Eastern Arc Technical Staff Conference 2025
The Eastern Arc Technician Network is a thriving collaboration between technical professionals at our four universities.
A meeting place for technicians
Each year, the Network hosts a conference. In 2025 it was held at the University of Kent, and acted as a catalyst for bringing together 120 technical professionals from the EARC universities (Kent, UEA, Essex and Sussex) and other regional networks, including the Kent Technician Network, the London and South East Technician Commitment Initiative Network, and Norwich Research Park.
This year’s focus
With sponsorship from RS, this year the conference was centred around the idea that collaboration inspires innovation through a diverse range of individuals coming together and creating.
The event aimed to recognise, showcase, and celebrate the wide range of technical roles and work that enables successful and impactful education, research and innovation to take place. It provided a forum for discussion, networking, workshops and communication between technical staff and interested colleagues.
To read the full programme of the event, click on this link: Technical Staff Conference 2025 Programme
The value of the event
Follow the Conference we surveyed the delegates. Of those who responded, 84% found it either ‘extremely valuable’ or ‘very valuable’, seeing it as ‘a great opportunity for networking, meeting like minded peers and visiting other’s facilities and celebrating technical success stories.’
Others welcomed the opportunity to step outside of their own disciplines. ‘As a technician in a biological setting, I very much enjoyed the library tour. We do not often have a chance to gain insight into technician positions outside of our own field.’
Understanding the challenges faced by technicians
A significant element of the Conference was understanding the challenges faced by technicians, and identifying a set of recommendations arising from them. To find out more about these, and to read an analysis of the results, click here.