<\/p>\n
We\u2019re\u00a0celebrating a double success as two of our biology apprentices, Rebecca\u00a0and Pia, have been recognised for their outstanding achievements at the Royal Society of Biology (RSB)\u00a0Apprentice of the Year Award<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a02025!\u00a0Celebrated during Biology Week, these awards recognise excellence and impact within the community.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A huge congratulations to Rebecca,\u00a0who won Apprentice of the Year, and to Pia, who received a Highly Commended award.\u00a0Their exceptional work\u00a0demonstrates\u00a0how apprentices are shaping the future of the life sciences through skills and innovation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Both apprentices first discovered their passion for biology long before joining their current roles. For Rebecca, that spark came in secondary school thanks to an inspiring biology teacher. When she later came across the idea of a degree apprenticeship, she was, as she puts it, \u201cimmediately\u00a0hooked on the idea\u00a0–\u00a0getting practical experience and earning a degree with no debt? It sounded amazing.\u201d That decision led her to the High-Throughput Biology team at\u00a0Vertex Pharmaceuticals, where she has flourished over the past three years.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Pia\u2019s interest followed a similar path\u00a0as during her A levels, she was keen to pursue biomedical science. While researching higher apprenticeships in the life sciences sector, she came across the Laboratory Scientist Apprenticeship on the government website and knew instantly that it was the right fit.\u00a0She explains that she was \u201cexcited by the chance to work toward a degree while gaining hands-on experience in a laboratory.\u201d\u00a0Now based at AstraZeneca, Pia\u00a0contributes to projects\u00a0to accelerate early drug discovery, while also promoting life science careers through STEM outreach events such as Cambridge\u00a0Big\u00a0Biology Day.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Winning their awards was a moment of reflection for both. For Rebecca, being named Apprentice of the Year left her feeling \u201cvery proud\u201d of what\u00a0she\u2019s\u00a0achieved over the last three years. \u201cFrom contributing to workplace projects to volunteering for apprentice outreach and helping drive sustainability initiatives, it\u2019s amazing to have this recognition\u00a0–\u00a0not just for my personal growth but also as a platform for promoting apprenticeships to a wider audience.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Receiving a Highly Commended award was a proud moment for Pia\u00a0as well, acknowledging the impact\u00a0she\u2019s\u00a0made\u00a0over the last few years. \u201cIt\u2019s rewarding to have recognition for the work I\u2019ve contributed to throughout my apprenticeship,\u201d she says.\u00a0\u201cAs someone passionate about promoting careers and apprenticeships in the life sciences sector, I am grateful that this recognition from the Royal Society of Biology helps raise awareness of the value apprentices bring.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Both apprentices emphasised the encouragement and guidance\u00a0they\u2019ve\u00a0received from their teams\u00a0and how this has helped them succeed.\u00a0Pia\u00a0highlights the \u201cstrong sense of community\u201d at AstraZeneca, where\u00a0she\u2019s\u00a0been able to contribute to meaningful projects from the very beginning. She says the early talent network,\u00a0which offers mentorship, peer\u00a0connections\u00a0and leadership opportunities,\u00a0has been vital in helping her grow both technically and professionally.<\/span> She also highlights the support of her university lecturers and apprenticeship advisor, whose guidance helped her balance work and study and integrate her academic learning into her role.<\/span><\/p>\n Rebecca\u00a0echoes that sense of gratitude, explaining how her team has encouraged her to push herself in new directions,\u00a0\u201cfrom presenting\u00a0[and]\u00a0tackling challenging lab\u00a0questions\u00a0to managing\u00a0a research project for two interns last summer.\u201d\u00a0She admits that balancing a full-time job with university studies\u00a0hasn\u2019t\u00a0always been\u00a0easy, but\u00a0believes those challenges have made her more resilient.\u00a0\u201cThere are always new challenges to face, but it’s really rewarding to look back and see myself regularly doing things that felt out of reach at the beginning.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Both apprentices are keen to inspire others to take the leap into apprenticeships. Rebecca\u2019s advice to anyone considering one is simple: \u201cIf you see something that interests you, go for it and apply! The worst thing that can happen is rejection, but you might just find yourself an amazing opportunity\u00a0–\u00a0trust your interests.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Their journeys show just how much apprenticeships can offer.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0not only the chance to gain a degree and develop technical skills,\u00a0but also the chance to make\u00a0an\u00a0impact\u00a0to your organisation and the wider community.\u00a0With their\u00a0exceptional work\u00a0and enthusiasm for learning, Rebecca and Pia are proving that the future of\u00a0life sciences\u00a0is in\u00a0very good\u00a0hands.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We\u2019re\u00a0celebrating a double success as two of our biology apprentices, Rebecca\u00a0and Pia, have been recognised for their outstanding achievements at the Royal Society of … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83991,"featured_media":1004,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[178772],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/chda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1002"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/chda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/chda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/chda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83991"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/chda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1002"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/chda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1008,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/chda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1002\/revisions\/1008"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/chda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/chda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/chda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/chda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}