Making SCIence happen in a 2-metre world

Monday 8 June

14.00

Welcome and Introduction to the challenge
Dr Jonathan Hague, VP Global R&D Science and Technology, Unilever

14.05

How we already manage risk in a laboratory environment
Steve Turner, Chief Scientist, SABIC
Lab workers are already surrounded by a range of hazards (including biohazards) and potential risks and we use a hierarchy of control measures to eliminate or mitigate these threats. In this context, Coronavirus is a new hazard requiring different control measures.

14.15

How we need to evolve in a larger laboratory environment 
Dr Graeme Cruickshank, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, CPI
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the way large laboratories operate and has introduced the challenge of de-risking a new environment.  Adaptations to laboratories and by those working in R&D has been a temporary fix, but how do we move forward with these adaptations whilst maintaining a safe and efficient working environment for the future.

14.25

The specific challenges of the SME environment

Dr Will Barton, Non-Executive Chairman Oxford Biotrans & Director NiTech Solutions

My current experience is largely with small, University spin-out companies which are still all <20 people.  In this short talk, I have tried to draw together common issues faced by these companies in doing business in the current and the emerging, very different environment, and how we are addressing them.

14.35

The autonomous mobile robotic chemist

Professor Andrew Cooper, Director, Materials Innovation Factory

This presentation will discuss the autonomous mobile robotic chemist that we have built recently in Liverpool, and the scope for boosting productivity in labs while social distancing; for example, to get a 10 times productivity gain while also reducing physical lab occupancy for researchers by a factor of 10.

14.45

Psychological aspects of working in a 2-metre world

Dr Adrian Atkinson, Founder and Chairman, Human Factors International

The two areas of psychological interest are firstly, behavioural adaptation to a 2-metre world, and secondly, the complexity of working remotely. The complexity comes about from the individual differences of the employees, the nature of the job tasks, the leadership styles and the culture of the organisation.

14.55

Maintaining creativity and innovation in this new world

Dr Andy Burnett, CEO, Knowinnovation

The COVID-19 pandemic has provided us with the opportunity to experiment with alternative ways to conduct scientific research. I will talk about some of the events that we have had to reimagine, and how organisations can take advantage of the current uncertainty.

15.05

Facilitated Q&A

15.30

Next steps and closing remarks