The science park workers who don't need a lab coat
BBC"Cambridge can be a daunting place for people without a PhD."
That is how Kath Austin, 47, felt when she moved to the city 20 years ago.
It is perhaps not surprising. Alongside its world-leading university, Cambridge is home to one of the most intensive science and innovation clusters in the world.
It employs around 220,000 people within a 20-mile radius of the city centre and is still growing.
Pharmaceutical and biotechnology giant GSK is moving 1,000 staff into the city, major campuses are expanding and a shopping centre is being transformed into laboratory and office space.
The city is also home to Cambridge Science Park, where Austin works.
Established in 1970, in the north of the city, it is the oldest innovation campus of its kind in Europe.
It now houses 170 companies and more than 7,000 workers, many of them, like Austin, non-scientists who have found opportunities they didn't expect.
And it hopes to expand further, having submitted a masterplan for planning consent that it claims could triple its contribution to the economy, from £1bn a year to more than £3bn.
While innovation parks do have jobs for non-scientists, some companies struggle to recruit people for those roles.
Burcu Sevde Selvi, a research assistant at Cambridge University's Bennett School of Public Policy, says generally these opportunities are not visible enough.
"A study found that for every 10 high-tech jobs, seven more are created in the general market," she says.
"There are initiatives to ensure 'left-behind' people and sectors are included in this process, but more needs to be done so that people who're not already part of that network can easily see those opportunities.
"Public institutions, educational settings and employers must co-ordinate better."
Austin is director of business development at the Science Discovery Centre on the park.
It is an activity and education centre that partners with the city's scientists and companies, such as AstraZeneca, to engage children in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects through hands-on experiences.
Austin's charity sector background attracted her to the job.
"Coming to the science park wasn't a natural move but working for a charity that links scientists and non-scientists was something I was really passionate about," she says.
"Initially you can feel a little out of your depth, but I realised that while every job needs skills, not every job needs a PhD.
"I bring something fresh and different to the role in connecting these worlds.
"In the past science parks have felt closed off, but what we do here relates directly to everyday life and so knowing that anyone can take part in the innovation, in science or supporting roles, is really important."
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Sitting at her workbench clutching a smoking soldering pen, Karen Merry says: "I'd driven past Cambridge Science Park so many times and never thought it was a place for people like me."
A lifelong Cambridgeshire resident, Merry, 61, went into manufacturing after leaving school.
"I've always liked working with my hands," she says.
"I worked in a cafe for a bit, which was great, but 18 months ago my friend told me about a job here."
She works at Owlstone Medical, making breathalysers that detect diseases.
Her official title is "manufacturing technician", but colleagues call her the "soldering genius".
"I love it here. There are cafes and lakes that everyone can enjoy," she says.
"Obviously I'm surrounded by very clever people, but I don't really think about it. They're friends. They design something and we build it.
"We need each other."
Callum Osbourne, 38, grew up in Arbury, "right next to Cambridge Science Park", and, as a boy, played with his friends on the park's green spaces.
He was not inspired to pursue a career in science, but when an opportunity arose to run a gym on the site, he jumped at it.
Osbourne is manager at Revolution Fitness, open to park staff and the local community.
"Fitness brings everyone together. Being able to build an amazing community with both the workers and the people who live in the area makes me hugely proud," he says.
"If I hadn't grown up near the science park I wouldn't have thought there was an opportunity here for me."
The government believes the science and innovation sector is key to the UK economy, but Selvi says it must be inclusive and benefit the wider population so that "existing inequalities aren't deepened".
"Living close to a science park doesn't, in itself, give you an advantage. It usually raises house prices in the area," she says.
"So it is not enough for these campuses to just open their cafes and sites to the public, people also need access to the jobs."
Keith Purdie, senior director of development and operations at Cambridge Science Park, says the park is conscious of its role in supporting employment within the wider Cambridge ecosystem, and is working on a strategy to ensure everyone is aware of the career opportunities available with companies based at the park.
"That work is still developing, but there's plenty happening already," he says.
"We've teamed up with Cambridge Regional College to give SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) students the opportunity to spend time at the park as part of their employability programme
"We've also seen students progress from roles on site into work experience opportunities with our tenant companies.
"Those are the kinds of routes in we want more people to have."
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