Newcastle University is part of a £1.5 million investment from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to support opportunities and development activities for the national Research Technical Professional (RTP) community. The project was funded through a Strategic Technical Platform call, with a £16 million investment in 11 projects from EPSRC and the UKRI Digital Research Infrastructure fund.

The project will enable training and development opportunities not currently available to RTPs nationally, advertised through the UK Technology Specialist Network (TSN). This will include the development of RTP talent pipelines, bespoke skills and training sessions, and work to increase knowledge exchange and visibility for RTPs.

Commitment to supporting the career development of RTPs

Professor Andrew Filby, Deputy Dean of the Biosciences Institute at Newcastle University and Project Co-Lead, said: "Research Technical Professionals are an essential part of the UK research and innovation landscape. They are experts in their fields of enabling technologies and methodologies, underpinning a wide variety of research projects, and driving best practices in their areas of specialty. 

“Traditionally they have been an overlooked and under supported group, so it is refreshing to see that the funding agencies are recognising the need to support RTPs to fund training and knowledge exchange. 

“Newcastle University is committed to supporting the career development of RTPs and we look forward to utilising the funding to upskill our own RTP community, as well as the whole UK TSN and beyond."

'Fantastic to see such large investment from EPSRC'

The project will be in collaboration with Newcastle University, University of Edinburgh, University of Manchester, University of Bath, University of Southampton, University of York, and the Natural History Museum. With the project led by the University of Warwick.

Dr Ian Hancox, Project Lead at the University of Warwick, said: “It is fantastic to see such large investment from EPSRC in a staff group that is essential in enabling a broad range of research.

"This funding will provide opportunities for RTPs nationally that would otherwise not be possible, building on the complementary activities of TALENT and the UK Institute for Technical Skills and Strategy (ITSS). I look forward to working with our project partners to deliver opportunities that make a real difference to RTPs careers.”

You can find out more about UK-ITSS here, TSN here, and about Newcastle University’s Technician Commitment here. The UKRI press release can be found here.