Technician Commitment

Technicians are vital to the success of the UK’s universities and research institutes. They are a highly skilled workforce with a diverse range of expertise, underpinning the key activities across organisations, and providing the technical expertise essential to supporting research and knowledge transfer.

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Supporting Our Technical Community

Royce is a proud supporter of the Technician Commitment, a sector-wide pledge to take positive action in addressing the key challenges facing technical staff in research and higher education.

The Technician Commitment is a university and research institution initiative, led by a steering board of sector bodies, hosted by the UK Institute for Technical Skills and Strategy. It focuses on four key areas: visibility, recognition, career development, and sustainability to ensure technicians across all disciplines can thrive and be celebrated for their essential contributions.

Our Technicians

Technicians play a vital and unique role in our research ecosystem. Their expertise, creative problem solving and dedication to the profession underpin the delivery of world-class materials research and innovation.

At Royce, our Research Technical Professionals are at the heart of what we do. They ensure our research infrastructure runs smoothly, enable cutting-edge innovation through our Technology Platforms, and train researchers and other users to employ the latest facilities, methods, and techniques. Their work ensures that every technical project we support, from early-stage experimentation to large-scale industrial collaboration, meets the highest possible standards.

Beyond their technical expertise, our technicians are engaged in shaping the future of the profession. They play key roles in strategic programmes, skills initiatives, and national networks that connect technical staff from across academia and industry. Through these efforts, they help make the UK’s technical capability in advanced materials science both visible and accessible to the entire research community.

Royce IOM3 Awards & Prizes

Each year, The Henry Royce Institute recognises the professional achievements and outstanding contributions to science by technical professionals across the UK by supporting two IOM3 awards for advanced materials research.

IOM3, the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, presents a range of Awards, Medals and Prizes to recognise personal achievement, for published work and for contributions to the Institute, knowledge, outreach and profession.

The awards are in various categories, for individuals at different career stages, organisations, IOM3 members and non-members. The annual awards are presented at special occasions throughout the year, and some of our award winners deliver lectures to which all members are invited. Award nominations for the bulk of our awards open for entry in late autumn, with a deadline of the end of January and the winners are normally announced in May. The searchable list of awards shows which awards are currently open for nominations.

Innovation by a Technical Professional Award

The Henry Royce Institute Award for Innovation by a Technical Professional recognises the crucial contribution that technical professionals make in advancing our technology and understanding of the materials world.

This award recognises an outstanding individual who has made a key contribution to a research project that has led to significant innovation in any aspect of materials science and engineering.

Previous Winners

2025 – Dr Richard Chater,
2024 – Dr Peter Karstev Petrov,
2023 – Dr Andrew M Smith

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Outstanding Contribution by a Technical Professional Award

The Henry Royce Institute Award for Outstanding Contribution by a Technical Professional recognises the contribution of an established Technical Professional across a number of projects or activities.

This award recognises an individual who has gone beyond the normal expectation of their role and shared best practice across their own and other organisations.

Previous Winners

2025 Dr James Douglas,
2024 Dr Penelope Rathbone CEng FIMMM,
2023 Dr Zabeada Aslam

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National Technical Platform For Materials Innovation

The National Technical Platform for Materials Innovation (NTPMI) is a Royce-led programme designed to empower Research Technical Professionals. It provides access to training and events, and enables opportunities to share expertise and develop best practice, across materials innovation and associated manufacturing technology communities.

The programme – which is led by research technical professionals from across the materials community – delivers a range of events including technical workshops, masterclasses, non-technical skills training and conferences. It also provides funding opportunities for technical staff to visit to equipment suppliers or manufacturers and engage in industrial or academic secondments.

The platform naturally aligns to many of the existing Royce Research Areas and engages with existing national networks, community of practices and initiatives in respective materials innovation fields.

Secondment Scheme

NTPMI’s Short Visit and Secondment Scheme offers Research Technical Professionals working in materials science with the opportunity to take part in short visits or secondments with UK and international Original Equipment Manufacturers, or to undertake short Knowledge Exchange visits with other Higher Education Institutions.

The purpose of this scheme is to enable materials innovation based RTPs to develop closer working relationships with OEMs and other HEI materials groups allowing RTPs to engage in activities outside “business-as-usual” work, delivering mutually beneficial outcomes for RTPs and their host institution.

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Growth UK Webinars

Growth UK is an NTPMI supported initiative which seeks to bring together Research Technical Professionals (RTPs) in the UK Thin Film Growth and Deposition community through a programme of online talks; in-person symposia and best practice sharing.

Upcoming events listings can found below, and a range of on-demand content will soon be made available on the NTPMI page.