Nadia Earl - WISE Young Women's Board 2018

Product Owner - Technical at GlaxoSmithKline

I became interested in science at secondary school and remember being totally fascinated by this complex and exciting world. I was not exposed to external STEM events during my time at school and could have taken a very different path to what I am doing now. I went on to take Biology at A Level and then studied Biomedical Sciences at the University of Kent. At university, I was exposed to a lot of academic opportunities but my knowledge of industry was still limited.

I was employed by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in 2011 on their graduate programme and have worked on several projects for medicines used to treat a huge variety of medical needs. I have performed some varied roles in my career so far which included spending a year working in America, all of which further expanded my knowledge of the business and industry, even beyond the scientific and technical knowledge required for the roles.

I am now a Product Owner and am based at one of our manufacturing sites in the north of England. My job involves bringing new medicines from research and development into full scale manufacturing, so that we can provide medicines to people. My job involves a mixture of science, technology and engineering so I am extremely fortunate and pleased to have such an exciting mix of activity. The thing I like about my role is that I work with many other passionate people who have a common goal to improve lives. I am excited about being part of a movement that also has a common goal in seeing young girls and women flourish in a STEM career.

I am regularly involved in events to promote opportunities in STEM roles at GSK and am also a STEM ambassador. One of my focuses is to ensure that young girls and women are aware that the pharmaceutical industry is packed with STEM opportunities as I have witnessed so far in speaking face to face with young girls and women, that sometimes this option may not be as obvious as some of the more traditional STEM routes.