Papin Prizes awarded at Higher Education Technicians Summit 2017
The Papin Prizes – which recognise the skills, talent and experience of technicians in higher education, across the UK and Ireland – were awarded at the national Higher Education Technicians Summit 2017 (HETS 2017) at the University of Warwick last month.
Nominees were selected from a broad range of universities, showcasing technical staff who have demonstrated excellence in their field, in categories such as ‘outreach’, ‘research’, ‘teaching’, and ‘lifetime achievement’.
Winners of the Papin Prizes were:
- Jennifer Williams – University of Bath (category: Newcomer)
- Teresa Needham – University of Nottingham (category: Teaching)
- Jennifer Haworth – University of Manchester (category: Research)
- Matthew MacKenzie – University of Birmingham (category: Core Research Facility)
- Hazel Smulders – University of Sussex (category: Infrastructure)
- Callum Crane – Loughborough University (category: Outreach/Community)
- John Andrews – University College London (category: Lifetime Achievement)
- Textiles Technical Team – Loughborough University (category: Technical Team)
The largest event of its kind in the country, HETS 2017 was a day dedicated to promoting a professional identity for technical staff in UK and Ireland higher education.
The Technician Commitment was launched at the event- a sector-wide initiative led by the Science Council, supported by the Gatsby Foundation, to help address key challenges facing technical staff working in research.
More than thirty-five universities and research institutions from across the UK – including the University of Warwick – backed the pledge to safeguard vital technical skills, and to ensure greater visibility, recognition and career development for technicians across all disciplines.
HETS 2017 was hosted by the Midlands Innovation Universities (Aston, Birmingham, Leicester, Loughborough, Nottingham and Warwick), in partnership with the Science Council – at the University of Warwick’s state-of-the-art teaching and learning building, ‘The Oculus’.