Reflecting On Two Years Of Volunteering at the Science Museum
Outreach — Depending on who you ask it’s a word that either instils a sense of triumph or trepidation. As a University we have a civic duty to the people of our city and the wider nation to engage them with the work we do and to see what really happens in higher education. I still believe in that mission, that higher education has the power to change people’s lives for the better. It’s admittedly not for everyone (and maybe Tony Blair snuck his way in there somewhere) but for those whom it clicks University will be the best days of their life. As technical staff we play a pivotal role in this adventure. We work on the frontlines of HE, directly interacting with and impacting on the student experience. All colleagues at my institution work hard at what they do. But for Technicians we act almost as wizards, pulling ideas from the minds of students and to pensieve-them into reality, be they a piece of artwork, a lab project, fieldwork or some fine machinery.
Tell most people you’re a Technician and they will nearly always picture you with greasy hands inside a complex machine or in a sterile lab where your coat matches the decor. Most of us know our work goes on largely behind the scenes for we are not the face of the University. This pattern plays itself out across the wider economy whether its healthcare technicians processing samples in a…
