Dr Mike Moss FRSC FRSA will provide an overview of $2.75 Trillion of research and development globally. Innovation is putting together what is needed with what is possible. In general, scientists and engineers will be able to define what is possible based on available or foreseeable technology. What is needed by the business or market, by customers or consumers can be defined by anyone with any degree subject with an interest in the human condition and societal trends. He will outline an industrial view of disruptive and sustaining innovation strategy, innovation funnels, project management, programme and portfolio management, intellectual property considerations and organisational structures. Out in the real world, organisations will have their own structures, systems, nomenclatures, metrics and job titles but this general introduction will help you to navigate this complexity in the organisations and career paths that you are considering. There will be much more research for you to do, but this introduction is a great start to your personal career journey whether you end up in industry or academia.

Dr Mike Moss, Careers Adviser, Oxford Careers Service

“As a careers adviser at Oxford Careers Service, my role is to provide more than 700 careers appointments for students, researchers and alumni and more than 40 specialist training workshops each year. I did a BSc and PhD in Chemistry at the University of Birmingham, and then a 2 year postdoc in the California Institute of Technology. At 27 I joined Procter & Gamble Research & Development on their graduate scheme. During my 22 years at Procter & Gamble, I lived in the UK, Rome and Brussels, conducted in-depth consumer and market research in thirteen countries including Japan, Malaysia, United States, Morocco, Algeria, Turkey, Russia and most European countries, I published 54 patents, managed a significant acquisition and was site leader of an R&D Technical Centre.”

The 2026 conference booklet will be available closer to the event.

This event is part of:
Careers Beyond Academia: Options and Pathways for Researchers
The careers conference for Oxford University research staff and DPhil students
Monday 23 March – Thursday 26 March 2026 online and in-person in Oxford. The careers fair will take place at the Careers Service, 56 Banbury Road, OX2 6PA. Register for the fair here