The Technician Commitment Collaboration Fund is a small grants scheme which this year is providing funding of up to £2,000 to support initiatives being delivered by Technician Commitment Signatory Institutions (TCIs).
Applicants were encouraged from all TCIs and projects were selected in a competitive process seeking to identify projects which will advance the aims of the Technician Commitment.
Collaboration is essential to furthering the aims of the Technician Commitment. The Collaboration Fund recognises this and provides funding that supports our network to take action to drive the visibility, recognition, development and sustainability of their technicians and the wider technical workforce.
The Technician Commitment Steering Board invited submissions in the range of £100 - £2000 to support the creation of collaborative opportunities through activities such as networking events, shadowing opportunities and conferences.
The successful applicants for 2022 are:
Heriot-Watt University - Technical Services Resource Hub
Securing Collaboration Fund support for a second consecutive year, the collaboration brings together four Edinburgh institutions - the University of Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh Napier University and Queen Margaret University - to create a Resource Hub that will provide learning and networking for technicians, and, towards the end of 2022, will support mentoring and shadowing opportunities for technicians.
Kings College London and University of Reading – regional campus-based network meetings
This application represented all fifteen Technician Commitment signatories in Southeast England and will support two in-person events across the year that will bring this engaged network together to hear from keynote speakers around the themes of visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability for technicians. Host universities will also provide tours of specialist facilities across different disciplines. The project aims to create a vibrant and diverse network of technical staff across institutions to build relationships and share best practice.
University of Leeds and University of York- Yorkshire Technicians Exchange Partnership (YoTEP)
This project will create a supportive and informative network between the technical communities of Leeds and York universities. The Yorkshire Technicians Exchange Partnership will match technicians with skills or experience to share with those looking to build new connections or gain experience in a specific area and fund travel between the two universities for these meetings. The partnership will facilitate at least 12 workplace consultations, shadow or on-the-job training opportunities during 2022.
Newcastle University - support for the Technician Partnership Conference, Newcastle 2022
The University of Newcastle applied for funding to support their Technician Partnership Conference, which will take place on 6th July 2022.
The application identified that networking and career development opportunities are not as easily accessible for technicians located in the north of England and Scotland. Following on from a successful online event in 2020, the University of Newcastle aims to bring together 500 delegates for the first in-person Technician Partnership Conference. Collaboration Award funding will enable a technicians photography exhibition, secure a keynote speaker for a plenary session on growing one’s professional network and provide refreshments to aid networking between delegates.
The Technician Commitment looks forward to seeing and sharing the impact of these innovative collaboration projects upon increasing the visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability of technical careers.
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