LIFE SCIENCES Excite the next generation Scientific innovation and commercialisation accelerated during the pandemic – now the leaders of Scotland’s life sciences industry want to capitalise on that momentum, write David Lee and Craig Johnson sk any group of children what they want to be when they grow up and you’ll get the same answers again and again: footballer, astronaut, and the more modern “Instagram influencer” all feature on the wish list of dream jobs. But after seeing the way in which medical researchers and manufacturers have led the fight against the coronavirus with vaccines and treatments, perhaps “scientist” will start to appear on that list much more often. A Recruiting the next generation of bright young things into the life sciences industry is certainly at the top of Alison Culpan’s agenda. As director of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry Scotland, she wants to capitalise on the general public’s newfound interest in science and medicine during the pandemic. Culpan has been struck by the way in which the public became involved in scientific research over the past 18 months, including the large number of people who had signed-up through mobile phone apps to take part in studies into Covid-19 and its effects. “It shows that the public will respond if you can clearly explain why they need to take part in studies and how those studies will help people – you can tap into that community spirit,” she says. “The next step is to harness young people’s interest in science so that they get involved, rather than just looking at its results on their mobile phones. “We need to get young people visiting our science centres CONTINUES OVERLEAF 5