"You must work hard for it and the prize is grand"

METABOLOMICS, CARBON OFFSETTING AND GRI (GLOBAL REPORTING INITIATIVE), TO THE NOBEL PRIZE LECTURE

And it is only the first semester!  I am part of the Karolinska Institutet’s Masters Programme  in Bioentrepreneurship, and I have found that this is the perfect Masters Program for me! 

We have been exposed to several Biotechnology companies in Stockholm, even interviewing various team members at a site visit.  We also had the opportunity to interview the former Chief Scientific Officer of one of the top twenty Biotech companies worldwide in revenue, which is conducting a clinical trial on one of their new products right here in Stockholm!  These face-to-face interviews and company visits have really been helpful to us as students to get an insider’s view on the growing and changing field of biotechnology. 

We have had lectures on current and future research developments in areas such as metabolomics as an up and coming diagnostics tool, and how to maximize our corporate social responsibility while meeting the current and future challenges of climate change.  Which companies are following The Global Reporting Initiative guidelines in their sustainability efforts, and which could increase their competitive advantage by doing so. 

Additionally, we have also had the opportunity to attend several conferences, such as BIO-ÅNGSTRÖM in Uppsala, which showcased many new diagnostic tools and research projects, Start-Up Day, here in Stockholm, sponsored by the Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship, among others, where we heard several real life examples, including panel discussions which were open for questions, from entrepreneurs who had taken their ideas from the “bench to the boardroom.” 

Who knew that extra-curricular activities would include a great lecture by this year’s Nobel Prize winners in Medicine or Physiology, earned this year by Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier, and Harald zur Hausen for their discoveries of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and HPV (human papilloma viruses causing cervical cancer) respectively.  This was quite interesting to watch, it was well presented and detailed, but yet still clear and comprehensible. 

In short, the Stockholm and Uppsala region presents an amazing area to learn about the life sciences, new discoveries, new trends, the pharmaceutical industry, and biotechnology.  It is also a wonderful setting for one’s own personal and professional growth, but as with everything, you must work hard for it and the prize is grand!