Trailblazing technicians take centre stage as conference returns to celebrate community
More than 100 technicians, apprentices and technical managers came together for a conference in London celebrating their work as a key part of the scientific community.
Visibility was the key theme of the fourth annual National Conference for Science Technicians, which was co-hosted by the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Institute of Physics at the latter’s London headquarters.
This year’s hybrid event tied in with both organisations’ support of the Technician Commitment and focused on awareness of the role and highlighting opportunities for technicians to get involved in raising their profile.
The conference also saw history made as technical staff from three UK institutions were recognised for their hard work and dedication by becoming the inaugural winners of our Technical Excellence Prizes.
NPL [National Physical Laboratory] Air Quality Networks; the University of Edinburgh School of Chemistry Workshop Team; and George Burton, of Queen’s University Belfast, were all presented with their honours by our Head of Professional Standards Toby Underwood after being named as winners earlier this year.
Livestreamed throughout the day, the conference’s bumper schedule was filled with sessions focused on everything from raising the profiles of technicians, outreach and communication to funding, inclusion and diversity, and health and safety. Delegates were also invited to network at the end of a busy day of recognising technicians’ invaluable contributions to science.
Similar to last year, feedback received from attendees will be used to devise the programme for the next edition of the event.
Reflecting upon the success of the conference, our Professional Registration Specialist and Technician Commitment Project Lead Catherine Perry said: "This conference is a highlight of my calendar every year! I really enjoy seeing familiar faces and meeting new members of our community, and learning from technicians who really value this opportunity to network and hear from fellow technicians as part of the conference programme.
“Our theme of visibility was directly influenced by last year’s feedback, and our programme was developed by technicians who are part of a conference organising committee so I’m pleased to deliver an event which is created by technicians, for technicians. It was great to recognise and celebrate technicians at the same time through the presentation of our first Technical Excellence Prizes.
“We are dedicated to supporting the Technician Commitment through this conference and other activities as outlined in our action plan. These events are invaluable for technicians and I look forward to taking on this year’s feedback to inspire our future offering."
