Yorkshire Technician Exchange Partnership (YoTEP)
A new collaborative project between technicians at the University of Leeds and the University of York has been launched.
Technicians from the University of Leeds and the University of York have secured funding from the Technician Commitment Collaboration Fund to create a new project – the Yorkshire Technician Exchange Partnership (YoTEP).
The shadowing project will allow technical staff to share best practice, skills, and knowledge across all areas of teaching and research. Technicians may either request a visit to York, or may offer to share their skills, knowledge or a tour of their facilities with other technical staff.
The funding will pay for transport between the two Universities, and pairs can request up to five journeys, which can be all visiting a single location, or split between travel to both sites. Funding is not restricted to individuals, so if you work in a team, and it would be beneficial for you all to travel, this can also be supported.
We encourage technicians to create matches through two different routes:
- Finding a pairing: If you would like to learn information about a particular skill, process or technique please try and find a suitable pairing with the partner University. In the first instance we encourage people to make approaches directly to individuals, and we hope that you will all respond to any requests that you may receive yourself. You may also want to look around a facility, to understand the equipment in use, or wish to learn about a process relating to health and safety, equality or charging systems.
- Offering a pairing: If you have a skill or information that you would like to share, please let us know so that we can offer it to the partner University. This may be showing people around a facility, sharing specialist skills, sharing successful projects linked to public engagement or widening participation.
If you will be hosting a visit, please make sure that you have followed all of the normal arrangements for visitors in your workplace.
This initiative has been supported at the highest level at both universities, and information will be provided to Heads of School, Departments, and Services to encourage them to support any staff who apply.
The types of projects this funding might support include examples such as:
- Visits to similar analytical services such as X-ray and EPR.
- Visits to facilities such as Plant Growth Facilities, to look at equipment, understand costing models, understand training provision.
- Understanding involvement in Athena Swan and EDI initiatives.
- Outreach activities.
- Widening participation activities.
- Sharing management skills such as H&S, facility refurbishment, developing infrastructure and staff management.
- Understanding the increasing use of digital technology and media in performance and for digital streaming.
- Visits to similar research and teaching spaces.
If you would like further information, please contact your Technician Champion or apply here.