Celebrating and supporting technician skills

The valuable contribution which technical staff make to the development of groundbreaking research is being formally recognised at Aberystwyth University.

In the first stage of a wider rollout, the University’s Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) has pledged its support to the Technician Commitment, which aims to ensure the visibility, recognition, career development and future sustainability of technical staff working in the higher education sector. The University as a whole will sign up to the commitment in 2026.

Based on the Gogerddan campus, IBERS is one of eight research institutes in the UK strategically funded by the UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Research Council (BBSRC), which is also a signatory to the Technician Commitment.

The Technician Commitment is led by a steering board of senior representatives from across the UK’s higher education sector and was launched in 2017 by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, with support from the Science Council. It is now hosted by the UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy.

Dr Clare Stevenson, Associate Lead, Technician Commitment said:

“It's fantastic that the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) has signed the Technician Commitment. It's always great to see strategically funded Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) institutes join this important initiative. I'm really looking forward to seeing their action plan and collaborating on best practices to further raise the visibility, recognition, and career development of technical roles.”

IBERS employs a range of technicians at its Gogerddan campus with a wide variety of laboratory, field and support skills.

Professor Iain Donnison, Head of IBERS, said:

“Our technical staff are a vital part of the IBERS community and make a huge contribution to the resilient crop plant breeding research and other innovative programmes we carry out in Aberystwyth. We are delighted to formally demonstrate our strong appreciation and ongoing support for their work by becoming signatories to the Technician Commitment, and be part of the first stage of the University’s wider rollout of this important commitment.”

Professor Alison Kingston-Smith, Director of Research at IBERS, said:

“As new signatories to the Technician Commitment, we are drawing up a detailed action plan setting out how we will continue to develop our technicians’ skills and future career paths as well as raise their profile not only within IBERS but across the rest of the University and externally as part of our wider research culture strategy. It is important to both recognise and champion the essential role of our technical staff in delivering the success of our research.”

Further information about the work and aims of the Technician Commitment is available on the organisation’s website: techniciancommitment.org.uk.