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Launch of mentorship program the highlight of March TBI breakfast

For the last few months The Biotechnology Initiative (TBI) has been hinting to its members about the launch of a new program. After months of keeping the idea under wraps, TBI membership committee board members Dr. Adi Treasurywala and Gail Garland officially let the cat out of the bag announcing the creation of the TBI mentorship program at the March TBI breakfast meeting.

With human resource shortages in the biotech sector, and industry scientists and academic departments having very little knowledge of the business side of the industry, the creation of such a program addresses a major need. Mentoring is increasingly recognized as a vital component in any business toolkit for the 21st century.

Treasurywala believes that as such a mentorship program makes sense for TBI.

“If you look around this room, you have the best cross-section of professionals here that exists who are all interested in the same thing, biotechnology and so, it’s something that unites us but it’s something that has a lot of diversity. If I was looking for a mentor, I couldn’t think of a better place then here,” he stated adding the volunteers for the program are more than welcome

Keeping with the theme of mentorship, Freeda Khan, Assistant Director, Alumni Corporate Connections Centre, Rotman School of Management was the mornings featured speaker.

In her presentation Mentoring for Success: The Rotman Model, Khan discussed the role the career centre at Rotman has played for MBA students at the University of Toronto in connecting to employers, and preparing them for jobs in the future.

“Our goal in the Rothman program is really to help students with their careers and in their job search, but also to enable connectivity and career building.”

She also discussed the merits of a good mentor, as well the benefits that can be shared through a mentoring relationship by both the mentor and mentee.

“The most important part of mentoring is that it’s really a two way partnership. It’s an opportunity for both the mentor and the mentee to learn from each other, to learn about themselves and also to develop other skills that they might not otherwise have,” she stated.

TBI plans to use the Rotman example in designing its own mentorship program.

The morning’s second speaker was Neuroproof, GMBH president and CEO Olaf Schroder. Coming all the way from Germany, Schroder discussed his company’s advancements in the field of neurotoxicology.

The company has established a substance database with more than 100 substances which allows biomonitoring of substances with possible assignments of substance to reference compounds and thereof applicable indications. The goal of the company is to accelerate the pre-clinical development of Central Nervous System drugs and to cut down on costs.