Every Day Is a School Day with DLRC Regulatory Affairs Professionals
Published 22nd December 2022
When young people achieve their goals in education, everyone benefits and DLRC saw that this year!
DLRC (Regulatory Affairs Professionals) have been supporting our local community and schools for several years and 2022 proved to be no different. We strengthened our relationships with long-term partnering schools, while starting new, exciting projects with other organisations.
DLRC’s aim is always to support young people and teachers with guidance, advice and knowledge and provide our employees with a chance to volunteer, grow and learn along the way. Find out what we got up to in 2022, below:
Employability Workshops & Mock Interviews
With our CEO, Dianne Lee, as Enterprise Advisor to Knights Templar School (KTS) in Baldock, we have been working with KTS for the last few years to support and develop the information, advice and guidance that is offered to their students as part of their existing careers programme.
We kicked off 2022 with our Training Lead, Rebecca Findlay, hosting a series of bespoke interactive workshops for Year 13, supporting them in developing and evidencing employability skills as they researched and applied for jobs and apprenticeships.
Later in the term, we returned to run a second series of bespoke workshops for Year 12, focusing on interview techniques and tips. As long-time supporters of the KTS mock-interview programme, we also had several DLRC staff who participated in mock-interviews with the Year 12 students in June, supporting and guiding them in preparing for future applications across a range of industries.
Eleanor Thompson, Year 13 Head at KTS said:
‘DLRC employees were a mainstay of our mock interview programme for Year 12 last summer, offering constructive feedback to the students on their CVs and interview skills.
Their input has raised the profile of STEM careers, whilst fostering the professional skills required of all students across a range of industries.
With the breadth and depth of the support DLRC has offered us, we are confident that they will play a vital role in our careers programme for many years to come, inspiring and supporting successive generations of students to find their path in life’.
Careers Fairs
DLRC (Regulatory Affairs Professionals) have supported graduate-focused careers events such as the Regulatory Careers Live Fair run by The Organisation for Professionals in Regulatory Affairs (TOPRA) for many years and this year, several of our apprentices hosted sessions at both the Spring and Autumn events, sharing their experience, advice and tips for those interested in a career in Regulatory Affairs.
We were also delighted to attend the June Careers Fair at the John Henry Newman School in Stevenage, where several of our employees volunteered and shared their career journeys, offering insights into highlights, challenges and considerations they made along the way.
‘Insights’ Workshops for Teachers
2022 saw the start of a new partnership for DLRC (Regulatory Affairs Professionals) as we connected with The Education and Training Foundation (ETF), the government-backed professional development body aiming to support teachers and leaders across the Further Education and Training sectors.
We were immediately intrigued by their work supporting T Levels – a 2-year qualification that individuals can complete after their GCSEs as an alternative to A-levels, apprenticeships, or post-16 courses.
Via ETF, we proudly partnered with the Wellcome Sanger Institute in April to deliver a series of virtual T-Level Industry Insights workshops introducing geonomics research and regulatory affairs to teachers leading science & health-related T-Levels.
These interactive sessions allowed several of our employees to share their diverse career paths into regulatory affairs and STEM careers; for the teachers to develop their understanding of how regulatory affairs is critical in the development, approval, and commercialisation of healthcare products across the world; and to hear from our Medical Device expert, Indraj Bamrah, about the incredible advancements of medical technology as a result of artificial intelligence.
Laptop Reuse Programme
DLRC (Regulatory Affairs Professionals) recognises that being a responsible corporate citizen requires a firm commitment to following conscientious environmental practices and, in our bid to become net-zero, we have remained focused on reducing waste, recycling and reusing materials which would otherwise go to waste.
This commitment extends across the organisation and in 2022 we started our Laptop Reuse Programme. When our employee laptops are upgraded, our dedicated IT team wipe and rebuild them before donating them to schools, ensuring that all students can gain regular access to IT equipment.
In 2022, we have donated 20+ laptops to Knights Templar School and Eleanor Thompson, Year 13 Head at KTS, emphasised how they would be put to good use:
‘We are grateful for DLRC’s donation of refurbished laptops to the Sixth Form, allowing students without a device of their own to make full use of our silent study facilities.’
Internships & Placements
This summer was also a pivotal year for DLRC (Regulatory Affairs Professionals) as we said goodbye to our first ever university placement student, while welcoming our first summer intern.
Thea Morgan, a Biomedical Sciences student at the University of Bath, joined DLRC in September 2021 for her industry placement between her 3rd & 4th year at university. She quickly integrated with the team and soon became a pivotal member across multiple internal and external projects. Before leaving us to return to her final year this summer, Thea said:
‘… thank you for being such a supportive and friendly working environment for the last year! It really makes a difference feeling comfortable to reach out to people to ask questions, especially being completely new to the industry.
I’ve had an amazing experience as a placement student at DLRC; before coming I had no idea what I would be involved in and would’ve been happy to just sit in meetings and learn through listening. This year has been so much more than that and I’m eternally grateful.’
Luckily, it wasn’t a final goodbye as we look forward to welcoming Thea back after she graduates in 2023!
Mia Raso, a Year 13 student at Knights Templar School, joined DLRC (Regulatory Affairs Professionals) for a 6-week internship this summer before heading off to university. After meeting Dianne Lee at one of the mock-interview programmes, Mia joined the DLRC team in July and even in the short timeframe, played a critical role in supporting our internal projects run by both the Training and IT teams.
What’s next in 2023?
2022 has been a busy year for DLRC (Regulatory Affairs Professionals) as we worked to strengthen our existing work with local schools such as Knights Templar School and professional bodies like TOPRA, while striving to forge new and exciting partnerships and programmes.
We anticipate this continuing into 2023 and have already started working with Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership and Hertfordshire County Council to take part in the HOP Into Your Future Programme, offering work experience and ‘taster’ sessions for young people in Hertfordshire. Watch this space!
Further information on our social, environmental and wellbeing contributions can be found here.