31 January 2022
Dr. Challoner's Grammar School (DCGS), one of the UK’s first science colleges located in Amersham, plans to host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for The Cytiva Lab on 12 May, a newly opened chemistry lab that aims to provide teens with educational advancement, mentorship opportunities, and inroads to scientific jobs.
The lab is funded in part by a directed £50 000 donation from Cytiva. This charitable contribution underscores Cytiva’s interest in preparing the talent needed to solve one of the biopharmaceutical industry’s top five challenges as identified in the Global Biopharma Resilience Index.
Giving back
Improving the lives of others by giving back is a cornerstone of Cytiva’s ambitious sustainability goals. In this case, students from diverse cultural backgrounds will be encouraged to pursue business, science, and biotech careers. Ethnic minorities make up more than a third of the DCGS student body.
DCGS Headmaster, David Atkinson, says: “The lab will help A-level students run eye-opening experiments that they would otherwise not be able to do. Currently, 10% of science classes do not take place in labs.”
Volunteering and mentoring
Cytiva’s James Savory saw the opportunity to do two things: benefit a local school and advance Cytiva’s commitment to the community. Savory led an eight-member team to volunteer their time and expertise to the students. David sums up: “In the UK, there is a strong need for schools to emphasize a curriculum that is relevant for students’ future careers. Cytiva’s associates have the chance to volunteer their time in meaningful ways—through advice, mentoring, and by providing access to internships at the company.”
Committing to science education worldwide
In 2020, Cytiva established a Charitable Donations Committee to help ensure its financial contributions mirror its mission to advance and accelerate therapeutics. That year, the Committee approved 25 causes globally, totaling almost $2M.
One of the causes Cytiva has supported is a pilot initiative that the Amersham HQ office is spearheading called the Cytiva Education Partnership Program (CEPP). Its goals are to foster strong links with the community; expose youth from diverse backgrounds to job opportunities in STEM, biotech, and the biopharmaceutical industries; and build a talent pool of these candidates to work at Cytiva in the future. Another goal is to create volunteer opportunities for Cytiva associates to share their
About Cytiva
Cytiva is a global life sciences leader that works with academic and translational researchers, developers and manufacturers of biotherapeutics, and developers of cell and gene therapies as well as new technologies such as mRNA, to enable the delivery of transformative medicines. Cytiva is a trusted expert with nearly 10 000 associates in more than 40 countries who are dedicated to customers’ speed, flexibility, capacity, and efficiency in drug discovery, research, and manufacturing.