SEB@SALZBURG - The Society for Experimental Biology

News & Views
CBE Award
for SEB
member
Professor Bill Davies,
Director of the Centre for
Sustainable Agriculture at
Lancaster University, and
long-standing member of the
SEB was included in the
Queen's birthday honours list on 11th June 2011.
Recognised as a world leader in his field, and well-known to
many of our plant science members, Bill has helped develop
new understanding of how plants react to stress which has now
been exploited by the agriculture industry. Water-saving
approaches to irrigation and to the management of crop
production have resulted in significant saving of irrigation water
and better crop production in regions of the world which suffer
water scarcity. This means increased food production and
Careers information
and advice @ SEB
September 2011 saw the launch of
a new careers publication entitled
“Next Steps – Options after a
Bioscience degree” which has
been written by a consortium of
seven bioscience learned societies
including SEB. The 40-page
publication is aimed at bioscience
undergraduates and new graduates
and aims to assist them with their
http://www.sebiology.org/education/docs/Next_steps_web.pdf
next career move. It includes
information on skills, effective job-seeking, postgraduate study
options, writing a CV, tips on interview techniques and a
comprehensive list of websites to find out further information.
We hope that the publication will help bioscience
undergraduates to feel more confident in making the transition
from their first degree to the next stage in their career. With
students likely to be more focussed on finding out about
employment post-degree in future, this publication is also
available to academics who may like to keep a copy in their
office in case of student queries about non-academic career
options.
There is still plenty of support at hand for postdoctorals and
postgraduates through our dedicated resources and
workshops. SEB has been running careers events for
bioscientists in the UK, across the rest of Europe in countries
such as France, Finland, Spain, the Czech Republic and
Austria as well as in the US. We can provide advice on
writing an academic and non-academic CV targeted at
working in industry or other professions. In addition, more
subtle aspects of career planning include one-to-one
Return to index page
Society For Experimental Biology Bulletin October 2011 6
profitability for farmers and better conditions for people living
in challenging environments which are becoming even more
unsuited to agriculture as the climate continues to change.
Bill was the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Experimental
Botany for 12 years between 1995 and 2008 where he saw its
Impact Factor increase substantially. He has been committed to
the work of the SEB throughout his career; playing an active
role on Plant Section and acting as convenor of the
Environmental Physiology Group. He has organised many
successful sessions at the Annual Meeting as well as symposia
and satellite meetings. In 1991, he established the BIOS
Environmental Plant Biology publication series. With Jerry
Roberts, Bill also founded the Education & Public Affairs
Committee in 1999, making the case for the SEB to commit to
widening its remit to reflect the changing times. Bill continues
to work to apply science for the benefit of global crop
production. He is particularly interested in raising the profile of
plant and crop science with young people currently making
career choices and with the general public. He is making a
video highlighting both the importance of novel science for
agriculture and the successes of British agriculture
Head of Education & Public Affairs, Sarah Blackford (pictured with Prof Richard
Napier, former member of EPA Section), recently graduated from Warwick
University with a master's degree in Careers Education, Information and Guidance
in Higher Education.
interviews to determine career options, identifying and
recognising skills and how to transfer them into new careers,
and how values and personality can influence career choice.
Whilst it is true that the majority of postgraduates and earlycareer
researchers will not realise a full academic career, there
is a wide range of interesting alternatives to consider. Most
people who have left academia have discovered that, as
highly qualified motivated individuals, there are many
opportunities available to them and they go on to forge
successful and fulfilling careers. Careers are many and varied:
scientific researcher in industry, consultancy, patent attorney,
science communicator, editor, teacher, lecturer, clinical
careers, policy officer, technical adviser, scientific sales and
marketing, production scientist, and so on and so on...
To find out more about how the SEB can help you with your
career planning or that of your undergraduates, contact Sarah
Blackford (s.blackford@lancaster.ac.uk).
www.sebiology.org