Interview with Healthcare Consultant and Homerton Changemaker Alumnus Dr Harry Bickerstaffe

"The start-up and social enterprise ideas that came from Changemakers were really fascinating and that creativity was made possible by the diversity of perspectives."

By Jane Mumford 3min read


Harry is a Consultant at Syneos Health Consulting in London working within the Commercial Advisory Group. He was involved in Homerton Changemaker’s first-ever Summer School back in 2019 and has since acted as a mentor to current Changemaker students. Harry is a medical doctor by background and holds a master's in therapeutic development. He shared with us how he got into his role and how his experiences with Homerton Changemakers supported him in this journey.

Dr Harry Bickerstaffe did his MPhil in Therapeutic Sciences 2019-20. He took a year out of medical school in Liverpool to do his master's.


"I learnt that the fact that diversity of thinking is more challenging is exactly why it is so valuable."
 

What is your current role and what you are doing currently?

I currently work as a consultant at Syneos Health in healthcare strategy. I work in teams to advise a broad spectrum of clients on key problems they are facing. For me, the chance to continually learn about new problems and be a helping part of cutting-edge developments in therapeutics is exactly the career move I was looking for when I stepped away from clinical medicine.

Clients range from start-ups to big tech companies, funders, and large pharmaceutical companies.  I particularly enjoy the frequent challenge of tackling the latest problems. To name a couple of projects that I found fascinating: we defined the impact strategy for a large charity, helped a tech company enter the European health market, and detailed the European scaling plan for a US biotech.


"Homerton Changemakers is a great opportunity to benefit from, bringing the people and ideas of Cambridge together - definitely take advantage of the full experience if you can!"

 

How has Homerton Changemakers influenced you in what you do now? 

Homerton Changemakers helped me to reflect on the work that really makes me feel fulfilled and what gets me going each day.  In practical terms, the connection of ‘who I am’ with ‘what I want to do’ and the mentorship connections helped me make a career change from clinical medicine to healthcare consulting. 

 The interdisciplinary collaboration and projects at Changemakers showed me the power of diversity of thinking. The start-up and social enterprise ideas that came from Changemakers were really fascinating and that creativity was made possible by the diversity of perspectives. This often reminds me to seek differing perspectives for greater creativity and a more holistic view of the situation. I learnt that the fact that diversity of thinking is more challenging is exactly why it is so valuable. In addition, I found the genuine optimism for change at Homerton Changemakers and belief in each person’s ability to make an impact inspiring. This helped show the importance of challenging the status quo and each person pushing for change where it is needed.


"I found the genuine optimism for change at Homerton Changemakers and belief in each person’s ability to make an impact inspiring. This helped show the importance of challenging the status quo and each person pushing for change where it is needed."

 

What advice would you give to the current students at Homerton College?

Homerton Changemakers is a great opportunity to benefit from, bringing the people and ideas of Cambridge together - definitely take advantage of the full experience if you can! For me, spending the time to reflect on what really drives me and connecting that to the options out there was a turning point at university. Practically speaking, make the most of the mentorship and networking opportunities, the informal and formal mentors I had were of so much help in advising me on the big picture as well as the details of my job applications. For students interested in healthcare, consulting, or options outside clinical medicine, I am happy to try and help.

 

Harry’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harry-bickerstaffe-57338718a/