Mineralogical Society joins Technician Commitment community

The Mineralogical Society of the United Kingdom and Ireland has formally pledged to address workforce challenges facing technical staff who are critical to research and teaching activities.    

Now a formal supporter of the internationally recognised Technician Commitment, The Mineralogical Society joins a community of organisations improving visibility and recognition in higher education, research and innovation. 

Professor. Sam Shaw, President, for the Mineralogical Society said:

“Our society has more than 800 members, who work almost entirely in academia, in teaching, research roles.  This pledge to support the technical workforce is being made now because we want to recognise our members who, through their work as ‘technicians’ are an integral part of research and teaching but may not always be recognised as equal contributors. We have begun our commitment by launching a new award for technicians, the Guppy Award and have begun to explore membership options, training events and grant-funding offerings which are specific to our technical community. The Technician Commitment is a pledge to implement a long-term action plan to enhance technical careers, opportunities and skills within the organisation.” 

Carly Dellar, Technician Commitment Operations Lead said:

“We warmly welcome The Mineralogical Society to the Technician Commitment community as a supporter. We are really pleased to see proactive recognition for technicians in the fields of Mineralogy and Earth Sciences through this new Guppy Award which showcases the leading contributions of individuals and teams in the delivery of world class research and development.” 

Since launching in 2017, the Technician Commitment has now grown to a global community of more than 150 organisations championing technicians and their contributions to higher education and research. The initiative is hosted by the UK Institute of Technical Skills & Strategy. 

Find out more about the Mineralogical Society of the United Kingdom and Ireland www.minersoc.org.