Members of the Royce Community can apply for the six-month Herschel Programme for Women in Technical Leadership, designed to support women to progress in their roles.
Within higher education and research settings, there are only 32% of women in technician management and leadership roles and less than half of those in the technical workforce are women.
The Herschel Programme for Women in Technical Leadership is a six-month national programme, open to technical staff from any discipline who identify as women. The dedicated career development opportunity aims to address the lack of women in technical leadership positions across the sector, and provides a space for colleagues to learn new skills to develop themselves in a current technical leadership role or equip them if they aspire to be in the future. You’ll learn about self-awareness, leading in a technical environment, negotiation skills and navigating an organisation, alongside unique opportunities for networking.
The structured six-month programme includes modules on:
- You as a leader
- Context and culture
- Influencing and negotiating
- Confidence and empowerment
The programme is named after Caroline Herschel, a pioneer in the discovery of comets and other astronomy work, assisting her brother William. Caroline was an early ‘technician’ at the turn of the 19th century and paved the way for the women of the future to contribute to and play key roles in scientific endeavours.
Individuals working in higher education and research settings nationwide are invited to apply for the programme which will commence in January 2023. If you are a current or aspiring technician who is keen to develop your leadership skills, this programme is for you.
Kelly Vere MBE, Director of Technical Skills and Strategy at the university and Project Lead for TALENT said:
“This is the first opportunity of its kind to be offered to women in technical roles and aligns with the vision set out in the R&D People and Culture Strategy to put people at the heart of the UK’s research and innovation ecosystem,”
“The strategy sets out a plan to achieve great leadership at all levels to make the sector fit for the challenges it faces. This programme will play a key role in this by giving people the skills and behaviours needed for leading people and teams.”
Find out more about the programme and apply here.
Applications open on Thursday 21 October 2022 and require a 200-word supporting statement.
The deadline for applications is Friday 5 November 2022.
