The University of Nottingham’s pledge to develop, value and sustain technical staff has been supported by 75 universities and research institutes across the country.
The achievement and progress the University has made in this area was marked by a commemorative plaque, presented by Lord Sainsbury during celebrations of the first birthday of the Technician Commitment initiative.
Denise Mclean, Senior Technician in Life Sciences, was invited to speak at the event and represent the country’s technical staff.
The Technician Commitment launched in May 2017 and the University of Nottingham, together with the University of Cambridge were the first to pledge their support to the initiative.
The Commitment is led by a steering group of sector bodies, with support from the Science Council and the Gatsby Foundation. The Commitment was initiated to ensure visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability for technicians, technologists and skills specialists working in higher education and research across all disciplines.
Kelly Vere, Higher Education and Technician Commitment Lead at the Science Council, and Director of Technical Skills and Strategy at the University of Nottingham, said: “We are delighted with the progress of the Technician Commitment and we look forward to continuing our work to ensure technicians are afforded the esteem they so richly deserve.”
During the last year the Technician Commitment has driven a new collaboration between the University of Nottingham, the University of Liverpool, the Science Council and the John Innes Centre. The group are now working together to look at equality, diversity and inclusion within the technical workforce, building on the principles of the Athena SWAN charter.
The University has also encouraged positive action in the sector by developing a strategy for technical colleagues to enhance their profile and the opportunities available to them.
The strategy Our Vision for Technical Talent is set to be launched to the wider university community next month.
Developed by Technical Managers and senior leaders from across the institution, the strategy is notable for having been developed to align with the University’s wider aims and objectives and has clear themes and activities, all designed to ensure increased visibility, recognition and opportunities for their technical colleagues.
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Notes to editors:
The University of Nottingham is a research-intensive university with a proud heritage, consistently ranked among the world's top 100. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our 44,000 students - Nottingham was named both Sports and International University of the Year in the 2019 Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, was awarded gold in the TEF 2017 and features in the top 20 of all three major UK rankings. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement. We are ranked eighth for research power in the UK according to REF 2014. We have six beacons of research excellence helping to transform lives and change the world; we are also a major employer, proud of our Athena SWAN silver award, and a key industry partner- locally and globally.