By signing the internationally recognised Technician Commitment, TMU joins community of organisations improving visibility, recognition, career development and long-term sustainability of technical professionals in higher education, research and innovation.
TMU is an informal network of technical managers from all over the UK. Following on from its original inception as a network of engineering managers, TMU was formed in 2013 to meet the needs of technical managers from all disciplines, and currently boasts a membership of several hundred. The TMU community prides itself on fostering an open environment of knowledge exchange and providing a lively forum for technical managers to share good practice, ideas and support.
Paul Gilbert, the TMU Chairperson said:
Technical managers play a critical role in driving the delivery of Technician Commitment action plans and novel initiatives that will benefit their technicians and their universities. TMU has been a proud and active supporter of the Technician Commitment since its inception, so it is about time that we pledged to commit more formal support and to put mechanisms in place which will enhance our members ability to share and advance good practice and culture. This will be a hot topic at our upcoming annual TMU conference in March, so I very much look forward to working on it with my technical manager colleagues from across the country and the Technician Commitment team.
Technician Commitment Associate Lead Simon Breeden commented:
We warmly welcome TMU to the Technician Commitment community. Technical managers play a pivotal role in shaping the culture, leadership and delivery of technical services across higher education, and in enabling technicians to thrive within research and teaching environments. TMU’s long-standing commitment to knowledge exchange and sharing good practice aligns strongly with the aims of the Technician Commitment.We look forward to supporting TMU’s journey in enhancing the visibility and career development of their technical community and sharing valuable insights.
The Technician Commitment is a pledge to implement a long-term action plan to enhance technical careers, opportunities and skills within the organisation. Since launching in 2017, it has now grown to a global community of more than 140 organisations championing technicians and their contributions to higher education and research. The initiative is hosted by the UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy.
