Award-winning student-led society North West Biotech Initiative

North-West Biotech Initiative (NWBI), a non-profit, award-winning student initiative, primarily consists of post-graduate students from across universities in the North-West region with a mission to bridge the gap between academia and the biotech sector. Our focus is to promote early-stage STEM researchers, offering them inclusive spaces for building connections with local and international biotech industry professionals, fostering their growth, and providing invaluable career insights. Since our establishment in 2014, we've expanded our reach to students at various academic levels, hosting both in-person and online events throughout the years. In the past 12-months alone, we hosted 15 events, reaching over 500 students and establishing relationships with 50 different biotech companies. 

Our events include the three flagship competitions, each offering students the chance to win up to £600:

1. “Consulting Case” Competition  - where we hope to bring together students and industry professionals from a range of multidisciplinary backgrounds, to focus their efforts on analysing an exemplar consulting case. Participants are mentored over a three-week period, before pitching their findings to a panel of consultancy and market access experts. 

2. “Build a Biotech” Competition - organised by NWBI in collaboration with the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre and the University of Manchester, the aim of this competition is to encourage entrepreneurship within the academic community. Participants are tasked with developing a fictional start-up business idea and pitching their proposal to an expert panel of judges. 

3. “Medical Communications” Competition - participants are tasked with producing an infographic poster, suitable for patients, as well as a slide deck suitable to be presented to a clinician, based on a piece of scientific literature. The top 10 candidates are invited to a full-day “medical writing masterclass” at VMLY&R Health offices based in Manchester. 

Additionally, we recently honoured our 10-Year Anniversary with a celebratory evening hosted at TRACK Brewery in Manchester, where we brought together over 100 students and 50 industry professionals for a fun, informal networking event. We also held an awards ceremony to thank the companies who have provided our speakers, mentors and most importantly, sponsorships over the years. 

NWBI is now widely-recognised in the postgraduate research community for inviting notable key speakers who are experts in their fields to give valuable insights and advice to students who are in the process of kick-starting their careers in prospective fields. We are also widely-appreciated by many local biotech businesses for helping them access a high-calibre talent pool for the next generation of leaders in their fields. 

Our society serves as an excellent resource for accessing educated students with a passion for the life sciences field. It wouldn’t be possible for us to host any of these events without the generous support of our sponsors. If you are interested in collaborating with us, please do reach out, as we are always delighted to welcome new partnerships. Join NWBI to connect, learn, and grow within the vibrant biotech community! 

For more information, visit: www.nwbiotech.co.uk/

Do you want to get in touch? Don’t hesitate to contact us at: manchester@nwbiotech.co.uk

Let’s bridge the gap between academia and industry together!