Valerie (Val) Gordon

Technical Officer

Biography

Background

I am a Biological Sciences, Honours Zoology graduate of the University of Edinburgh. I began my career in endocrinology and blood transfusion laboratories at Edinburgh’s Royal Infirmary. I moved next to a diagnostic virology post at St Thomas’ Hospital, London, promoted within a year to an HIV research position.  I then had a year of travelling with 6 months spent working in retail in Sydney, Australia. Back in the UK, I took up an HIV research post at Glasgow Vet School. This was followed by a family care break. I returned to work in a learning support role, gaining primary education experience. This led me to my current job as a Technical Officer at Moray House School of Education and Sport supporting primary and secondary teacher training. With a keen interest in personal and professional development, I am a Fellow of the Institute of Science and Technology, a Registered Scientist, Professional Registration assessor and a member of the Science Council new routes to registration (RTR) committee. I was also the Scottish coordinator for HEaTED, the UK-wide technician education and development network for 7 years until 2019. With extensive knowledge and experience of the technician community, I was appointed in 2018 as the University of Edinburgh’s Technician Commitment Action Plan Coordinator, aiming to improve visibility, recognition, career opportunities and sustainability of knowledge and skills for technical staff. In this capacity, I sit on the University of Edinburgh’s Technician Steering Committee and am a member of the Sustainable Labs Steering Group (SLSG)

 

Training:

July 2022, Herschel Programme for Women in Technical Leadership, MI TALENT

6/7/22, University of Newcastle Working in Partnership Conference, University of Newcastle

6/12/21, Science Council Volunteer Day, Science Council

18/5/21, Professional Registration CAP assessment training, Science Council

8/11/21, TALENT Policy Commission workshop, MI TALENT

30/9/2021, Lab sustainability webinar, SRS, University of Edinburgh

24/02/21, Food activism in the school yard workshop Food Activism in the Schoolyard (scottishinsight.ac.uk)

January 2021, Be sustainable and be sustainable advanced programmes, SRS, University of Edinburgh

3/10/20, Technician Commitment self-assessment and action plan peer review training, Technician Commitment

23/09/20, Data protection online training, University of Edinburgh

24/08/20, Returning to the University Estate training, University of Edinburgh

18/08/20, Building resilience –learning to thrive in difficult circumstances, HR/Edinburgh College

18/08/20, Power of conversations webinar, HR https//:theconversationspace.com

3/8, 5/8, 12/8/20, Technicians on Virtual Tour – showcasing technical roles, University of St Andrews

27/7/20, Digital Capabilities, HR- digital discovery tool

01/07/20, Emergence from lockdown webinar, HEaTED

 

24/6/20, University of Newcastle Working in Partnership Conference, University of Newcastle

19/5/20, LEAF, sustainable labs &Covid-19 webinar, HEaTED

30/4/20, BSL awareness, University of Edinburgh

23/04/20, Lab sustainability careers insight webinar, University of Edinburgh

20/04/20, Cardinus DSE training – Healthy working, University of Edinburgh

15/04/20, Fire awareness training, University of Edinburgh

 

01/02/18, Project planning essentials for technical staff,  HEaTED 

Ongoing Good Practice Support online development toolkit, University of Edinburgh

 

 

Conferences

2021 Higher Education Technician Summit Title: The Science Council Employer Champion Programme

2021 University of Liverpool webinar Title: Technicians Supporting Student Wellbeing

2020 Edinburgh Manager Programme launch Swann Library Title: Management Reflections - Collaboration in Action – The Technicians Commitment

2020 University of Edinburgh Learning and Teaching Conference Title: Relationships matter – technicians committed to supporting student wellbeing and learning success

2019 University of Edinburgh Learning and Teaching Conference Title: The extent and value of technicians' contribution to learning and teaching

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