114 technical professionals from all eight Welsh universities attended the All Wales Technical Conference (AWTC25) on 4 June 2025.
The inaugural event took place at the Cardiff School of Management, Cardiff Metropolitan University and celebrated the essential role of technicians in higher education across Wales.
AWTC25 featured keynote speeches, workshops, and networking sessions that fostered collaboration and career development across the sector and was sponsored by the UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy and Technician Commitment.
Prof Rachael Langford, Vice Chancellor, Cardiff Metropolitan University opened the event. Dr Simon Breeden, Associate Lead, Technician Commitment followed, with a talk on activities led by the UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy and a workshop on the Technician Commitment, aimed at Welsh universities who are not yet signatories.
Simon said: “I felt extremely proud to be invited to present at the very first All Wales Technical Conference on the opportunities available to technical professionals in Wales through the UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy.
“I was also given the opportunity to deliver workshops on the impact of the Technician Commitment, both individually and on the sector, to empower technicians in Wales to achieve their professional objectives.
“There was fantastic engagement in these formal activities, but real engagement came in the excellent networking, encouraging the continuing development of a Wales Technical Network to give the nation’s technicians a powerful voice.”
Other workshops featured topics on mental health (Kerry Truman, Technical Specialist, Nottingham Trent University) and networking and collaboration (Gillian Riddell, Senior Technician, Queens University Belfast).
Talks were given by past participants of Herschel Programme for Women in Technical Leadership on the value and opportunities of developing their careers in this way.
Mark Dabee Saltmarsh, Technician Demonstrator and Technician Commitment Lead, Cardiff Metropolitan University and Technical Council Member, UK ITSS presented his institution’s Technician Commitment journey followed by a Q&A session.
He said: “Along with the organising team and myself, we are delighted to be able to bring technicians across Wales together for the first event of this kind.
“It has been a fantastic opportunity to share successes, learn about opportunities for collaboration and, most importantly, celebrate the importance of technicians in higher education.
“Even at this early stage there are developments of further collaboration across the sector in Wales, technical professionals are truly agents of change.”
The eight Welsh universities are: Aberystwyth University, Bangor University, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff University, Swansea University, University of South Wales, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Wrexham University
Bangor University will host the next conference in 2027. The conference was proudly sponsored by Technician Commitment, UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy (UK ITSS), Wales Innovation Network. Event suppliers and partners included Institute of Science and Technology (IST), UniGreenScheme, National Technician Development Centre (NTDC).