A technician from the William Harvey Research Institute at Queen Mary University of London has been presented with a prestigious award which recognises excellence in academia at the UK’s only event dedicated to celebrating the success and achievements of technical staff.
Researcher holding a pipette in a laboratory.
Oniz Suleyman won the Contribution to Research Award which was presented at the biennial Higher Education Technicians Summit (HETS) 2021 on 10 November at the East Midlands Conference Centre, University of Nottingham.
Thirteen Papin Prizes in total were presented across a range categories; two additional COVID-19 prizes were added to this year’s list of awards to acknowledge technicians who made significant contributions to the COVID-19 response in local communities and nationally.
Almost 200 nominations were received across ten categories and a team of judges made up of Midlands Innovation technical managers Deputy Vice Chancellors and Pro Vice Chancellors selected the most deserving winners from more than 50 higher education and research institutes.
Oniz Sulyeman, Research Technician at the Centre for Endocrinology, said: “I’m really chuffed to have won. This was a huge surprise and I’m really grateful to have been nominated. I see working in a lab as a team effort so it’s not something that I’ve achieved on my own.”
Dr Helen Turner, Director for Midlands Innovation said the standard of this year’s nominations was incredible, making it a very challenging judging process for the panel.
“Every year the standard of nominations gets better and better, which is testament to the hard work technicians deliver day-to-day and the vital role they play in research, innovation and higher education,” she said.
“Thirteen prizes have been awarded to the very best technicians across the sector, huge congratulations to all who were shortlisted and the winners.”
The awards were presented by Amanda Solloway MP at HETS where almost 500 delegates attended the socially-distanced event following an energetic keynote speech from Fran Scott, engineering presenter, pyrotechnician and well-known public figure on TV and stage.
Read the full 2021 Papin Prize shortlist hereHETS is organised by Midlands Innovation and TALENT in partnership with the Science Council and Technician Commitment.