Carolynn is a Research Technician in the Centre for Cardiovascular Sciences in the QMRI, BioQuarter. She kindly shares some thoughts on her experience of becoming Professionally Registered as a Registered Scientist (RSci)   After attending a seminar promoted through the Technician Commitment from the Institute of Science and Technology (IST) I became interested in becoming […]

Takeshi Fujisawa, is a Senior Scientist and Laboratory Manager at the BHF Cardiovascular Biomarker laboratory in Centre for Cardiovascular Sciences in the QMRI, BioQuarter and shared some thoughts on his experience of becoming Professionally Registered as a Chartered Scientist (CSci)   “I was thrilled to be awarded Chartered Scientist from the Science Council and gain […]

Stuart Reid is a research assistant in Malcolm Dunlop’s Colon Cancer Genetics group at the IGMM. This is what he has to say on his Professional registration experience:   “I had been thinking of becoming professionally registered for a while. When the Professional registration fund was launched in Sept 2019 it gave me the impetus […]

As a research technician within the Genetics Core of the Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility my role primarily involves extracting DNA and RNA from a range of sample types for biobanking or further genomic investigation. This was my first job after graduating from University and over my time in this post, my role has greatly expanded, […]

On September 18th the annual Institute of Science and Technology (IST) Technical Conference was held in Birmingham and I was one of a small number of attendees from the University of Edinburgh. The IST is an independent body which is firmly committed to the enhancement of professional development and recognition for technical and specialist staff […]

I left University with a lower than desired grade, and after becoming a wet-lab technician, I was unaware of any opportunity to be assessed for expertise. No one has ever marked my ability to produce a clear image showing DNA fragments on an agarose gel, nor tested my ability to troubleshoot a faulty gel-tank. I […]

As a member of the Technicians Support Steering Group, the Launch Event of Edinburgh University’s Technicians Commitment at McEwan Hall on the 5th of December was a fantastic day, and I was so proud to see our year’s work and effort rewarded with so many engaged and enthused technicians attending. It was such a fantastic […]

Institute of Science and Technology (IST) Technical Conference 2018 Photo from left to right: Scott Denham (ECRF Mass Spec Core), Fiona Alderson, Caroline Delahoyde and Richard Blair (School of Engineering). The annual IST Technical Conference was held this year in September in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and a number of colleagues from the University of Edinburgh attended. The […]

A recent survey from technicians across the University highlighted that over 83% of individuals had not accessed any CPD (Continuous Professional Development) in the last 12 months. When looking at the top barriers it was a lack of time to undertake training, a lack of funding and people not being clear on what CPD to […]

A Technical Support Career at The University of Sheffield by Frank Fletcher RSci MIScT Team Leader, Technical Support Services, Dept. of Materials Science & Engineering “My career began at the University of Sheffield on the 9th of July 1973 as Junior Laboratory Technician in the Department of Glass Technology at Elmfield, Northumberland Road. The role of […]