BDC SOCIETY SHOWCASE: PROGRAM, STUDENT, AND COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

Congratulations to our MBDC students on completing their career development and employability milestone. It was a very busy two months of career-related workshops, but our MBDC students are now well prepared for the internship and post-grad recruitment cycle! We wish them nothing but success as they embark on this new chapter in their careers! A very special thanks goes out to all of our recruitment partners for the 2018/2019 year.  Your engagement and support of the Biomedical Discovery and Commercialization program has been incredible, and we look forward to working with you over the next year.

On Friday September 21^st, 2018, the BDC program hosted its third annual BDC Industry Preview. The event, which took place in the form of a career fair, offered students a chance to listen to a series of talks from biotechnology/pharmaceutical representatives and attend an engaging networking session.

List of companies attending the BDC career fair:

Students gather in CIBC Hall on a Friday morning to hear Career Talks delivered by industry professionals.

To kick-start the event, BDC Director Dr. Eric Brown welcomed students, staff, and industry representatives with his opening remarks. This was followed by a Career Talks session, which had the following guest speakers: Ricky Ghoshal (Mirexus/Gysantis), Dr. Anne Mullin (Shift Health Consulting), Dr. Gail Martin (St. Joe’s Hospital), Kimberlite Mayordomo (Eli-Lilly), Rami Reda and Dr. Kiva Ferraro (Radicle Cannabis). Each presenter took a few minutes to discuss their career, their academic pathway, and their personal journey. The talks were a new addition to the career fair, and were met with overwhelming praise.

“The Career Talks session was my favourite part of the event,” noted Sally Min, a fourth-year undergraduate BDC student. “It felt more like a candid conversation rather than a presentation. The industry members became much more approachable and relatable. After all, they face struggles, deal with uncertainty of the future, and have second thoughts about their dreams just like we do! It definitely made me want to reach out to other company representatives to ask about their personal journey.”

Leaders from pharmaceutical/biotechnology sectors provide advice to BDC students during the networking session.

The networking session was a different experience for students at different points in their education pathway. For many undergraduate third-year BDC students, the event showed them new perspectives and exceeded their expectations.

“It’s better than other career fairs that I’ve been to,” said Julie Nguyen, a third-year BDC student. “The personalized business cards from the BDC student society definitely boosted our confidence. The [industry members] were surprisingly super nice and I feel like they had a lot of wisdom to share, rather than 100% discussing job opportunities. At the end of the day, I’m sure everyone gained something from it!”

On the other hand, students in the BDC Masters (MBDC) program saw the career fair as a showcase of internship opportunities. “The positive reputation that the administrative team has cultivated for the BDC program is something to be cherished, and the fruit of their labour is the annual BDC career fair,” said Krish Khurana, an MBDC candidate.

“From my perspective as a student, this event is invaluable because it brings the industry right to our doorstep. I see that the industry partners are equally enthused because it’s their opportunity to recruit some of the brightest minds at the nexus of science and business. It’s truly a win-win. With that much synergy, I look forward to attending this event again, albeit with the hope that I’ll be representing one of the companies!”

BDC students visit informational booths that are set up by industry members around the room.

In summary, BDC students responded to the career fair with satisfaction and appreciation. “As a fourth-year BDC student, I am regularly contemplating what life will be like after my bachelor’s degree is complete,” said Hamdi, president of the BDC student society (BDCS). “It’s a time full of excitement, but also a time full of extreme pressure and doubt.”

“The BDC career fair is an excellent opportunity for students to see the fantastic careers that lie between the world of biomedical science and business. Attending this fair is one of the great highlights of this program as it provides students with networking opportunities that other programs can’t offer.”

The event would not be possibly without the meticulous planning of Emily Taylor, BDC career and development and relationship manager, as well as Jennifer Crane, who will be taking on Emily’s role during her leave-of-absence. Thank you and best wishes to Emily, and a warm welcome to Jennifer!

On Friday, April 6^th, 2018, the BDC Engage Symposium marked the culmination of a year’s worth of academic efforts in the Biomedical Discovery & Commercialization program. The annual event brought together faculty, students, and industry members to showcase the program’s successes over the 2017-2018 year.

The event offered BDC students a chance to hone both their networking and communication skills—essential tools they will need for success in the workplace. Third-year students delivered poster presentations and pitches from an entrepreneurial perspective, while students from the fourth-year and Master’s cohort gave talks on their capstone thesis and internship experience, respectively. The event provided students with a platform to share their professional experiences with an interdisciplinary audience, a unique feature of the program. “The annual BDC Engage symposium is always an inspiring showcase of the great strides our program makes, especially through the featured student projects. It’s also a unique and valuable collision of students, faculty, and industry professionals from the commercially-oriented biomedical/health sciences ecosystem,” said Daniel Celeste, a fourth-year BDC student.

MBDC student presents his internship experience in healthcare consulting to the audience at BDC Engage.

Third-year students present their 3B06 drug discovery project to industry partners.

BDC Engage is one of many opportunities the program offers students to ensure they thrive in a field where science and business intersect. “The symposium embodies the uniqueness of the BDC program in a single event. It connects us as driven and hardworking students with industry members, world-renowned researchers, and business ventures,” said Hamdi Abdo, the incoming 2018-2019 BDC society president. Abdo also spoke positively about being able to contribute to the success of the day. “…Getting to be a part of [BDC Engage] was fantastic!”

Professors, biomedical researchers, and industry professionals were highly impressed with the multidisciplinary training offered through the program and the quality of work students produced.  “I was particularly happy to see such high levels of professionalism, technical knowledge, passion, and competence in the subject matter,” said Professor Aadil Merali Juma, assistant professor from the DeGroote School of Business. “I am convinced that we have the best students in this program and that the work being done will make a difference in the field of medicine and management of non-communicable diseases, in the decades ahead.”

The BDC Faculty and Staff wishes everyone a happy summer and looks forward to reconvening for the 2018-2019 year in the fall.

On September 22, 2017, the BDC program held its second annual career fair in CIBC Hall to celebrate the start of the 2017-2018 academic year. The event expanded on the success of last year’s career fair, and included a panel discussion and a networking session that allowed BDC students to engage with representatives from biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

A list of companies that attended the 2017 Industry Preview Fair.

Members of the BDC student society began the career fair by facilitating a panel discussion, during which Megan Coombes (Hoffman-LaRoche), Tom Hendrikson (Sixsense), Rory Curtis (Albany Molecular Research Inc.), Michelle Kerrison (Sanofi Pasteur), and Alexandria Papa (Pfizer) offered personal insight on key topics of interest. Common overarching themes included desirable qualities in potential employees, general career/personal advice, and how each panelist reached the current point in their career.

BDC students take advantage of the personal career insight offered by various industry representatives during the open-floor networking session.

Many industry representatives had positive words for both the event and the BDC program as a whole. “[BDC students] have together what I had to do separately,” said Alexandria Papa, a senior business analyst at Pfizer who obtained an undergraduate degree in science, a graduate degree in bioinformatics, and an MBA before finding a career path suited to her science/business interests. “For [BDC students] to have that bridge already established and to have people in academia and the institution helping [BDC students] makes me really happy.”

Michelle Kerrison, a McMaster Commerce alumnus and supply chain manager at Sanofi Pasteur, had similar praise. “It’s important for people to think about what they want to do after school,” said Kerrison. “By combining science with commercialization, [the BDC program] really shows students what opportunities are out there.”

Left to right: Alexandria Papa (Pfizer) and Michelle Kerrison (Sanofi-Pasteur) providing advice to BDC students.

For students wishing to consider paths beyond graduate and professional school, interacting with health care sector employers proved invaluable. The open-floor networking session gave students the opportunity to ask industry representatives specific questions pertaining to their individual career interests. “The BDC administrative team did a phenomenal job recruiting a myriad of big-name pharmaceutical and biotech companies,” said Gabriella Paniccia, a fourth-year undergraduate BDC student. “I definitely always take advantage of these situations by trying to make a lasting impression [on the companies I interact with].”

“Many students don’t get the opportunity to explore networking during their undergraduate education,” added Hamdi Abdo, a third-year undergraduate BDC student. “I found [the BDC Career Fair] to be both informative and helpful in terms of getting out of my comfort zone and communicating with industry members.”

Other students explored available internship opportunities, a mandatory part of the one-year BDC course-based Master’s program. “The Career Fair was extremely valuable in developing my network with potential employers,” said Alyssa Posca, a BDC Master’s student. “Building relationships with hiring managers and recruiters is one of the most important parts of the job search – and this event was a great opportunity to do so!”

(left to right) Rachel Fong (Master of BDC graduate), with current Master of BDC students: Sawyer Karabelas-Pittman, Alyssa Posca, and Jonsson Liu at the BDC Career Fair.

“BDC students can be quite competitive for a wide range of career choices due to the nature of the courses within the program,” said Michelle Trottier, former BDC career development and relationship associate. “The purpose of the fair was to provide students the opportunity to ask questions and have insight to the opportunities they can explore with their degree.”

Many thanks to Michelle Trottier, who conceptualized and implemented the past two BDC Career Fairs!  The BDC Career Fair marked Michelle’s last event, as she has since moved on to an amazing opportunity in the UK.  The BDC office welcomes a new career development and relationship manger to the team, Emily Taylor, and wishes Michelle all the best in her new position as Faculty Employment Advisor at the University of Bristol.

Insights Magazine, a prominent national BIOTECanada magazine covering the biotech industry in Canada, has published an article this month written by BDC student Christine Chow, External Associate of the BDC student society. Christine’s most recent article will be read by thousands of industry professionals and gain international exposure at the 2017 BIO Conference in San Diego. Consequently, preparing the article proved to be an extensive process. Christine interviewed fellow BDC undergraduate students, graduate students, and aspiring student entrepreneurs to obtain source material and shape it into an article, both in English and in French.

Christine mentions that her involvement with the BDC student society has allowed her to practice gathering information and relaying it in a cohesive manner – a skill she intends to add to a growing portfolio. In a program that integrates science with business, research with commercialization, and academia with industry, she finds that it is essential to be able to share with others not only the specifics but also the significance of one’s work. Regardless of whether it pertains to a report on research findings, a news article, or a project pitch, Christine believes that there is always a story to be told, and that it is her role to ensure it is heard.

Christine’s full article can be read here.