Dear colleague,
At the University of Aberdeen, we recognise the crucial contributions that technicians make to our research and teaching. Their expertise and leadership are central to the success of our endeavours and to sustaining positive and inclusive cultures for both research and teaching.
Through our commitment to Technician Commitment, we are working to ensure that technicians are visible, supported in their development, and fully recognised as key members of our research and teaching community.
The Technician Commitment was launched in 2017 and is a sector-wide initiative with a specific focus on key challenges facing technical staff. The University became a signatory of the Commitment in 2018, and in so doing developed an action plan to take forward initiatives in support of the principles:
- Visibility - ensuring that all technicians within the organisation are identifiable and that the contribution of technicians is visible within and beyond the institution.
- Recognition - supporting technicians to gain recognition through professional registration.
- Career Development - enabling career progression opportunities for technicians through the provision of clear, documented career pathways.
- Sustainability - ensuring the future sustainability of technical skills across the organisation and that technical expertise is fully utilised.
Over the last year, I have led the Technical Staff Working Group, which undertook a period of self-assessment and reflection on the activities carried out against the previous actions and created a new action plan covering the next 3 years in partnership with the technical staff community. The resulting report on our previous action plan and proposed new action plan was then submitted to the Technician Commitment for review.
We have now received confirmation that our application for renewal of our signatory status has been approved and a Steering Group has been established (chaired by Ben Tatler, Dean for Research Culture) to take forward the actions identified in our renewal application and outlined in our 2025-2028 Action Plan.
Together with the Technician Network Team, the Steering Group will now seek to raise awareness and visibility of the Technician Commitment, re-affirming our commitment to the principles while ensuring that activities are aligned with our Aberdeen 2040 strategy.
For more information email Ben Tatler, b.w.tatler@abdn.ac.uk, or the Technician Network Team, tech-net@abdn.ac.uk.
Best wishes,
Nick
Professor Nick Forsyth
Vice Principal Research