Jaime Valencia emigrated thinking of progressing, learning English and returning to his country in two years’ time. But his life story led him to stay in the UK, build a family and pursue a career in science. Today he is part of a team of scientists modelling diseases such as tuberculosis, Alzheimer’s and cancer.
Josefina Viano
In April 1985, Jaime travelled to London at the age of 28 from the coffee-growing region of Colombia. He remembers his city, he remembers the coffee, its production and he tells how the area has become a host to tourists from all over the world, interested in seeing what he saw during his childhood and youth.
His life in the British capital began with working in restaurants while familiarising himself with the language. Before emigrating, he had completed his degree in mechanical engineering in 1982 and had worked for three years in his home country.
“I was living very well in Colombia, but I realised that if I wanted to progress, I had to study English. My idea was to come to Britain for two years, learn the language and return”. This pattern is repeated in many immigrant stories. However, like many, Jaime discovered that life had other plans for him.
Twist of fate
Shortly after his arrival, he met a fellow countrywoman who would change his course. She had arrived in the UK at the age of 18, and had two young children from a previous relationship. Jaime, with tenderness, recalls how those children became a fundamental part of his life when he met her. They started a family and, in 1988, married. A year later, James, the couple’s first son, was born.
James decided to continue his studies at Cranfield University, where he completed two master’s degrees in Thermal Processes. His academic training would become a constant, despite the ups and downs of migratory life. His wife, also dedicated to scientific research, accompanied him not only on an emotional level, but also in his intellectual development.
Turning point
After finishing his studies, Jaime faced a major challenge in the UK: the lack of employment. “Britain was in crisis, there were no jobs, it was incredibly difficult. I was unemployed for eight months, it was very hard,” he recalls.
‘Latin Americans – he says – don’t just put down roots in London; we also keep them in our home countries. This is not the case for all cultures. There are immigrants from countries with great difficulties who manage to forget a painful past and put down deeper roots in their new home”.
But he, with one foot in London and the other in Colombia, decided to return to his country in search of work. ‘I went back to Colombia and, after seven months, I got a job. But I quickly felt I had to go back to my family. I didn’t want us to be apart, I turned down that job offer, I went back to London determined to stay, this time, whatever happened.’
Science as refuge and purpose
Back in London, he was reunited with his family and also with science. He had to start again and work in the gastronomy industry and on various projects for a few years. He had to adapt.
He worked nonstop, until one day in 2002, he got a job opportunity and got to know the research institute that would take him on a new academic path: “I didn’t choose to study biology, I entered the institute to move boxes between laboratories, because I was willing to work in anything. And that’s where I started to study the subject.”
It was the Francis Crick Institute, which inspired him to study molecular biology at Birkbeck College, and to develop another facet of his career. He graduated in 2008, after long days of working by day and studying by night.
Mechanical engineering and molecular biology, although two different stages of his life, have a common link: Jaime’s desire to get involved in scientific research, to contribute to the development of communities through work and knowledge. He is now part of a team of more than 1,250 scientists modelling diseases such as tuberculosis, Alzheimer’s and cancer. A long road of effort and dedication has brought him this far.
The tripod
Over the years, studying and researching, he has reflected a lot on the differences between developed countries and developing countries such as Colombia. His experience in the UK has given him a special perspective on the structures that drive to progress: “When I was young, in Colombia, I asked myself: What do Europeans have? Are they smarter? After studying here, I realised that we are no different. So, why are we more backward?
“We don’t have to invent the wheel”, he reflects, “but we do have to add value to our economies. In Latin America we sell our primary resources at low prices, but we don’t develop the technologies to maximise that value.”
Jaime emphasises the need for Latin American governments to commit to investing in science and technology. “Innovation needs a tripod: government, academia and private enterprise working together,” he explains. For him, this is the model of success he has seen in developed countries such as the UK, Germany and the US. It is about building technology transfer where it is most needed.
The state has a key role: “It must be an investor and coordinator. That is its role, to make prototypes, research. Nobody else can afford that. Governments must prioritise innovation in key areas such as health, drinking water, food and housing. It will take time, but I know we will get there”.
This tripod strategy requires a state involved in decision-making, with an active role in funding research projects in universities, acting as a facilitator of innovation development.
For the last 15 years he has dedicated himself to bringing this model to Colombia, establishing links with representatives, decision-makers, politicians, transmitting his ideas and learnings, being a London scientist, a Colombian worker, a studious father and an advocate for the advancement of development: “We have the public universities and the primary material, which is our people”.
Deeply human
Migration brings into play a more inclusive approach. And this has happened in Jaime’s case, by studying two different careers, mechanical engineering and molecular biology. It is about exploring two fields of science, both born out of his curiosity, his ability to adapt, his need to learn how to do, and to do by knowing.
“Scientists are deeply human, we not only do research, we also care about social issues and about the development of our countries”.
For him, science is a strategic tool, which can and should be used to improve people’s lives everywhere, not just in the laboratories of the richest nations. “The strategy,” he says, “has to be based on talent. Attract to Latin America our own scientists and the best in the world, through concrete actions on the part of the state’.
Scientific knowledge must go hand in hand with ethics, philosophy and an awareness of global inequalities. “We need to take responsibility for our actions, to think beyond, building bridges between disciplines, asking ourselves about the big issues that cut across our communities.”
He tells how in his lab they have opened a philosophy department. “It’s for us to rethink the questions we are asking, to find out if we are asking the right questions”.
Today Jaime continues to work in the laboratory of the Francis Crick Institute, where he has witnessed the creation of numerous companies thanks to technology transfer. His migration experience and his scientific work are intertwined, his more scientific side combined with a strategic perspective on development.
He has now lived in London for almost four decades, is 67 years old, has grandchildren to enjoy, research to do. Through his work, his family and his constant search for knowledge, he has managed to build a life where science and roots intertwine to give rise to a complex, passionate and experienced view of the challenges we have to face.
(Translated by Rene Phelvin – Email: renephelvin@gmail.com) – Photos supplied by the interviewee and authorised for publication)
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