The Scientific Laboratory Show and Conference 2024, held at the East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham on May 22, attracted over 1400 delegates from across the scientific community. Conversations throughout the main exhibition hall and five conference suites focused on lab sustainability, emerging automation technologies and professional development of laboratory workers. Instrumentation and consumables manufacturers such as Thermo-Fisher Scientific, Cole-Parmer, Miele and Eppendorf joined esteemed professional bodies and trade associations to welcome researchers, technicians, industry workers and students.

Notable activities included keynote speeches from Dr Adam Rutherford, known for his multifaceted roles in science communication, Dr Helen Czerski, a physicist-turned-oceanographer and renowned science communicator, and Robin Ince, comedian and populariser of scientific ideas. Their speeches entertained attendees with insights into scientific curiosity, the ocean’s role in shaping our world, and the political nature of scientific data.

The Professional Development Zone, which featured a series of informative seminars and masterclasses, enabled attendees to address specific issues, such as professional body membership, supply chains and biobanking. Industry experts shared strategies for assessing the environmental impact of laboratory products and implementation methods for sustainable practices in laboratory operations.

“At SLS, we see our role as not just distributors but as a face for the UK laboratory industry,” explained David Zaborowski, group marketing manager at SLS. “We talk to pretty much everyone in the industry. Bringing everyone together under one roof makes their lives easier and facilitates conversation and collaboration on some of the biggest issues facing laboratory professionals.”

“These shows allow us to cement a relationship with the individual account managers, keeping them aware of new products and product training,” explained Mark Pagram, account manager for academia, health, applied and product specialist at Eppendorf UK Ltd. “Also, having a platform to directly relate to the customers with a show like this works really well.” 

Sustainability was the central theme of the event, reflected in both the content of the presentations and the discussions on the tradeshow floor. Industry giants sported stickers on the products they were displaying, indicating that they met sustainability criteria at a specific stage of their lifecycle, such as raw material extraction, use or disposal. This allowed attendees to easily identify products that would help them meet their specific sustainability goal.

Adding a unique twist to the event, our team capitalised on the excitement of this Olympic year by running an ‘Arcade Olympics” at the show. This featured five different games including “Whack-a-Molecule”, “Danger Zone” and “Batak Pro”, and the highest scorer across all events walked away with £250 in Amazon vouchers.

The next Scientific Laboratory Show and Conference will take place in 2026, where we will again present cutting-edge technologies, equipment and practices shaping the future of scientific research.