Technician Events

 Celebrating Technician Week 2023 at the University of Edinburgh.

The University of Edinburgh held its first Technician Week in early September 2023.  This event celebrated the invaluable contributions of technical staff to education, research and the broader University community.  Organised by the Technician Steering Committee, Technician Week featured activities across all five campuses and served as a tribute to the diverse roles and dedication of the University’s technicians.  Over 300 people attended the event, which highlighted the resources and career development opportunities available to the technical community.

The week’s programme was structured as follows:

Monday September 4^th – Central Campus, The Bayes Centre

The week began at Central Campus with a focus on career development, knowledge transfer and teaching.  The day featured sessions on various topics, including the Technician Commitment at the University of Edinburgh, research libraries, job shadowing and teaching accreditation for technicians.  The University’s Provost, Kim Graham, gave the welcome talk for the event and there was opportunity for attendees to network and interact with the events sponsors.

Tuesday September 5^th - Edinburgh BioQuarter, IRR South

The week continued at BioQuarter with the theme of visibility and recognition, focusing on professional registration.  Christina Boswell, the Vice Principal of Research and Enterprise opened the event, and there were presentations on the experience of technicians who had completed the registration process and a look at the professional registration fund.  Technician spotlight presentations and a poster session allowed a variety of Technicians to talk about their work.

Wednesday September 6^th – Western General Hospital, Institute of Genetics and Cancer

Wednesday’s event was opened by senior leaders Denise Nesbitt, the Director for Talent and Development, and Sara Brown, professor of Dermatology.  Helen Nickerson also launched the MRC HGU Technician Training Fund.  The afternoon seminar had the theme of laboratory sustainability, with a series of discussions on climate change, sustainability and the vital role that technicians can play in addressing these global challenges.  Experts in the field shared their insights, experiences and ideas on how technicians can contribute to a more sustainable world.

Thursday September 7^th – Easter Bush, The Roslin Institute

Thursday’s theme was career development and was opened by Catherine Martin, Vice Principal Corporate Services.  There were sessions on digital profiles, career development and continuous professional development, and technician spotlight presentations also featured, allowing technicians to give insight into the varied and important work that they do.  The Easter Bush Career Development Committee held an enlightening question and answer session, with the event closed by Bruce Whitelaw, the Director of the Roslin Institute.

Friday September 8^th – King’s Buildings, The Nucleus

Friday’s event, opened by Christina Boswell, Vice-Principal Research and Enterprise, had the theme of skills sustainability and career development, with a focus on apprenticeships and succession.  Technician spotlight presentations featured apprentice technicians, and talks discussed the benefits of employing apprentices. 

Technician Week closing remarks were given by Iain Gordon, Vice-Principal and Head of the College of Science & Engineering.

Technician Awards

One of the highlights of Technician Week 2023 was the introduction of the Technician Awards.  The awards aim to recognise the exceptional contributions of technical staff to the University, and in particular to reward those who excel in what they do, who go the extra mile in their work, in their contribution to the life of the University and in the provision of support to their colleagues, school or college.

The winners of the 2023 Technician Awards are:

Contributions to Learning & Teaching: Linda Clark and Michael Mullin

Contribution to Infrastructure and Facilities: John Blackhurst

Contribution to the University's Culture, Community and Environment: Charli Corcoran

Contribution to Research and Innovation: Edith Paxton

Apprentice/Trainee Technician: Matthew Proudfoot

Image Competition

Technician Week also featured an image competition themed ‘We are Technicians’.  There were 40 incredible entries to the image competition.  The winners are:

1^st Place:

Shareen Sorour

2^nd Place:

Michael Merlin

Runners up:

Lisa McKie Holly Morton Alix Johnston Brian Park

Online Participation

Technician Week was also celebrated online, on our X/Twitter page @UoETechnicians.  University of Edinburgh Technicians shared why they love being a technician, and why they felt Technician Week was important, they shared videos of themselves talking about their work, and they participated in Instagram live sessions with their colleagues.

Our Sponsors

The success of Technician Week 2023 was made possible by the generous support of our sponsors: Merck, Arco, Brand, Somalogic, RS group, Unite the Union, Biopharma Group, Starlab, Mascot and the University of Edinburgh’s College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, College of Science and Engineering and Human Resources.