Company Information
This page contains essential information for companies on the ORBIS programme.
Please note that registration is now closed.
The ORBIS Bioscience Business Training Programme: Helping bioscience companies respond to the economic downturn.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- How will ORBIS benefit the bioscience sector?
- How will the ORBIS programme specifically support my company?
- Is my company eligible to participate in the ORBIS programme?
- What is bio-business training and how will it be delivered?
- How will ORBIS use effectiveness coaching to build on the bio-business training?
- When can companies apply for the ORBIS programme?
- What will it cost for my company to become involved with the ORBIS Programme?
- Can my company place more than one intern?
- What if my company wants to place an intern and send more than two employees on the training programme?
- How will the ORBIS intern be matched to our needs and will we be involved in the selection process?
- Will the ORBIS intern be employed by my company?
- Who will pay the ORBIS intern, and how much will they be paid?
- What kind of Project can the ORBIS intern work on?
- Intern Confidentiality and Intellectual Property Rights.
- Providing a Safe Workplace Environment for the Intern.
- How long are the ORBIS Internships?
- Where will the ORBIS bio-business training take place?
- Can my company send employees on the training programme without taking on an intern?
- Will attendees of the bio-business training receive certification for their involvement in the programme?
- How is the ORBIS programme funded and who is administering it?
- Other Government Funding Schemes.
1. How will ORBIS benefit the bioscience sector?
The ORBIS programme has been designed to respond to two distinct bioscience sector needs:
- To provide affordable, relevant and responsive bio-business skills training to help companies tackle the current economic downturn more effectively.
- To allow talented graduate-level interns to work within bioscience related companies on key projects, to increase company productivity, and to up-skill the interns.
2. How will the ORBIS programme specifically support my company?
The ORBIS programme will:
- Provide 6-days (36 hours) of bio-business skills training for up to two of your current company employees.
- Help you to identify a graduate level intern, either a recent graduate or an unemployed sector specialist, to work on a technical or commercial project within your company. ORBIS will pay the intern a tax free training stipend of £220 per week for up to 26-weeks.
- Provide 12-days of bio-business training to the intern during their placement with your company.
- Supplement the bio-business training, delivered to your employees and intern, with expert coaches to ensure that the new skills learnt can be deployed in the workplace to maximize the benefits to your company.
- Help your company to measure the quantitative (i.e. bottom line) and qualitative (e.g. employee development) impact of the training programme.
3. Is my company eligible to participate in the ORBIS programme?
Any small or large company, whether newly formed or more established, from the broader bioscience and healthcare fields are invited to join the ORBIS programme.
Companies (both for-profit and not-for-profit) with interests including (but not limited to) drug discovery, drug development, medical devices, diagnostics, manufacturing, healthcare delivery, bio-veterinary, agribusiness, intellectual property management, technology transfer, venture funding, sales & marketing and technology consultancy are encouraged to become involved.
The initial focus will be on companies based in Greater London and the South East although applications from other areas will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
4. What is bio-business training and how will it be delivered?
In the simplest terms the knowledge, skills and aptitudes needed to sustain the UK bioscience sector can be divided into two clear areas: scientific/technical and business. ORBIS intends to directly respond to the business, management and enterprise skills needs of bioscience sector businesses (“bio-business�). Reports such as the Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies (SEMTA) Labour Market Survey 2006 suggest that whilst the scientific/technical skills in the UK bioscience sector are robust, there are documented skills deficiencies in the business domain.
The external trainers and facilitators we utilise will be selected for their expertise in the specific business areas. Feedback will be collected after each event to ensure that the trainers delivered against the identified skills needs.
Each intern and up to two employees from the company will receive 6 days (36 hours) of bio-business training. It is intended that one of the company employees attending the training will be the intern’s day-to-day supervisor within the workplace. We estimate that the value of the expert training package provided for each of your two employees exceeds £3,000; we consequently hope that as this training is provided as part of the ORBIS package that it will reduce the pressure on your training budget.
In addition, each intern will receive an additional 6 days (36 hours) of enterprise training which will draw on the business and enterprise modules delivered to bioscience undergraduates and postgraduates at the Royal Veterinary College. Therefore the interns will receive a total of 12 days bio-business training (see Question 7).
5. How will ORBIS use effectiveness coaching to build on the bio-business training?
It is important that the intern, their company mentor and other company employees are able to deploy the new knowledge and skills learnt at the bio-business training in the workplace.
Expert business coaches will be available to support ORBIS participants when considering how, with the support of company senior management, they can maximise the commercial impact of the new skills on the projects on which they are involved; in short, ensuring that the training has a positive impact on efficiency, productivity and the bottom-line. The coaches will also be able to help ORBIS participants to reflect on their new skills and consider how they can be broadly applied to the benefit of their employer.
6. When can companies apply for the ORBIS programme?
The ORBIS programme will run from May 2009 to September 2010 and is split into three intakes over eighteen months.
Following completion of the Company Registration Form, the ORBIS Project Manager will contact you to confirm that your application meets the programme criteria. At this point your company will be required to sign a letter of agreement that outlines the roles and responsibilities of your company and the services provided by the ORBIS programme.
7. What will it cost for my company to become involved with the ORBIS Programme?
£1,000 will allow you to place an ORBIS graduate intern within your company for a period of 26 weeks. The intern’s training stipend will be paid by the ORBIS programme. In addition it will entitle your company to receive a training needs assessment and 6-days (36 hours) of bio-business training for up to two current employees. The training will be delivered in 6 one-day sessions for employees, and 12 one-day sessions for interns over the 26 week period.
8. Can my company place more than one intern?
The ORBIS programme seeks to help a wide range of bioscience companies. Consequently in most cases companies will only be allowed one internship placement. However, where companies can demonstrate an ability to provide high quality supervision of interns on stimulating graduate-level projects there may be an opportunity to grant additional placements.
9. What if my company wants to place an intern and send more than two employees on the training programme?
Your company can purchase additional places on the bio-business training programme for £100 (plus VAT) per employee per training day, or £500 (plus VAT) for 6-days (36 hours) of training (see Question 7).
10. How will the ORBIS intern be matched to our needs and will we be involved in the selection process?
The ORBIS programme will invite applications from graduate-level individuals. These applications will be placed on a searchable central database. Participating companies will be able to view these applications.
Your company will then independently administer an appropriate recruitment process (e.g. interview or assessment centre) to select an intern with the knowledge, skills and aptitudes desired by your company. You will then be required to make a written offer of the placement to the intern. Once the applicant has accepted the place in writing you will be required to notify the ORBIS Project Manager. We will then register the intern on the ORBIS programme (see Question 11).
Alternatively, if your company is aware of a recent graduate or unemployed sector specialist who may be a suitable intern it will be possible to place them as an ORBIS intern if they meet the requirements of the programme. They would be required to complete the ORBIS Intern Registration Form.
It is important to note that the ORBIS programme is intended to place recent graduates with limited experience and more experienced unemployed graduates into the workplace. ORBIS internship funding is not intended to subsidise existing employee’s salaries or allow employed graduates to change jobs.
11. Will the ORBIS intern be employed by my company?
No. They will be registered as a postgraduate student at the Royal Veterinary College. This will allow the interns to receive 12 days of bio-business training. It will also allow ORBIS to pay the interns a tax free training stipend (see Question 12). Moreover it will mean that your company will not have to pay additional on-costs such as National Insurance.
12. Who will pay the ORBIS intern, and how much will they be paid?
The training stipend will be paid by the ORBIS programme (i.e. it will not be an expense to the company). The interns will receive a tax free training stipend of £220 per week for a maximum of 26 weeks.
Companies may at their own discretion decide to make additional payments to the intern; these payments must be administered by the company’s pay-roll and will be subject to the usual taxation etc.
Your company may wish to pay a travel allowance to the intern (to pay for their attendance at the central London training events – see Question 17) but is under no obligation to do so.
A company may decide to retain an intern for future employment. This would be at the company’s discretion and would be a matter for discussion between the intern and the company. There would be no additional charge made to the company (or direct involvement from the ORBIS Programme).
13. What kind of Project can the ORBIS intern work on?
The projects can either be technical or commercial, but must require the utilisation of graduate level skills. Interns may be laboratory, office or field based dependent on your company’s requirements.
Your company should aim to engage the intern on a stimulating project, establish clear and achievable project objectives, set fair and appropriate hours of work etc. The intern should have a named company supervisor who is able to provide a suitable level of support. Interns may also work on day-to-day tasks, as required, as well as conducting work directly pertaining to the project.
The interns must be allowed to attend 12-days of training during their placement. The intern will be expected to travel to central London (see Question 17) for the training days.
14. Intern Confidentiality and Intellectual Property Rights.
Companies are encouraged to ask the intern to sign their preferred company confidentiality (non-disclosure) agreement.
The programme’s intention is for companies to own any intellectual property developed by the intern during their placement. It will be the responsibility of the company to execute a formal written agreement with the intern to manage this process.
15. Providing a Safe Workplace Environment for the Intern.
Your company will have a duty of care to the intern. For example it will be your company’s responsibility to provide a safe working environment.
Your company will be required to undertake an appropriate risk assessment and provide the intern with the appropriate level of health and safety training. Your company will need to complete a mandatory Health and Safety Pre-Placement Questionnaire before the intern commences their placement.
16. How long are the ORBIS Internships?
It is anticipated that the internships will be 26-weeks in duration. Some placements may be longer or shorter by mutual agreement between the company and the intern. However, please note the maximum duration of the tax free training stipend for the intern is 26-weeks.
17. Where will the ORBIS bio-business training take place?
The majority of the training will take place at The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) and the London BioScience Innovation Centre (LBIC). RVC and LBIC are co-located on Royal College Street, London, NW1. The training venues are conveniently located for St Pancras International, Kings Cross and Euston main line train and underground stations. The nearest underground station to RVC and LBIC is Mornington Crescent (Northern Line).
18. Can my company send employees on the training programme without taking on an intern?
Yes. Your company can purchase places on the bio-business training days for £500 (plus VAT) for 6-days (36 hours) of training per employee (see Question 7).
19. Will attendees of the bio-business training receive certification for their involvement in the programme?
Yes. They will receive a certificate of attendance from the Royal Veterinary College. This certification will not be transferable for credits on formal educational programmes such as Masters-level or other postgraduate qualifications provided by RVC or other UK higher education academic institutions.
20. How is the ORBIS programme funded and who is administering it?
The ORBIS programme is funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) through the Economic Challenge Innovation Fund (ECIF). To our knowledge ORBIS is the only project specifically focused on the bioscience field.
21. Other Government Funding Schemes.
Companies participating in the ORBIS programme may wish to find out more information regarding the recent Government initiatives for helping the longer term unemployed back to work. It may be possible in certain circumstances, for example, to utilise ORBIS funding in tandem with the Future Jobs Fund. Information regarding the Future Jobs Fund can be found at: www.dwp.gov.uk/campaigns/futurejobsfund
For further information on the ORBIS programme:
ORBIS Project Manager
The London BioScience Innovation Centre
2 Royal College Street
London
NW1 0NH
United Kingdom
e-mail: orbis@rvc.ac.uk
Registration
Registration for the ORBIS programme is now closed.