It was a day of honour for Stevenage recently as there was a warm welcome for Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh to both the Bioscience Catalyst and Airbus.

Her Royal Highness first toured the Bioscience campus and met a selection of early-stage companies developing new treatments across cancer, women's health and RNA-based medicines, and heard how science on campus is being translated into real impacts for patients, alongside local STEM skills.

The Duchess was joined by the Lord-Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, Robert Voss, alongside Anna Rankin, High Sheriff of Hertfordshire, Laurence Brass, Chairman of Hertfordshire County Council, and Tom Pike, Chief Executive of Stevenage Borough Council, as well as Dr John Howie DL and Adrian Hawkins OBE.

The visit concluded with the unveiling of a commemorative plaque in the SBC Atrium, bringing the campus community together to mark the occasion and celebrate the science taking place. 

Andrew Waters, Interim CEO, Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, said: "We were honoured to welcome HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh to SBC and to showcase both the science on our campus and the people behind it. Alongside supporting innovative therapeutics companies, we are committed to opening opportunities in STEM for our local community. Today reflects that shared ambition, bringing together researchers, founders and young people, all working towards improving patient outcomes."

Her Royal Highness the visited Airbus Defence and Space in the town. She was given the first-hand chance to look at aerospace and satellite technology and spent time at the STEM education centre, designed to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.

While there she was briefed on electrical power and space systems used in modern satellite development and the fact that Airbus plays a leading role in global science with their input on Earth observations satellites, defence systems, and space missions.