UCB is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on creating value for people living with severe diseases in immunology and neurology. 

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Collaboration between industry and academia represent a new avenue for UCB to enhance the impact of the research conducted. The project was to create a formal guidance to help colleagues navigate best practices for collaborative projects with academic or clinical researchers.

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First my partner and I conducted through analysis of existing literature addressing academy-industry research collaborations. Once we had a working knowledge of that landscape, we drafted a detailed questionnaire to interview Principal Investigators (PIs) and biopharma industry associates. The interviews were targeted to gain knowledge on research expertise, collaboration experience (both good and bad), preferences, and recommendations. We also accessed partnership/collaboration information presented on other industry-leading pharma organizations' websites and gathered insights on what worked for them and what they recommend. 

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At the end of collection processes, we analyzed the data to identify recurring themes and influential factors and create parent labels under which related themes could be categorized. These results and analysis were accumulated in the drafting of a best practices guidance document to optimize effective processes to generate cutting edge scientific evidence. We also gave a formal presentation with our recommendations to the global UCB team.

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Mention: Saving the Summer Internship