Imperial hosts leadership event for technical staff

The College’s technicians gathered for an event focused on leadership and management in the technical community.

The event was hosted by the College’s Technician’s Network, which highlights opportunities for professional and personal development and encourages the exchange of knowledge, experience and resources.

I wouldn’t be able to do this type of work anywhere else but Imperial Olivier Dubois Biomedical Imaging Technician

The day focused on leadership and management skills – highlighted as areas of interest in the 2017 Technicians Skills Survey.

The summer event is part of a suite of activities and support provided by the College for technical staff, who are spread across faculties and departments.

Last year, Imperial pledged to support technical staff and became a founding signatory of the Technician Commitment – a sector-wide initiative led by the Science Council that addresses key challenges facing technical staff working in research. 

Allison Hunter and Gareth Hyde, both members of the Technician Commitment Steering Group, introduced the Technician Commitment Action Plan to the attendees. One of the actions is to create a mentoring scheme for technicians to support their career development, which will be launched later this year. Mentors will offer guidance regarding professional registration and other aspects of working life. 

Suhel Miah, STEM Programme Manager at HEaTED (Higher Education and Technician's Educational Development), delivered an engaging keynote about technicians and the role of leadership. He talked about his own career path, which started when he left school with two GCSEs and became a trainee technician at UCL.

Twenty-eight years later, he has gained a wealth of management experience and is now professionally registered with the Science Council as a Chartered Scientist. He emphasised the importance of continuous professional development (CPD) at every point in a technical career and encouraged technicians to take ownership of their own careers. 

We spoke to one of our talented technicians to find out more about his role. 

Olivier Dubois: it’s all in the image

Olivier Dubois, Biomedical Imaging Technician, works in the Biological Imaging Centre at the Hammersmith Hospital Campus. He is part of a team which offers technical support to researchers working with animal models in an imaging context. 

Olivier said: “My role is to enable the best research possible while also making sure that we are providing the highest standards of animal care.

“I ensure that researchers understand the equipment and environment they’ll be working in. Often, some researchers may not know how to use scanners, so I step in and support them,” says Olivier.

He has been working in this role for three years and finds his role rewarding: “Being a Technician requires a lot of skill and practice – I think we all tend to have a very strong work ethic. My role is very satisfying as I get to support our academics with their research and have helped to support some of the most innovative research.

“I wouldn’t be able to do this type of work anywhere else but Imperial. As a technician, I feel that I’m serving a very good purpose as I’m at the forefront of research at Imperial.”