This space is to learn about all of the ways MI supports our technicians.
The Midlands Innovation Technical Managers Strategy Committee is a collaborative assembly of technical managers from the eight universities within the Midlands Innovation partnership representing and supporting our 2100 technicians within MI. This group was formed in 2017 alongside the Technician Commitment work, aiming to enhance the visibility, recognition, career development, and sustainability of technicians in higher education and research. The group's remit includes helping to identify and forge cross-MI working relationships between technicians, through identifying those working with similar equipment, arranging placements, visits etc, sharing learnings and experiences among technical managers, developing strategies to attract future generations into the technical profession, and implementing best practices across institutions. By fostering collaboration, the group seeks to create a research culture of strengthening the technical community's role in supporting research excellence within the Midlands region.
The Midlands Innovation Repair Shop, developed by our Technical Managers Strategy Committee, is a free series of practical workshops designed to help technicians across the MI partnership build the skills and confidence to maintain and repair specialist equipment in-house. The first workshop focused on Edwards vacuum pumps, bringing technical colleagues together for hands-on training and knowledge sharing on equipment commonly used across university research laboratories. We have also covered Gloveboxes. Keep your eyes peeled for more sessions coming in due course as part of the series.
Jiteen Ahmed, Head of Technical Services, Aston University.
Karen Willis, Deputy Director of Operations, Infrastructure and Facilities, University of Birmingham
Dom Banks, Head of Technical Services , Keele University
Gemma Black, Head of Technical Services Development and Strategy, University of Leicester
Julie Turner, Director of Technical Services, Loughborough University
Natalie Prytherch, Technician Commitment Project Coordinator, Loughborough University
Midlands Innovation aims to develop the skills of our people whilst empowering and celebrating our diverse research and innovation community. We deliver world-class research that impacts our people living in our communities.
Midlands Open Bioimaging (MOB) is a collaborative network that facilitates remote training and access to advanced microscopy.
Based at the University of Warwick, the Midlands Tier 2 high-performance computer (HPC) system Sulis focuses on enhanced ensemble computing workflows. Funded by EPSRC and the HPC Midlands+ Consortium, the facility is the first machine of its kind in the UK to vastly increase research potential for ensemble computing.
As part of our commitment to promoting the sharing of publicly-funded research infrastructure, our research community can access over 1000 items of scientific equipment from across Midlands Innovation – from electron microscopes to MRIs to 3D printers - through the Jisc Equipment Database. The database is freely available to use for anyone, whether you are a researcher, technician, research manager, funding body or policy maker.
Midlands Innovation aims to develop the skills of our people whilst empowering and celebrating our diverse research and innovation community. We deliver world-class research that impacts our people living in our communities.
