Technical Services

About our Technical Services

The technical service team is part of the University of Derby's professional services. Our technicians are highly skilled and well qualified. They are specialists in their areas offering support directly to undergraduate and postgraduate taught provision, research activity, knowledge transfer and innovation.

As an applied University, we value the importance of practical work and experiential learning underpinned by research and our Technicians are a core part of assuring and advancing the student experience, developing research activity, and contributing to innovation.

Technicians provide support principally through their skills with regards to particular instruments and equipment and through their knowledge of specific procedures, operating practices and safety standards.

Working in collaboration with academics, our Technicians play an important role in advancing the work in many of our academic disciplines. These include physical and social sciences, engineering and technology, creative industries, arts, and health and education.

Central to the success of our Technicians is their spirit of collaboration, collegiality and co-production.

Our technicians in action

How we're structured

There is a technical management team consisting of the University manager who works directly with college senior leadership teams and technical team leaders.

The team leaders manage groups of level six senior technicians / technical instructors and level five technicians. They are aligned to the academic colleges to provide support for practical classes, research activities and innovation.

The technical team leaders work with the Heads of Schools and Heads of Disciplines to proactively plan, support and contribution to teaching activity, research and innovation.

As part of their role each team leader has the responsibility to work with colleagues across the professional services such as health and safety, research and innovation, marketing and media, I.T and academic practice.

The University operates across sites including Derby, Chesterfield and Buxton, and we have technicians at each site.

The six technical teams

Makers Team

Primarily supporting the School of Arts, the Makers Team provides support through the Digital Design Hub, the Print Hub, Workshop Design Hub, Fashion and Textiles and Therapeutic arts resources. Many of the Technicians in the Makers Team are practitioners which enhances the experience of undergraduate and postgraduate students and their employability skills.

Creative Media Team

The Creative Media Team works with Derby Theatre where the media teams offer guidance, instruction and technical know-how to the development of performing arts including broadcast media and music production and Photography. Furthermore, the team supports the University’s Institute of Education including outdoor education through technical delivery of Forest School activities.

Engineering and Technology Team

The Engineering and Technology team support the engineering and motorsport labs, workshops and specialist computing facilities within the STEM which includes Rapid Prototyping, Smart Factory, composites, a semi-anechoic chamber and a Maker Space.

The team also supports research activities taking place in the Institute for Innovation in Sustainable Engineering (IISE) and iHub based at Derby’s Science Park. IISE focuses on sustainable engineering solutions, stimulating regional innovation in many of the city’s corporate and small/medium enterprise (SME) businesses focusing on design, manufacturing, product lifecycle management and the application of new and smart materials.

The iHub provides flexible workspace for start-ups, early-stage businesses and established high-growth SMEs aiming to establish themselves in aerospace, rail and automotive supply chains.

Human Sciences Team

The Human Sciences team support labs and specialist facilities in Sport and Exercise Science, Forensic Science and Biomedical Science including chemistry labs, molecular biology labs, physiology labs, sport therapy rooms, Performance Suite, Forensic Training Facility as well as general teaching labs. The team supports practical classes, research, income generation activity and outreach.

Built and Natural Environment Team

This team support labs and specialist facilities across environmental sciences, earth sciences and the built environment. This includes geotechnics and geology workshops, the map library, field equipment, the Aquatic Research Facility, the insectary, the SEM microscopy suite and the glasshouse. Technicians across the team provide support for practical class instruction, fieldwork, research, income generation and outreach support.

Health, Psychology and Social Care Team

This team supports a mixture of clinical environments and resources in the field of health, psychology and social care. The team are responsible for supporting six clinical areas including acute medical wards, digital x-ray suite as well as an ultrasound-scanning suite and simulation space.

The team has directly supported the development of three interactive immersive simulation rooms that are programmed to simulate any indoor and outdoor location. The team also supports both online and on-campus delivery of the psychology provision and research activity.

Find us on social

We have a Twitter page as well as various Instagram accounts that are run by technicians from a range of different areas.

Twitter

@TechsAtDerby

Instagram

Darkroom & Photography Studios Printmaking Hub Digital Design Hub Textiles Ceramics Makers Hub