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Mary and Dela were excited about welcoming their first baby. But first they had to get through nine months of first time experiences. The first sound of the heartbeat, the first scan, that first kick and the first sign of a contraction. After the anticipation, the time had finally come to welcome their beautiful baby Felicity into the world. With one last push, out came Felicity with her first cry. She was special from the time she was born. Everyone seemed to be fussing over her. They were told she had to be examined and in a short moment she was [...]

This article was initially published for Research research.   ‘No funder should expect researchers to choose between family and work.’  I have had two children while working in science. The first time, I was employed in the pharmaceutical industry. I took 52 weeks of maternity leave with full, statutory and holiday pay. It was a delightful experience.  The second time was much more stressful. I had moved from industry into a biology PhD at University College London (UCL), funded by the British Skin Foundation. I got pregnant three months into my studies. I was in my thirties, and my first child [...]

In 2018, I set up a learning centre in my town centre to support kids out of school with their learning. This came about after 2 years teaching secondary school science across 3 different schools. The more I discover how schools operate the better the perspective on how several kids are losing out on a chance to pursue a STEM program. Read my previous article on “A day in school as an observing science communicator”.    In this post, I highlight obvious areas of improvement.   1- Most 6th forms require a minimum of 6 6 in double science to take [...]

2018 has been declared the year of engineering by the UK government as part of “a campaign to tackle the engineering skills gap and widen the pool of young people who join the profession”. The country is threatened by a STEM skills shortage as more young people turn away from the sector. Stakeholders within the education and STEM industry are increasingly looking for innovative ways to encourage the uptake of STEM related subjects at school after GCSE’s. In my experience of working with young people in Essex to promote the sciences, I have seen first-hand the high rate of young people who turn [...]

Be bold for change was the theme for the 2018 International Women’s Day celebration. If you are at a junction or on a journey of  discovery, these lessons may be useful.  October 2016 marked the 5 years anniversary of what I call the journey to discovering my purpose. It all started when I completed my post graduate degree and found myself at a cross roads where I was contemplating my next steps. I had time on my hands after a year of lectures, assignments and working to deadlines and I had to fill up that time. Through this gap filling process, [...]

Sarah Binns from Academic stories, captured my story beautifully in this piece. Check out other stories on their page Hephzi Tagoe has spent her career alternating between academia and industry, with a healthy dose of science outreach on the side. After earning her undergraduate degree in biomedical science, she worked for a couple of biotechnology companies before completing a Master’s in pharmaceutical studies at Kingston University, London. She then returned to industry, working first at Oxbridge Biotech Roundtable then Abbott Diagnostics. Hephzi knew she wanted to pursue active research so, on the advice of her colleagues, she applied for PhDs. She [...]

Community engagement is at the heart of what I do and it is important that even as the science community works towards a more science literate society, we do not ignore residents living outside city hubs. This article was initially published for the Research research on why science engagement is biased.  Universities and societies stage few events beyond their home patch. A little wanderlust would help make science more diverse, says festival organiser Hephzi Tagoe. I’m a woman, I’m young, I’m an early-career researcher, I’m black and I live in Basildon. For the first four of these categories, I have organisations [...]

I recently gave a talk at a BBSTEM event on my transition from industry through academia to business. It took me back to my reflections from the initial transition from industry to academia and how I settled into the first year of my – not so common – move from an industry background into academia. After 8 years of working in industry, I decided it was time for a different challenge. When I received news of being awarded a studentship to pursue a PhD program, I was obviously overjoyed. I had spent about 2 years searching and applying for a suitable [...]

I originally published this article for the Aspiring Professionals Hub in 2015. It’s still relevant to my work today as sadly much hasn’t changed in terms of representation in the STEM community. Do share your comments.   Up until 2011, the concepts of ‘science communication’ and ‘public engagement’ were alien to me. I had never been to a science fair, a science show or even visited a science museum! I had never sat in an audience where someone or a group of people discussed the range of opportunities and possibilities which could arise from pursuing a career within STEM. I belong to [...]