Technically Edinburgh Podcast

Information on the episodes, guests and hosts of the technician podcast Technically Edinburgh

Technically Edinburgh

Launching in Technician Week, Technically Edinburgh is the podcast by Technicians, about Technicians for everyone.

Hosted by technicians from the University of Edinburgh, Technically Edinburgh will explore the careers of technicians from across the university, celebrate technician recognition and boost visibility of our colleagues in and out of our University.

Technically Edinburgh is a podcast series celebrating and showcasing the work, experiences and contributions of technicians at the University of Edinburgh.  The series will highlight the critical roles technicians play, both within the university and beyond.  Additionally, the podcast will promote and support the university’s commitment to the Technician Commitment, reinforcing our dedication to visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability for technicians. 

Episodes

Our very first episode of Technically Edinburgh has hosts Lee Murphy and Charli Corcoran chatting to Sarah Little, an Anaesthesia Assistant from the University of Edinburgh's Small Animal Hospital, part of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies.  Sarah was shortlisted for the 2023 Technician's Award for Contributions to the University's Culture, Community and the Environment and in this episode, she talks to us about her experiences, her role and what technician recognition means to her.

Listen on Media Hopper instead (with subtitles)

Download a transcript of the episode.


Sarah Little has been working at the University of Edinburgh Hospital for Small Animals, part of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies as an Anaesthesia Assistant since 2017. She has been working in the veterinary profession since 2008. Sarah is able to mix her passion of teaching and understanding canine behaviour in her role, and has earned many professional certificates alongside her duties as an Anaesthesia Assistant.  Sarah was recently awarded her Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy, is an Elite Certified Fear Free Professional and in 2023 was shortlisted for a Technician Award for Contributions to the University's Community, Culture and Environment.  In her spare time, Sarah volunteers with Lifeboat, a peer support charity for those in the veterinary profession.

If you are interested in finding out more about Sarah's role and how she spends her days, she has written a blog post on the subject.

Edith Paxton is a Core Scientist at the Roslin Institute.  She won the 2023 University of Edinburgh Technician Award for Contribution to Research and Innovation for her work on Trypanosoma, her contributions to managing a research space and her recognition on numerous papers over the last few years.  Edith talks to us about her work, her career and her recent recognition.

Listen on Media Hopper instead (with subtitles)

Download a transcript of the episode (coming soon).


Lindsay Jarvis is a Clinical Skills Teaching Technician at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Medicine.  She chats to Lee and Charli about her experiences of secondments, her application to be an Associate Fellow of the HEA, the Edinburgh Technical Collaboration's mentoring scheme and her experience of Imposter Syndrome.

Listen on Media Hopper instead (with subtitles)

Download a transcript of the episode (coming soon).


Dr David Brown is the Estates and Technical Manager for the School of Chemistry.  He won the 2024 Technician Award for Contributions to Infrastructure and Facilities for his efforts in helping the school to overcome the challenges caused by losing access to large areas of lab and office space due to RAAC.  David talks to hosts Lee Murphy and Charli Corcoran about his career, what he enjoys about his current work and his Technician Award.

Listen on Media Hopper instead (with subtitles)

Download a transcript of the episode (coming soon).


Selina Aragon from the Sustainable Software Institute joins hosts Lee Murphy and Charli Corcoran to discuss their upcoming Research Software Camp, running from the 18th - 29th November 2024 with the theme Digital Skills for Research Technical StaffSelina talks to us about what research software is, who works with it, why its important for technicians to be able to access training in research software and how it can help with technical career progression.Useful links: More information/Register for the camp: https://www.software.ac.uk/training/research-software-campsContact SSI: info@software.ac.uk 

Listen on Media Hopper instead (with subtitles)

Download a transcript of the episode (coming soon).


In the 6th Episode of Technically Edinburgh we are joined by Marta Esquiva Diaz, a research technician in the Baker lab in Cardiovascular Sciences (CVS) in the Queens Medical Research Institute.Marta moved to the UK in 2019 after completing her degrees in Spain and worked in industry for a few years before joining the University earlier this year.  She chats to Charli and Imogen about the challenges that she faced moving to a different country, how working in industry has helped prepare her for working at the university, and the work she is doing now.Check out the link to MITalent's Winterfest 

Listen on Media Hopper instead (with subtitles)

Download a transcript of the episode (coming soon).


In Episode 7 part 1 and 2, we are joined by Paul Strachan, the Deputy Manager and NACWO for the BVS Aquatics Facility, based at the Queens Medical Research Institute.Paul chats to hosts Imogen and Charli about his role managing a team of technicians at the facility, the work that they facilitate, how the technician landscape is changing at the university and why fish are the future.

We had so much to say about why fish are amazing that we had to split the episode into two parts. 

Listen to part 1 on Media Hopper instead (with subtitles)

Listen to part 2 on Media Hopper instead (with subtitles)

Download a transcript of the episode (coming soon).


Charli and Lee chat to Laurence Dawkins-Hall about professional registration for technicians.  Find out what it is, why you should consider it and how the university can support your application in this feature-length episode with our special guest. 

Laurence Dawkins-Hall is a professional registration assessor and mentor for the Science Council alongside his job as a laboratory technicians.  He has also won awards for his contributions to STEM education, recently being awarded the Life Time Achievement award from Lab Innovations.

Laurence joins us to discuss his experience of professional registration, the positive impact that it can have on your career and how we can get started on our applications.

Listen to the episode on media hopper instead (subtitles coming soon)

Download Transcript (coming soon)

Useful Links and Further Reading: 

University of Edinburgh Technician Website

Technician Hub Sharepoint

The Science Council

Lab News

The Tech Magazine Vol 5 no2 2024, pp. 35-39, "The landscape of Professional registration" Laurence Dawkins-Hall 

Lab Innovations

NTDC

Finding your competency examples (Youtube)

Winterfest Introduction to Professional Registration (Youtube) 

Completion of registration competency forms (Youtube)


Mike Capeness is the Lab Manager for Professor Louise Horsfall’s lab in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. With a background in microbiology and a career that began as a trainee technician at the University of Nottingham, Mike has built up a wide range of experience in lab management, health and safety, training, purchasing, sustainability, and research. He has a strong interest in the varied nature of technical careers and in promoting technician visibility and recognition. Mike recently won a College of Science and Engineering Staff Recognition Award in the Sustainability category for his work leading greener lab practices and sharing best practice across the community


Sally Morgan, the School of Engineering's Technical Manager and Chair of our Technician Steering Committee, joins us to discuss the upcoming Scottish Technical Conference.


One week on from the Scottish Technical Conference 2025, we’re excited to share a special episode of the podcast featuring reflections, insights, and highlights from an incredible line-up of speakers who took part in the event.

From big-picture strategy to personal experiences and sector-wide updates, this episode captures the energy and ambition of the conference — and showcases the vital role of technicians in higher education.

Hear from: 🔹 Professor Frank Coton – Senior Vice Principal and Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), University of Glasgow 🔹 Daniel Johnson MSP – Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Business & Fair Work 🔹 Janet Milne – Development Adviser, University of Strathclyde 🔹 Neil Guthrie – NTDC Specialist Advisor, Edinburgh Napier University 🔹 Charmaine Lim & Zain Ul Abidin – InFrame Community Knowledge Analyst 🔹 Ed Bowerman – Technician Technical Training Manager, UKITSS 🔹 Frances Medaney – Scottish Research Cultures Collaboration Manager 🔹 Professor Nicholas Forsyth – Vice-Principal (Research), University of Aberdeen

If you attended the conference, relive some of the best moments. If you didn’t, this is a brilliant way to catch up on what you missed!


Hosts

Lee Murphy

Lee leads a team of 12 technicians in the Genetics Core, a core facility based at the Western General Hospital, providing genomics support for researchers at the University of Edinburgh. He is a member of the Technician Steering Committee, a founding member of the UK Technology Specialists Network and sits on the University Research Cultures Forum.  Lee is a Chartered Scientist and Member of the Institute of Science & Technology.

Charli Corcoran

Charli has been a Zebrafish Facility Technician and NACWO at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer since 2018.  She has worked with fish since graduating from St Andrews University with a degree in Marine Biology in 2011, also working in several aquariums and at the Aquatics facility at the QMRI.  Charli is also currently the communications coordinator for the University of Edinburgh Technician Steering Committee, and enjoys taking part in engagement and communication activities through both roles.  

Imogen Heard

Charli Corcoran

Charli Corcoran

Charli has been a Zebrafish Facility Technician and NACWO at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer since 2018.  She has worked with fish since graduating from St Andrews University with a degree in Marine Biology in 2011, also working in several aquariums and at the Aquatics facility at the QMRI.  Charli is also currently the communications coordinator for the University of Edinburgh Technician Steering Committee, and enjoys taking part in engagement and communication activities through both roles.

This article was published on