Harald Hedman, Umeå Biotech Incubator
29.08.2019

Harald Hedman is Community Manager at Umeå Biotech Incubator. A job he sees as varied, educational and fun.
– I like structure and being service minded – that’s a big plus in this job, he says.

Read more about the job and apply here.

Umeå Biotech Incubator has been named one of Europe’s best life science incubators. At UBI we help our incubator companies with financing and advice from experienced business coaches. The companies can also rent rooms from UBI, both office spaces and lab spaces – which are adapted to the needs of the company. CEO Jennie Ekbeck aims to create a thriving life science region in the Umeå area – and given the incubator companies’ success, we are well on our way.

An important role in the incubator is Community Manager, Harald Hedman. He is responsible for the working environment, the equipment in the laboratories and for creating events that support the incubator companies and add competence.

– I make sure that our equipment is regularly serviced and used properly. I also have a dialogue with the companies about how they want to develop their business and what equipment they need, says Harald Hedman.

He is responsible for write leases with the companies and also has work environment responsibility.

– I regularly inspect with our CEO Jennie Ekbeck to see if there is anything we need to change in our operations to comply with the Swedish Work Environment Authority’s rules, says Harald Hedman and continues:

– We have a water treatment plant that is connected to our labs and I take care of that, as well as ensuring that our low temperature storage works properly.

What does an ordinary day at work look like?

– I usually start by drinking coffee and checking my e-mail. Then I usually perform service on some equipment, book a room for a lecture, plan a purchase of a new freezer, discuss freezer monitoring with our tenants and help a company with a fussing freezer. Like that can a day look like, in the rough .

What is most fun?

– It is when I can help a company solve a technical problem or make sure they get premises that are adapted to their business. Our existence is important for the incubator companies, but we also want to help the entire life science industry grow in the Umea region, create new jobs, attract expertise and contribute to research that can create more innovations that improve health – here and in the rest of the world.

What is it like to work at UBI?

– We are a small group who work effectively together. It is an inspiring and creative environment where it happens a lot all the time. We have a great width among our startups and that’s – they work with everything from diagnostic tools to doping control and early drug development. We also have established companies as tenants, that sell products and have their production in our premises.

What qualities are important in this job?

– I think you should be service-minded and like to help others. One must be quick-thinking and be able to improvise and at the same time be interested in technology. It is also a great advantage if you are good at organizing documents.