CSIR SRTP 2020: Eminent Scientist Lecture by Dr. Helen Pain, Royal Society of Chemistry

Thank you so very much. What a fantastic welcome. Let me thank CSIR for organizing this event. It's been extraordinary how quickly you managed to pull together such an important program. I'm truly amazed by the number of individuals we hope to reach through this program, especially those on the call or joining on YouTube. I'm going to share my screen and begin my presentation. Afterwards, I'll be happy to take questions. Hopefully you can see my slides. As the introduction said, my presentation is about a career in leadership. I have a background in chemistry, with a degree and PhD. I think of myself first as a chemist, connected to the community. But I wanted to talk about leadership because my career has taken a leadership route, both in my daily work and in how I work with the Royal Society of Chemistry to ensure the RSC is a leader in science. No scientific career is achieved in isolation; leadership is also about teamwork. Diverse teams are very important, and teamwork improves performance. Before I start, I welcome you from Cambridge, UK. I would have loved to join in person, and when travel becomes possible again, I look forward to visiting India. After 26 years of international travel, these last six months without travel have impacted how we operate and connect. Science is about collaboration and connection. I'll begin by talking about the Royal Society of Chemistry for context. I became Acting CEO in January, coinciding with COVID affecting lives, especially colleagues in China. The RSC continues its work through crises. We connect the world of science to advance chemical knowledge for a better future. I've been involved in the RSC for many years, setting strategies. Leadership includes both people and strategy. Our current strategy focuses on our role as a professional body, a provider of knowledge, and their interconnectivity to provide a trusted voice for the chemical sciences. We've been around for 178 years, starting as the Chemical Society in London, then in 1980 becoming the Royal Society of Chemistry after merging with other bodies. We have a global reach with offices in the UK, China, Japan, India, Germany, and the US. We support 50,000 members worldwide and over 2,500 companies. In the UK, we have a program focused on SMEs. During COVID, we continue to support scientific endeavor and especially those in smaller organizations. We invest about £1.7 million annually in skills for industry and over £1 million in innovation initiatives. Innovation is a cornerstone of science. The RSC is also a global science publisher, publishing over 35,000 peer-reviewed articles each year. We've invested in chemistry education, funded by Yusuf Hameed, enabling us to train 23,000 teachers in India. This program has built connections with the community in India. We show leadership in many ways, including policy and advocacy. We are vocal advocates for chemical sciences policy. Our work has three pillars: supporting talent, discovery, and sustainability. Supporting talent involves developing chemists and facilitating international mobility. Promoting diversity is key. Discovery involves influencing policy and funding for research. Sustainability is a global challenge where chemistry plays a role in every aspect, from waste to regulation to economy. We recently highlighted areas where chemistry supports the COVID response, from PPE production to vaccine research. I'll now share my background. I love my role – working in chemistry, with chemists, as part of a community that makes an impact. I was inspired to study chemistry at school by my teacher Dr. Sheila Cousins, one of the first women to gain a PhD in the UK in the 1950s. She developed my work ethic, confidence, self-belief, and high aspirations. I then attended the University of Exeter, where Professor Eddie Abel, later RSC President, was another role model. After graduating, I joined the RSC. My PhD was in organometallic chemistry, studying complexes and discovering the 'tick-tock' mechanism. I urge you to google that. My PhD gave me foundations in research, publishing, collaboration, and community engagement. I joined the RSC in 1993 as a student member, then became Younger Chemist Liaison Officer. I worked through the organization, holding various titles. I encourage those considering leadership to look for opportunities, take new roles, and support others. I've led many RSC strategic functions, including marketing, communications, community engagement, HR, finance, and international. One highlight was leading a £2.3 million project to refurbish Burlington House library, making it a venue for chemical scientists. Leadership inspires me through people and strategy, making a lasting impact. The science of chemistry has always fascinated me. I remain a chartered chemist to keep up with knowledge. Shared values are important: professionalism, dedication to subject, enabling others, and respect. Strategy involves long-term thinking and a big picture view. The RSC's 'Future of the Chemical Sciences' report from 2015 identified seven themes and trends that have accelerated during COVID: the importance of chemical sciences, interdisciplinary, collaboration, future demand, funding structures, technology, open data, globalization, and social trends. This future vision helps us be proactive. Chemistry is global, interdisciplinary, and collaborative. Chemistry needs to tell its success stories better so the public understands its value, aiding policy advocacy and funding. Chemists must work with other disciplines and industries. Chemistry needs leadership, a positive brand, and diversity. The RSC's 'Science Horizons' project engaged 750 researchers, looking at science's role in the future, global R&D, and sustainable prosperity. We identified three areas: solutions to challenges, big questions, and frontier techniques like AI. Key enablers are curiosity, collaboration, and leadership. These also apply to scientists. Finally, our recent 'Digital Futures' work, launched weeks ago, resulted from a meeting in London to explore digital world implications for science, innovation, and digitization's challenges and opportunities.

Technology and our digital futures five-point plan that we have created as a result of this work looks to secure targeted investment in skills, training, and infrastructure to fast-track digital scientific discovery, both in research and innovation. Secondly, to enhance international collaboration across all scientific disciplines, spanning industry and academia, to attract top digital talent into scientific research. We also want to support data standards and ethical international data sharing. As we become more digitally focused, the question of ethics and how we ensure the human interface remains a key decision maker is there. Finally, to develop recommendations for integration of digital skills into schools and higher education. Digital is our future, our here and now, and we need to embed it in everything we do. That gives you some understanding of the leadership roles we take as an organization. I also lead RSC China, and I have roles as chair of the Science Council, which enables me to take leadership beyond chemistry into the wider science community. I also chair the Technician Commitment, which ensures that technicians gain recognition, career development, sustainability, and impact. Inclusion and diversity are key; we launched Breaking the Barriers in 2018 to address systemic barriers to women's progression, and a report on gender bias in publishing. We have signed co-authored statements with global partners. For International Women's Day, I made a pledge: I will listen, learn from others, and share my experiences. So being here today is part of that pledge to create more equality in leadership within the chemical sciences.

That's fine, yes.

I'm sorry, could you just repeat the question?

I understand. This is a very common question. There is the whole concept of whether you may be extrovert or introvert. I think there is a lot of opportunity to think about looking for opportunities where you can do communication, like speaking at events and conferences. Personally, I was shy when I was a student, and what I found very helpful was to do poster sessions, speaking to people one-on-one, which develops your confidence. Having done that, it makes it easier to talk to larger groups. Never assume you can't do it; you have to be a little brave and try different things. Also, joining networks and discussion groups is a good way to practice asking questions if you are shy.

Again, I would say take opportunities that are around you. Whether you are at school or university, volunteering to be part of organizing events or activities, it doesn't have to be science related. I developed my passion for leadership when I was at school; I enjoyed organizing things and helping others. It was only later I realized that was the start of my leadership career. So look for opportunities where you can show your talent and expertise, and get others engaged. That is the start of developing leadership quality.

We don't have PhD students or postdocs at the RSC itself, but we can support you in finding opportunities through UK universities or international universities. I would suggest that if individuals have a desire to do that, they can get in touch with us directly, and we have resources online to help point you in the right direction.

How to make science easier? I think through university courses and research work, there is more of a move towards enabling individuals to understand the full breadth of science. Look for resources online, read around your subject. We publish Chemistry World, which is a great way to find out about the chemical sciences at a level that doesn't require deep knowledge but articulates chemistry for a general audience.

Oh gosh, I should ask your full audience that question. I think there is a lot of research happening now that is very important for sustainable development, whether that's around food security, energy, water purification, antimicrobial resistance, and also antiviral medicines. There are probably a number of very important areas that graduate students can study. It's about looking at what's available through research and literature.

As I spoke in my presentation, I had a very strong desire and aspiration for leadership, driven by my teacher and self-belief. To develop leadership, first have belief in yourself, take opportunities as they arrive, seek opportunities, don't be afraid to ask, and take ownership. Learn from when things go wrong. I have had things that didn't go well, but I used that to motivate myself. Supporting others is also key.

For the first part, I'll go back to my pledge for International Women's Day: listen and learn from others. The solutions often sit with your teams and community. It's about being prepared to listen and learn rather than assuming you have all the answers. For the second part, being a better researcher is the same: no individual has all the answers; seek them from others, listen, and have conversations with people you aspire to be like.

I would say that women lack nothing in their journey to leadership. They have very strong attributes that any woman or individual can bring to leadership. It's about having the confidence to do that and having the opportunity to do it. There is nothing lacking at all.

Thank you very much for enabling me to take part today. It's been a great pleasure, and I'll very much enjoy following up with any further questions.