UEA signifies support for technical staff
By: News Archive
The University of East Anglia (UEA) has signified support for its technical staff by signing a national commitment to ensure greater visibility and recognition of their work, which is hoped will encourage more people into the profession.
The Technician Commitment is a university and research institution initiative, led by a steering group of sector bodies, with support from the Science Council and the Gatsby Charitable Foundation’s “Technicians Make It Happen” campaign.
The commitment was first launched in May 2017 to address key issues affecting the technical community in academia and research.
UEA joins more than half of UK universities and several research institutes who have today backed a pledge to support their technicians.
Technicians make up around 5% of staff at UEA and work across a range of disciplines from biological and computing sciences to media production and digital archiving. They manage and maintain specialist facilities, prepare equipment and support students and staff to complete projects, often coming up with innovative practical solutions.
In becoming a signatory to the Technician Commitment, UEA commits to take action across five key areas; visibility, recognition, career development, sustainability and evaluating impact.
There are currently more than 1.5 million technicians working in the UK and demand for staff with specific technical skills is steadily growing. It is hoped that by making the work this group of staff do more visible, more people will be encouraged into the profession.
UEA’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Equality and Diversity, Professor Sarah Barrow, said: “Technicians have been the unsung heroes of universities, who enable our staff to undertake ground-breaking research and our students to gain a wide range of practical experience.
“Many of our technicians are UEA graduates and have chosen to continue a career here, contributing to the success of the University. It is really great to see and I would love to see more people from all walks of life applying to technical roles, knowing that they are valued and supported.
“This is our pledge to work towards addressing the challenges they face. Going forward we hope to ensure greater visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability for technicians across all disciplines.”
Liz Rix, Analytical Facilities Manager and Chair of the UEA Technicians Forum, said: “This is a great initiative for UEA to develop our technical staff and I am extremely proud of my colleagues across all the technical teams for their dedication and hard work that has led to this recognition.”
Paul Disdle, Senior Instrument Technician, Faculty of Science, welcomes the initiative, he said: “It’s exciting that UEA are supporting an initiative which recognises the important role of technicians. By making this commitment, it will hopefully highlight to a wider audience the specialist support we provide, as well as the element of continuity we give to the University.”
Peter White, Senior Technician at the UEA East Anglian Film Archive, added: “I look forward to seeing how we can improve the professional development of technicians, increase interdisciplinary conversations that fosters knowledge sharing, and raise the profile of technicians and the important work we do.”
Kelly Vere, Higher Education Engagement Manager, Science Council, said: “We’re delighted with the pace of engagement from across the sector and are pleased to be working with so many institutions to collectively effect positive change for this vital community.”
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