Step up and create more inclusive workplaces within the biotech sector

In last year’s Diversity and Inclusion in UK Biotech survey conducted by the BIA, hearing loss emerged as one of the most prevalent disabilities. With Deaf Awareness Week 2024 (6-12 May) fast approaching, the BIA has teamed up with its charity partner, RNID, to offer valuable resources and initiatives for creating more inclusive workplaces across the biotech sector.

Step Up for RNID with the BIA

RNID's Hearing Therapeutics Initiative creates partnerships across the global hearing research ecosystem, connecting innovators with the infrastructure and expertise they need, at every step of the translational pathway.

RNID is challenging BIA members to compete in ‘Step Up for RNID - with the BIA' in May. Kicking off just before Deaf Awareness Week (6-12 May), teams can sign up to run, walk, swim, cycle or wheel to connect the BIA's headquarters in London with hearing research locations worldwide and raise vital funds to accelerate the development of groundbreaking treatments for hearing loss and tinnitus!

Register for the 2024 challenge and get your team together (of up to 10 people), pick a target destination distance from the list below and prepare to start moving from 6 May to help your team reach anything from 200km to 5,000km throughout the next four weeks (until 31 May). 

• 200km - Sheffield, UK
  • Research focus: Cell therapies for the treatment of sensorineural hearing loss
  • Best achieved by: walking, running, wheeling, swimming, cycling
• 700km - Tubingen, Germany
  • Research focus: Enhancing and preserving hearing for people with sensorineural hearing loss
  • Best achieved by: walking, running, wheeling, swimming or cycling
• 900km - Montpellier, France
  • Research focus: Therapeutic solutions to treat, prevent, and restore hearing
  • Best achieved by: running, wheeling, swimming or cycling
• 3,000km - Tel Aviv, Israel
  • Research focus: Gene Therapies for inherited hearing loss
  • Best achieved by: running, wheeling or cycling
• 5,000km - Boston, USA
  • Research focus: Gene therapies to restore, improve, and preserve hearing
  • Best achieved by: cycling

You will be competing with other BIA member organisations for a chance to be crowned as team and individual winners at the BIA Summer Party with prizes for the furthest distance and the most funds raised.

Every step you take and £ you raise will support the acceleration of global development efforts for new treatments and therapeutics aimed at preventing and treating hearing loss and tinnitus.

Are you up for the challenge? Sign up now and Step Up for RNID - with the BIA!

Help your workplace become more deaf aware

Actively engaging in Deaf Awareness Week can shape a more inclusive workplace culture. It's not just about internal awareness in your company; it's also a chance to demonstrate your commitment to diversity and inclusion to stakeholders, including funders, partners, and customers.

Have your Marketing, Diversity and Inclusion, Employee Resource Groups, HR, and Staff Engagement teams mapped out your Deaf Awareness Week plans yet?

Don't worry RNID can help!

Register to request:

• A complimentary Deaf Awareness Week Digital Pack (6–12 May), filled with engaging content ideas, team activities and resources.
• A bespoke plaque featuring your company’s name in British Sign Language (BSL).
• Free remote Deaf Awareness Training for BIA members (limited spots available, book now!)
• And more!

Join RNID, the national charity supporting the 12 million people in the UK who are deaf, have hearing loss, or tinnitus, to celebrate Deaf Awareness Week 2024 and create more inclusive workplaces within the biotech sector.

Sign up for the Step Up for RNID - with the BIA challenge now and plan your Deaf Awareness Week activities with your colleagues to spread awareness and promote inclusivity in the biotech industry!