Technician Commitment

UWE Bristol is one of the proud founding signatories who have pledged to take action to remove the barriers and face the challenges affecting technical staff

What is the Technician Commitment?

The Technician Commitment is a university and research institution initiative led by a steering group of sector bodies, with support from the Science Council and the Gatsby Foundation.

The Commitment aims to ensure visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability for technicians working in higher education and research across all disciplines.

UWE Bristol is one of the proud founding signatories who have pledged to take action to remove the barriers and face the challenges affecting technical staff. The Commitment has grown significantly and now has more than 120 signatories.

The Commitment includes four key areas:

  • Visibility - ensuring that all technicians within the organisation are identifiable and that the contribution of technicians is visible within and beyond the institution.
  • Recognition - supporting technicians to gain recognition through professional registration and external awards schemes.
  • Career development - enabling career progression opportunities for technicians through the provision of clear, documented career pathways.
  • Sustainability - ensuring the future sustainability of technical skills across the organisation and that technical expertise is fully utilised.

UWE Bristol Technician Commitment Action Plan

Read our Technician Commitment Action Plan (PDF) for more information.

Technician staff stories

Our staff are drawn from a wide pool. Many come from the industry, bringing a broad range of experience. We also attract those with a more academic background and experience of teaching or research. Browse our staff stories to find out more about what it's really like to work in Technical Services at UWE Bristol.

"It's a privilege to work with students on their creative journey and in such an inspiring and motivating multi-disciplinary environment as part of a highly creative, technical teaching team."

Rachel Davis, Senior Technician for Art, Media and Design

"I joined the Physical Fabrication Technical team at Bower Ashton campus as part of the School of Arts in 2008, fours year after finishing an MA in Multidisciplinary Printmaking. I’m a practicing artist, working with materials and processes and enjoy working with people and sharing knowledge and practice. And so this role has been a really good fit for me, giving me a space where I have been able to grow and develop as a Technical Instructor.

"It’s a privilege to work with students on their creative journey and in such an inspiring and motivating multi–disciplinary environment and as part of a highly creative, technical teaching team. Our team are constantly exploring the intersection between traditional processes and new technologies and are open minded and forward thinking. We like to experiment and embrace new ways of working. In 2021, I participated in the Herschel’s Women in Leadership programme, which gave me so much insight into the breadth and depth of others working in technical roles across the UK and a space to share experiences and increase my understanding.

"I also work part-time outside of UWE Bristol as an Arts in Health Practitioner, developing my skills in health and community settings, such as hospitals, health centres, schools and care homes – facilitating visual arts sessions for supporting participant wellbeing. This had led me to expand these ways of working at UWE Bristol to support the wellbeing of students and staff. For example, designing and running print club, delivering creative making sessions as part of the health and wellbeing innovation scheme for staff and running sessions for UWE Bristol Living well for students.

"In the last three years, within my technical role, I have been able to pursue starting a research practice at UWE Bristol. I did this through successfully securing funding through the Research Investment Scheme (RIS) and the support and encouragement from my Technical Manager. I have been collaborating on this with another colleague exploring the links between play, wellbeing and creativity for HE students in the School of Arts, creating a ‘Conditions for Play’ manifesto as a tool for students to use in their creative practice.

"I really appreciate the diversity of my technical role, working as part of team, being student facing, involved in teaching and learning and being able to explore potential areas of growth where I can use my skills and be challenged to grow."

You may also be interested in