BACKGROUND

The intersection of biosciences and IT is a high priority for research council funding and a rich seam of opportunity to explore when returning to or thinking of changing careers, according to speakers at the workshop.

The strength of the UK biotech sector highlights a demand for skilled and flexible workers drawn from both bioscience and IT backgrounds. The high number of women bioscience graduates – over 47 per cent since 1970 – suggests an unused resource that may be available with some updating of skills and retraining.

The biological sciences are becoming more quantitative, more predictive and more integrative. It requires input from different disciplines, different technologies, and across different functions at cellular, whole animal and population level.

Bio-informatics and computational biology use techniques including applied mathematics, informatics, statistics, computer science, artificial intelligence, chemistry, and biochemistry to solve biological problems usually on the molecular level. Research in computational biology often overlaps with systems biology.

The UK biotechnology industry is recognised as one of the most advanced in Europe.

• It is one of the fastest growing industries in the UK, with employment expanding at over 20 per cent annually.

• In 03/04 total university expenditure in biosciences exceeded £400 million.

• The Government Spending Review 2004 allocated £10 billion over the period to 07-08.

• Annual funding to BBSRC is increasing by almost £200 million over the period 07-08 (£381 million 07-08).

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