University of Birmingham Technician named founding member of the Technical Skills and Strategy Technical Council
Members will advise the ITSS on the community’s needs, contribute to progressing ITSS programmes/initiatives and provide input on the assessment of internal submissions. Membership will be refreshed every two years to include a wide range of ideas and individuals. They will act as ambassadors for the Institute and its activity.
Tendai Makuwatsine, Technical Manager, School of Physics and Astronomy, has worked in various technical roles at the University of Birmingham since 2006.
The ITSS Technical Council’s work will give recognition to the already immense contribution technicians make towards the success of the UK’s Higher Education sector and the positive impact technicians’ skills have towards the wider economy. It is a real honour and equally humbling to be nominated as a founding member of a body that will advocate for and influence the United Kingdom’s Technical Skills strategy for innovation and for the future.
Tendai Makuwatsine
Council members 2023-2025:
Ashish Bhandari, University of Exeter, Living Systems Institute
Heather Burgess, Ulster University, Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Jamie Cameron, University of Oxford, Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit
Rosa Colamarino, University of Aberdeen, School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition
Mark Dabee Saltmarsh, Cardiff Metropolitan University, School of Education and Social Policy
Isabel Goncalves Cattuzzo, University College London, School of Pharmacy
Bethany Hunter, Newcastle University, Flow Cytometry Core Facility
Lizzy James, Northumbria University, Engineering and Environment
Clare Levitt, University of Brighton, School of Art and Media
Tendai Makuwatsine, University of Birmingham, School of Physics & Astronomy
Dr Ludmila Mee, UKRI STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, ISIS Experimental Operations Support Laboratories
Abigail Mortimer, University of York, Chemistry
Zachary Parkinson, University of Warwick, Warwick Manufacturing Group
Leontien Talboom, Cambridge University Library, Digital Services
We are thrilled to receive over 150 applications to be on the Technical Council, which just demonstrates the level of excitement across the sector about ITSS and the desire to help it succeed, but made the task of selecting only 12 people to form the Council a particularly daunting one. We have tried to convene a Council that reflects all facets of the technical community, ensuring fair representation and considering a range of disciplines, roles, career stages, and institutions. The fact that we just couldn’t get it down to 12 and decided to go with 14 is a testament to the excellence of the applicant pool and the many difficult decisions that had to be made. We are very excited to welcome the successful candidates to the Technical Council. We look forward to meeting you all and working together to help guide and support the aims of the ITSS.
Co-chairs Professor Andy Filby, Newcastle University and Paul Gilbert, University of Liverpool