Graduation Address

"Notes for remarks by Dr. Francesco Bellini, CEO BioChem Pharma Inc." (25 1998 October 25). (UA Case 69, Box 3)

Your Honour, Mr. Chancellor, Madam President, Distinguished Guests, Graduates,

I am deeply honoured and extremely pleased to be recognized by my alma mater with this degree.

My wife, Marisa, is also a UNB graduate, and we retain fond memories of the university, of Fredericton and of the people we met here. One of the enduring legacies of a person’s college days is the life-long friendships you form. For instance, I just visited and old friend, Dr. Thomas Tsai, a fellow chemist at UNB who is now pursuing his scientific career in Taiwan. We had a great time after dinner swapping stories about our mutual friends and sharing recollections of life on campus. One recollection that gave us a chuckle was when our professor here, Karl Wiesner, wanted to make sure people knew he was around…he was rattling his keys!

At any rate, we have many other UNB connections across the country and around the world and I am quite certain that, in years to come, you, today’s graduates, will cherish similar networks of friends and fellow alumni. Some things don’t change!

One thing that has changed—and for the better—is the employment picture for science graduates. Prospects are considerably brighter now than when I completed my education 20 years ago. At that time, jobs for Ph.D. chemists in Canada were extremely rare. Most of us had only two real options aside from teaching—either working for the Canadian branch of a multinational company or leaving Canada altogether.

I was, in fact, faced with that prospect in the mid-1980s, when the multinational pharmaceutical firm, for whom I worked for, decided to discontinue its R&D activities in Canada. Although I was one of a few, fortunate researchers offered a transfer to the United States, I made two decisions then and there:

Number One—I opted to remain in Canada; and Number Two—I vowed to take my future into my own hands, so that never again would some faraway executive of a foreign company decide my fate.

No doubt some thought me brash—and perhaps still do! But I can honestly say I have never really regretted the path I chose, even on those days when the going seemed particularly tough.

Eventually, I was able to start my own company, in partnership with four other like-minded individuals. And ever since, I’ve essentially worn two hats or—more accurately—two suits, the scientist’s white lab coat and the traditional jacket and tie of the business executive. In today’s intensely competitive business environment, it’s often not enough to simply have a great idea—you also have to get your hands on the capital required to develop your product or service and get it to market. So it helps if your inquiring mind is complemented by a little entrepreneurial spirit.

As I indicated a moment ago, the career choices and job prospects for today’s science graduates have improved. For example, when I co-founded BioChem Pharma just over a decade ago, there were only a handful of biotechnology companies in Canada. Today, there are more than 200.

That said, however, we still have a long way to go in terms of nurturing and expanding the knowledge-based sector of the Canadian economy. Indeed, the C.D. Howe Institute has come out with a rather alarming report that documents a costly new "brain drain" to the United States. Their study found that literally thousands of highly skilled Canadians, including 14% of scientists and medical professionals, have been emigrating to the United States—"pushed out" by a lack of suitable work at home, and "pulled" by the lure of higher after-tax earnings in the US. They estimate that, if Canada wanted to replace all the expensively educated managers, scientists, etc. who left between 1989 and 1996m the so-called "churning costs" to the Canadian economy would be a staggering 11.8 billion dollars.

In this shrinking world of ours, with unprecedented mobility and scientific talent at a premium everywhere, we are bound to lose a few of our best and brightest. But a brain drain of the magnitude described in that report is just plain unacceptable. We must strive harder to achieve a degree of critical mass in advanced technologies that will enable us to reduce our over-dependence on natural resources, and created a sufficient number of high-quality jobs for the sort of ambitious, talented young Canadians I see assembled here today.

And while we’re at is, let’s also tackle the issue of funding for education. I’m beginning to have serious concerns about Canada’s ability to continue turning out world-class scientists, engineers, etc., if we keep starving the country’s colleges and universities of funds.

In my view, this a myopic and ill-advised dilemma for any country to find itself in, as we stand on the threshold of the 21st century, knowledge-based economy. Governments, federal and provincial alike, must demonstrate some vision and leadership by restoring a decent level of financial support for our institutions of higher learning.

I would like to make a public plea to elected officials and education mandarins at the various levels of government to find a way of resolving the core-funding situation. Even if it requires compromising on the turf battles that seem to have become endemic to the implementation of public policy in Canada.

Ladies and gentlemen, these are crucial issues that call for a concerted, national effort to resolve. It’s up to all of us—leaders in the fields of science, business, education and government—to ensure that Canada doesn’t find itself relegated to second-class status in that global, knowledge-based economy of the new millennium.

I’ve always felt that as scientists, in whatever field, we are fortunate to have an opportunity to make a positive contribution to society—to really make a difference. If you think that sounds naïve, I must add I’m perhaps more aware than most that pursuing a passion for innovation is not always easy. Sometimes, it can blow up in your face—literally—as if happened to me right here on this campus, in an experiment that went wrong. But don’t let yourself be discouraged by the naysayers, or deterred by seemingly long odds. As you leave here today, clutching your pieces of hard-earned parchment, you’ve already taken a significant step toward realizing your dreams.

By way of conclusion, I’d like to once again thank the University of New Brunswick for this honour and wish all the graduates success and happiness for the future. Most important of all, I urge you to be bold enough to pursue those dreams!

Thank you very much.