‘Science should be accessible to everyone’

Entrepreneur Becky Sage is on a mission to shake up the scientific world and inspire a new generation of global change-makers.

Tucked away in her HQ in the Engine Shed, the CEO of Interactive Scientific has been working with her team on the Nano Simbox, a pioneering invention that is now set to be released into mainstream education.

It is the culmination of many years work and an exciting time for the scientist with a strong social conscious, who won Innovate UK’s women in innovation award and is intent on breaking down barriers to make science open to everyone.

“I do not believe that science needs to be inaccessible, yet there are so many people who do not have the confidence to get into it,” she tells Bristol24/7.

“Nano Simbox is the underlying technology which can be used for both science learning and research and communication. It essentially takes complex scientific data and turns it into a vision of the scientific world, so people can interact with visualisations in actual time.

“In the near future, we do have some really exciting stuff coming up and my goal is to start making sales in the international schools network.

“We are also hoping to roll out the Nano Simbox across the 50 most socially deprived schools in Bristol – that’s a big goal for me – being able to provide this top educational tool to people who would not otherwise be able to get it.”

The Nano Simbox will make science more accessible to all.

Reflecting on her early career, Becky admits that after completing a degree and PHD in chemical physics at the University of Bristol, she was at a loss as to how she could transfer her skills from the laboratory into the real world to have a positive impact.

“I started working on different projects that were more policy and business focused, about using science and technology for social impact and asking questions such as how do you tackle global challenges?

“I realised that science in the context of the world around us was more interesting to me than doing detailed research.”

https://twitter.com/Becky_sage/status/891982836676399105

As well as being an award-winning scientist, Becky, who grew up in Keynsham and now lives in Bristol, is a keen gymnast and actress, and won the Adult British Championships in gymnastics last year.

“I had no idea what the standard would be like, so to win was really exciting and a bit of a lifelong dream,” she says.

Despite her achievements, the CEO is all-too-aware of the barriers that can face women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) and is striving to change what has traditionally been a male-dominated world.

“It’s more about changing the working environments – it’s not that women do not want to work in science, it’s about beginning to collaborate and finding other ways of doing things in science education and research, and that is about being creative and collaborative.

“It’s about giving people confidence and also giving them space where they can solve problems.”

Interactive Scientific is shaking up the science world

She says that within Bristol’s flourishing tech sector, there has recently been a rise in higher growth companies alongside the smaller startups, adding that the city is diverse and yet small enough to bring different specialists – such as gaming and science education – together.

Becky adds: “One thing I’m starting to see is the growth of the true social impact businesses – Bristol could be a real hub for that.”

Becky Sage

Read more: Women in STEM