Evotec hosts Young Scientists Day, a STEM Outreach initiative

Supporting students in STEM careers – Evotec hosts their first Young Scientist Day

Evotec was pleased to host a number of Year 10 students from Didcot Girls’ School at their newly finished building at 95 Park Drive where they had the opportunity to see scientists at work and learn how Evotec supports the discovery and development of new, highly effective therapeutics. 

The day began with an introduction to Medicinal Chemistry before the students were joined by Evotec’s In Silico R&D volunteers to grow protein crystals before examining them under a microscope. This was followed by Evotec chemists guiding the students through the synthesis of exciting molecules and the analysis of everyday painkillers.

During lunch, the students were able to network and chat with staff and volunteers from various departments to further understand the variety of skills and opportunities available in STEM careers.

The students finished the day with a site-wide tour including Computational Chemistry, Formulations, DMPK and a rare opportunity to see behind-the-scenes at Evotec’s Pilot Plant. 

Kathryn Wilkes, VP Head of Human Resources at Evotec, said: “Encouraging the young scientists of tomorrow is hugely important to us, so that we can give students a glimpse of what possibilities there are for future careers in the drug discovery industry. Even more importantly, judging from the feedback we received, the day was also very enjoyable and rewardable – for both our scientists and the students – so much so, that we hope to be able to build on this day and make it an annual event for local schools.”

Evotec hopes it inspired a budding scientist or two!

Want to find out more? Contact Evotec’s STEM outreach team at ST*******************@****ec.com