It’s in our nature to be a thriving region
As Life Sciences Week gets under way tomorrow, it’s time to shine a light on a local success story and explore exciting opportunities.
A sector prepares to roar
While manufacturing has remained in the limelight as far as our region’s history is concerned, another sector quietly innovated, pioneered and powered our local economy as it went from strength to strength.
Way back in 1896 a Brummie called John Hall-Edwards gave the first demonstration of medical X-rays on Hodge Hill Common. From pacemakers and plastic heart valves to allergy vaccines, DNA profiling, MRI development and production of the first artificial vitamin, the life sciences sector has become a leading light for the West Midlands economy.
The “2025 Europe’s Best Cities” report states that in Birmingham “the number of jobs being created is staggering, especially within the booming life sciences and green technology clusters.”
A local unsung hero is set to roar when the doors open at Millennium Point on Monday for the Life Sciences Week conference launch event.
A quantum leap through collaboration
Life Sciences Week is itself a pioneering programme that aims to shape the future of the sector. This initiative will certainly act as a huge catalyst by bringing together professionals, researchers and businesses and the conference promises to create an electric atmosphere as the networking, collaboration and knowledge-sharing kicks off in fine style. This is an opportunity to celebrate, showboat and drive our region forward.
Life sciences is a sector relevant to us all. Around two thousand people are expected to engage with 40 events this week that will include keynote speeches, panel discussions, a gala dinner and awards evening, socials and workshops as well as an opening day exhibition.
Creating a legacy from a pioneering inaugural event
There is no doubt that Life Sciences Week will deliver outcomes in many areas for our region when the sector’s innovation meets industry leadership. There are also other subtle opportunities to be explored that can contribute to our region leading the world forward again, as it has many times before during its rich history.
The conference follows hot on the heels of Birmingham being crowned the UK’s first Nature City and presents a great opportunity to sow seeds that go on to blossom and root themselves in society, allowing us all to thrive and realise our full potential together.
Biophilia – our life support system
The ecology professor, Edward O. Wilson suggested, in his 1984 book “Biophilia”, that our affinity with nature was a deep evolutionary trait that contributed greatly to human health, productivity and wellbeing.
If the UK life sciences sector, which employs around 300,000 people, places Planet Earth’s life support system – nature – at its heart then it can place society on a new path where daily life embraces our innate love of life, allowing us all to flourish.
Kathy Willis, Professor of Biology at the University of Oxford, in her book “good nature,” published last year, reveals the new science of how nature improves our health. The evidence in Kathy’s work is compelling and the impact of bringing nature back into our daily lives would clearly be game-changing. Our region, with its Nature City, can lead the world forward again and that journey can start when the doors open at Millennium Point on Monday morning.
Life Sciences Week – get involved
I warmly invite you to engage with Life Sciences Week and register for the conference launch event, where together with friends, I will be creating a “green ecosystem” within an exciting and innovative space to start some wild conversations!
I also welcome you to register and join me on Friday September 19 for a walking workshop, led by me, Chris Millward, founder of Team4Nature, along the Bourn Brook to explore the potential of a “Life with Nature” together.
To spark thoughts as you look out across your local green spaces over the weekend, I leave you with a quote from the New York Times best-selling writer on transformational wisdom, Marianne Williamson:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”
