Despite all the challenges of working in the sector, it’s an exciting time to be a technician in UK Higher Education. No longer an invisible group of staff that are only missed when we’re not there, technicians working across all disciplines are starting to be recognised for the essential, skilled, professional individuals that we are and the contributions we make to teaching, research and knowledge exchange.
It's been seven years now since the launch of the Technician Commitment, an invitation for organisations to commit to progress around the four pillars of visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability of technical roles, skills and careers across all disciplines, including STEM subjects as well as the creative arts. Successfully fulfilling these pledges will help technical skills, roles, and careers be recognised, understood, developed, respected, and aspired to; essential if we are to be a “global science and technology superpower by 2030”. Proposed changes to the assessment of People Culture and Environment section of REF2029 also reflect our vital contributions to research culture; for the first time, technicians will be submittable.
Harper Adams University signed up in 2017. Since then, we have improved communication between facilities and senior management by the establishment of a facility managers group, which I am honoured to chair. Our remit is to discuss and make recommendations to senior managers via our DVC’s monthly Academic Leaders Group (ALG), on all matters pertaining to technical facilities whether staffing, infrastructure, capital equipment or cross departmental projects. As a full member of the ALG my report from the Facilities Group is presented as a standing item on the agenda, thus ensuring that the voice of the technical community is heard by senior managers and providing greater transparency, particularly around capital expenditure.
Additionally, we have been doing more to enable staff to embark on apprenticeships and PhD programmes and are building our sense of community, holding facility tours coupled with a summer barbecue and facilitating senior technicians to mentor junior technicians. Our crowning glory (to date!) was our very first Technicians Conference. In an inclusive move, all staff from across the institution were invited – and they came! - to celebrate our wonderful technicians. It was a great day, and I am so proud of everyone who took part!
We are also becoming more visible. Whether for contributing to knowledge exchange, open research or teaching our contributions are publicised more and more, demonstrating the truth of the widely used tagline #techniciansmakethedifference.
There is still a lot to do. A proposal for a steering group to support our work on the Technician Commitment is in development to ensure that our achievements are strategic rather than tactical and, happily, work to develop career pathways – a key focus of the Technician Commitment - for both professional services and technical staff has now started. I have no doubt when this is launched it will be very much welcomed across the board.
But all this is not just about STEM technicians! Although the Technician Commitment has gained wide support from the STEM technical community, it’s also very much for technicians working in the creative industries.
Buckinghamshire New University (BNU) signed up to the Technician Commitment in 2019 and has submitted two self-assessments and action plans since then, highlighting specific achievements in addressing the four pillars of visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability.
The Commitment applies to all technical staff in the Digital and Technical Services (DTS) Directorate. It has a broad remit, covering areas such as IT, healthcare simulation and support for the creative industries.
Technical staff in the creative industries include those supporting the university’s courses in Film and TV, Acting, Dance, Set Design, Product Design, Textiles, Hair and Makeup, SFX, Costume Design and Fashion. Highlights across the four key aims are:
Visibility – Technical Manager for Art, Design and Creative Production attends all Programme Committee meetings, ensuring the ‘voice’ of creative technical staff is heard. Technical staff have the autonomy to liaise and collaborate directly with academics to address any issues in real time, leading to stronger working relationships and better use of resources.
Recognition – Credit is publicly given to technical staff for their involvement in student work or external projects. Technical staff were specifically selected to join a delegation to Europe as part of an Erasmus project which focussed on the development and implementation of prototyping “Fab Labs”, using BNU’s work as an example of best practice. A team member has been invited to represent BNU at CHEAD (Council for Higher Education in Art and Design) events as a champion of our Fashion, Textiles, Prototyping and Fabrication workshop facilities.
Career development – Members of the team are given the opportunity to become associate guest lecturers, delivering content to students based on their individual specialisms. A member of the team has completed a Masters Degree in Leadership and there are clear promotion routes for colleagues at the start of their career.
Sustainability – Work shadowing and skills sharing sessions ensure that colleagues across the team are adept in new techniques and processes. The university is committed to ensuring a balance between ensuring technicians can meet students’ wider needs and maintaining levels of individual specialism within the team.
A student from the School of Art, Design and Performance, BNU, highlighted the positive impact made by the technical team:
“Workshops with technicians are well-explained and safely prepared beforehand, allowing for more creative freedom during the workshop [which enables students to] develop their understanding and experiment with creative ideas to learn about the outcomes of using different techniques with the different facilities”.
As ambassadors for change, we are therefore delighted that GuildHE has signed up to the Technician Commitment. Although there is more to be done, it has already made a difference to our own technical communities and has huge potential to bring about positive change in other GuildHE institutions.
GuildHE’s members typically offer an industry and practice-informed curriculum. The expertise of technicians is, therefore, a valuable component in delivering a high-quality and relevant learning and teaching environment. Its strategy is that our members and the wider sector “provide the skills, practical research and innovation that industries and individuals need...”. The Technician Commitment is wholly consistent with that vision. Through their action plan, GuildHE looks forward to developing research and practice on the importance of the role to the student experience.
