This course will take place over three sessions, on 28, 29 and 30 January 2026 at 9:00-17:00 each day. Bookings for this event will close on 5 January 2026 (subject to change).
Introduction
The aim of this training course is to provide those with a biology background with core business skills (both transferrable skills like negotiation strategy, and hard skills like accounting). After completion of the course, participants should have developed a solid base understanding of each topic covered, an ability to apply their nascent business skills to real-world environments, and the ability to access and understand further, more in-depth information should they want to.
Who is the course for?
This course is aimed at biologists in academic or industry environments with an interest in commercialising their research, e.g. PhD or post doctoral researchers working on translational projects, or those with a biology background and general interest in entrepreneurship.
What does the course cover?
Day 1:
Enterprise. Creating value, stakeholders, product, process, resources, professional ethics and more.
Marketing. Kinds of marketing, communications models and branding.
Sales. Rational robots, heuristic humans, emotional entities. Customer Relationship Marketing (CRM).
Day 2:
Law. NB: We do not, and do not purport to, offer legal advice; we provide general information for delegates about law important to entrepreneurs.
Accounting. Choice of structure, accounting methods, taxation, production costs, etc.
Finance. Why it matters, pros and cons of different types. Budgeting, cashflows and company valuations.
Day 3:
Employment. How to build a team.
Stress. Looking after yourself and others.
Negotiation. From knowing what you want, to closing the deal and reflecting afterwards.
Business Plans. Creating a business plan and understanding your audience.
Who are the course trainers?
Digital Remit helps entrepreneurs dream, learn and grow, through strategy, training, production, events and funding. Their training courses are engaging, innovative, practical and demanding. They receive outstanding feedback from their alumni.
Justin Jackson holds an MBA, PgDip IDM B2B (postgraduate diploma in marketing), and Dip CIPR (postgraduate diploma in public relations).He is a Chartered Marketer, Chartered PR Practitioner, and SFEDI® accredited business support professional. He is a Fellow of the CIM, CMI, IoC, IDM, IoEE, InstLM, and RSA. He teaches for CIPR, CIM, and the Open University. He currently holds three Lectureships at the University of Oxford.
Francesca Granelli is a Chartered Accountant (ACA) and Corporate Financier (CF). She has worked with PwC and EY in their audit, due diligence, and corporate finance teams for around 20 years. She is a SFEDI® accredited business support professional, as well as a Fellow of the IoEE and RSA. She is an Associate Lecturer at the Open University and for CIPR and CIM. She also teaches undergraduates and postgraduates at the University of Oxford.
Charlie Wilson scraped through with a BSc in biology from Southampton University in 1978 and has been a member of the Society or its predecessors almost ever since. Although he has never worked in the biosciences he has always regarded himself as a biologist who happens to be doing other things. Those other things have included a career in the Royal Navy during which he led bomb-disposal teams and commanded ships in peace and in war. He is now an independent consultant and executive coach. With master's degrees in both Coaching and Behavioural Change, and Leadership and Management, he works with industry, banks, small businesses and schools to improve how they work together.
Certification and Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
A certificate of attendance will be provided after the event.
We evaluate all of our training events, to make sure that we maintain a high quality of training.
This event has been approved by the Royal Society of Biology for purposes of CPD and can be counted as 54 CPD points.
Professional Registers
This course supports registers competencies and has been identified as supporting competency development for: Chartered Biologist (CBiol), Chartered Scientist (CSci) and Registered Scientist (RSci).
Fees
Members - £250 + 20% VAT per day
Non-members - £500 + 20% VAT per day
Get in touch with [email protected] to access these rates:
Members of Member Organisations (e.g. BioIndustry Association), SCAS members - £375 + 20% VAT per day
Non-members who have completed a membership application and made payment - £250 + 20% VAT per day
Book two days and get the third half price*
*For example, for an RSB member booking all three days, the cost would by £625 + 20% VAT.
Bookings of five or more receive 50% discount on the full, non-member rate. Please contact [email protected] to book.
Contact
For further information about the course please contact the RSB team at [email protected] or on 020 3925 3460.
