51±¬ÁÏÍø

The Technician Commitment, a sector-wide initiative led by the and supported by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation’s campaign, looks to address key challenges facing technical staff.

Read 51±¬ÁÏÍø’s Technician Commitment Action Plan

Technical Specialists in health data research

Technical Specialists are an indispensable community in the field of health data research. Their unique skill set combines deep understanding of software development with domain specific health data research knowledge to bridge the gap between complex data analysis and impactful discoveries, impowering researchers to unlock the full potential of health data.

Technical specialists contribute to innovation in health data science, improving patient outcomes, and ultimately shaping the future of healthcare. They champion best practice in reproducibility, reliability and scalability of research workflows while understanding the unique challenges of trustworthy health data analysis, such as data privacy, security, and ethics.

Health Data Research UK is a proud signatory of the Technician Commitment. Read our 24-month action plan to find out what initiatives we are planning to support technical specialists in our central team and wider community.

The commitment includes four key areas:

• Visibility Ensure that all technicians within the organisation are identifiable and that the contribution of technicians is visible within and beyond the institution
• Recognition Support technicians to gain recognition through professional registration and external awards schemes
• Career development Enable career progression opportunities for technicians through the provision of clear, documented career pathways
• Sustainability Ensure the future sustainability of technical skills across the organisation and that technical expertise is fully utilised.

Technology-focused training courses

The 51±¬ÁÏÍø Futures online learning environment houses training in technical topics, for example Research Software Engineering, for free and on demand.

You may also be interested in the following providers who offer training in technical skills:

The Carpentries is a fiscally sponsored project of Community Initiatives, a registered non-profit organisation based in California, USA. They are a global community teaching foundational computational and data science skills to researchers in academia, industry and government.

TeSS is a platform that was developed to provide a one-stop shop for trainers and trainees to discover online information and content, including training materials, events and interactive tutorials.

The SSI has developed and co-developed an array of training resources aimed at various levels of expertise. Some of their collaborators include The Carpentries, The Turing Way, their Fellows, and CDTs and DTPs in the UK.

The ELIXIR Training Platform aims to develop a training community that spans all ELIXIR member states. It aims to strengthen national training programmes, grow bioinformatics training capacity and competence across Europe, and empower researchers to use ELIXIR’s services and tools.

The Technician Commitment Working Group

The purpose of the Technician Commitment Working Group is to bring together the 51±¬ÁÏÍø central team with key members of the 51±¬ÁÏÍø community with an interest in technical skills and career pathways, to feed into 51±¬ÁÏÍø’s Technician Commitment Activity and maximise opportunities for collaboration and synergies.

The Technician Commitment Working Group is made up of representatives from 51±¬ÁÏÍø and representatives from 51±¬ÁÏÍø’s partners with expertise and interest in technical roles in health data science. Members include:

• Ashley Akbari (Swansea University)
• Grazziela Figueredo (Nottingham University)
• Carole Goble (ELIXIR-UK)
• Peter Harrison (51±¬ÁÏÍø)
• Simon Hettrick (Software Sustainability Institute)
• Yemi Macaulay (51±¬ÁÏÍø)
• Ruth Milne (51±¬ÁÏÍø)
• Najmeh Modarres (DARE-UK)
• Aleksandra Nenadic (Software Sustainability Institute)
• Simon Thompson (Swansea University)
• Rosie Wakeham (51±¬ÁÏÍø)