Kelly Vere awarded MBE for services to Higher Education

The Science Council is pleased to announce that Kelly Vere, Higher Education Engagement Manager and Technician Commitment Programme Director has been awarded an MBE in the  2021 New Years Honours list, recognising her services to Higher Education.

Kelly is responsible for leading on and delivering the Technician Commitment, a university and research institution initiative, led by a steering board of sector bodies, with support from the Science Council and the Technicians Make It Happen campaign.

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

Kelly said of her award:

“It was a fantastic surprise and it still feels very surreal! It means so much to my family and it’s a great honour to be recognised in this way. I am so fortunate to work with wonderful colleagues, at the University of Nottingham, Midlands Innovation, Science Council, Gatsby Charitable Foundation and beyond.

I’m hugely grateful for all of their support over the years and I’m excited about continuing our work to advance recognition and opportunity for all colleagues who enable research and teaching across our sector”.

The Technician Commitment has experience incredible growth since its inception, with half of UK universities and research institutes committed to supporting their technical workforce.

In particular, the current pandemic has highlighted the crucial roles of technicians, as evidenced in our recent collaborative report. Laboratory technicians are of particular importance to delivering laboratory capacity for COVID-19 testing and thus are a critical workforce within science and the UK.

The Science Council are delighted that the work of Kelly and the Technician Commitment has been recognised.

Helen Gordon, Science Council CEO commented:

“The Board and staff at the Science Council are delighted to hear the news about Kelly’s national honour.  This award is well deserved as we know that Kelly has worked tirelessly to further support and recognition for technicians in Higher Education and research, which has, in turn, helped the development of the science workforce .   Her determination and commitment to this is well known to us, and now recognised at a national level.”

Find the New Years Honors list here.