"My teacher told me to stop pursuing science, now I'm a STEM leader" - Bamidele Farinre, Winner of Amplify Your Authorship
Bamidele Farinre is a chartered scientist who has been recognised countless times for her work in STEM. During COVID 19 she led the Mobile Processing Unit Vans project (MPUV) as Chief Biomedical Scientist (Scientific Lead) for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSE/UKHSA). This means she was in charge of delivering the desperately-needed vehicles for rapid response and for training scientists to further understand the Covid samples they received. Bamidele is the Deputy Chair of the Institute of Biomedical Science and, on top of it all, dedicates a lot of her time to mentoring others. This is the topic of her book, The Mentor’s Journey: From Learning to Leading, which won our 2024 Amplify your Authorship competition. Here we chat to her about how it all started, and how we can all become better mentors and mentees.
Could you give us a brief introduction to your book?
My book, titled The Mentor’s Journey: From Learning to Leading is informed by my experience as a young child migrating from Nigeria to the UK – that changing culture, that transition period, and then the understanding of what mentorship was at the early stages of moving to the UK.
One thing I noticed in the community where I grew up is that mentorship is part of the intricacy of it. You find that in communities, children are not just brought up by parents or immediate family, but by the whole community. Therefore everyone has some sort of interest in your growth.

Some people may not necessarily see that as mentorship, but that personal perspective for me has grown into my professional life. I find it’s just something innate or automatic – wanting to always help. If I know someone is struggling, I want to impart the knowledge that I’ve gained so maybe they don’t need to go through the challenges that I went through.
You say you had that awareness of transitioning when you were younger, from being someone who was looked after in the community, to someone who acted as a parent-figure. Do you remember adjusting to the difference in culture when you came to the UK, and releasing that the same community aspect didn’t exist here?
I was 12, going on 13. Growing up in Nigeria is an experience I’ll never forget. It has shaped the way I am today. Coming to a new place where things are different meant adjusting to the culture shift, but with time you find your tribe. There were still gaps, especially for my community. Representation matters, and for a leader in STEM, as well as a Black woman, I see that I’m visible. Others can see me, those that aspire to be in the space I’m in. It’s useful for them to have a template or a roadmap to follow.
That explains the moments in your childhood that put mentorship in your mind, but what was the moment down the line that made you think “I’m going to write this book”?
I think the book has been in me for years, it was just the right time to come up. As a STEM ambassador, I do a lot of public speaking in schools and colleges. I also do conferences, podcasts, and I write articles. I thought “hold on, you’ve got something to share”. I’ve got a story to tell and telling it means that people can pick whatever they need to from it, and do what they want with the information. The trigger was needing to write it down, I knew it couldn’t just stay in my head.
There’s a story that I never get tired of telling. When I was 16 going on 17, it was my first year in college and I didn’t do too well in my A Levels. I remember what my teacher told me – she said “I don’t think science is for you, Bami”. I still can never forget those words, even from where I am today. That was a defining and critical time in my life – my career had not even started and I could have taken those words and thought “yeah, maybe science isn’t for me”.
I know I’m not the first one to have been told they can’t. Those words could be a game changer for some people, and they may not end up pursuing the career they wanted because they failed at the initial stages.
When I first started out, I couldn’t see any visible mentors to speak to or relate to. There was no one who said “I’m going to take you under my arm, I’m going to tell you what this industry is all about.” You have to find out for yourself. What I’m trying to do now as an ambassador and mentor is to let people know what resources are available.
I wanted to create a resource that blended storytelling with practical advice, to show that mentorship can transform lives professionally and personally. I’ve found that a lot of things I’ve achieved in my career happened when I went for opportunities even when I felt like they were beyond me. I always said to myself; worst case scenario, you will hear a no.

What do you think is the most important trait in a mentor?
The ability to listen. If you want to mentor somebody, you have to understand them. Sometimes mentees come to you and they just want you to help them but they don’t know what they need. Through conversation, you have to understand what they require and then maybe even direct them to someone else.
You also have to create a safe space with open communication, because each journey is unique. That way you’re able to ensure the relationship is impactful and transformative for both parties.
On the other side, what traits would you value most in a mentee?
A mentee needs to be proactive and committed. Accountability is key.
What is one trait that you admire in other women?
Resilience. I use that word a lot. There are countless women within my network who are doing amazing things – breaking barriers and glass ceilings (although I always wonder why the ceilings are there in the first place).
Another trait is women supporting women and not tearing each other down. You have to remember you started from somewhere. If someone were to take away one thing from this interview, it would be to build others up as there’s space for everyone to thrive.
Is there any one woman who made a real difference to you in your journey?
One person I’ll never forget is my grandma. I lived with her during a few of my formative years, and she is a woman of wisdom. She wasn’t formally educated, but her wisdom and guidance were invaluable. She taught me the value of hard work, resilience, and ambition. When it came to anyone in the community graduating, she always took me to the ceremony to show me that if I focused and worked hard, I would graduate one day too. That stuck with me.
Sometimes we forget that our parents are our mentors. My dad always said “whatever you want to be, I’ll back you up”. They were the ones who provided the foundation for me to do that.
Connect with Bamidele in our Clubhouse at https://womensbusiness.club/u/_bamideleF