and school provision shape the knowledge and perceptions of film industry careers among British young people.