🎙️ Dive into the world of research technical professionals, or RTPs, in our latest episode on the Research Culture Uncovered podcast. Join Ged Hall as he welcomes Marie Daniels, Programme Manager of the UK Robotics and Autonomous Systems Strategic Technical Platform or UK RAS STEPS, to discuss how they are working with Research Technical Professionals to cultivate a thriving, dynamic and vibrant community.

Here’s what you’ll discover:

🔍 Empowering Careers: Explore how UK RAS STEPS and 10 other programmes (all funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) in different technical areas are cultivating thriving, supportive communities with Research Technical Professionals across the UK.

👥 A Collaborative Force: Learn about UK RAS STEPS special interest groups and international connections enhancing technician development and collaboration and how RTPs are benefitting from being work package leads and co-investigators.

🥇 Celebrating Success: From innovative teamwork to transformative robotics impact, find out how the Technical Excellence Awards, that were one part of the Technical Showcase, recognise outstanding contributions from the RTP community.

To find out more and to connect with UK RAS STEPS:

• EPSRC’s press release from March 2024 about the funding and all 11 projects.
• UK RAS STEPS website: https://www.ukras-steps.org/
• UK RAS STEPS email address: info@ukras-steps.org
• Subscribe to the UK RAS STEPS newsletter: https://www.ukras-steps.org/contact-us/newsletter/
• Sign up for upcoming online training here: https://www.ukras-steps.org/personal-development/training/

All of our episodes can be accessed via the following playlists: 

• Research Impact with Ged Hall (follow Ged on Bluesky and LinkedIn)
• Research Impact Heroes with Ged Hall
• Open Research with Nick Sheppard (follow Nick on Bluesky and LinkedIn)
• Research Careers with Ruth Winden (follow Ruth on Bluesky and LinkedIn)
• Research talent management
• Meet the Research Culturositists with Emma Spary (follow Emma on Bluesky and LinkedIn)
• Research co-production
• Research evaluation
• Research leadership
• Research professionals

Follow us on Bluesky: @researcherdevleeds.bsky.social (new episodes are announced here), @openresleeds.bsky.social, @researchcultureuol.bsky.social 

Connect to us on LinkedIn: @ResearchUncoveredPodcast (new episodes are announced here) 

Leeds Research Culture links: 

• Researcher Development and Culture Website
• Our Concordat Implemention plans and progress
• University of Leeds Research Culture Statement
• University of Leeds Responsible Metrics Statement 
• University of Leeds Open Research Statement 
• University of Leeds Research Culture Strategy - launched September 2023

If you would like to contribute to a podcast episode get in touch: researcherdevelopment@leeds.ac.uk

Welcome to the Research Culture Uncovered podcast, where in every episode we explore what is research culture and what should it be. You'll hear thoughts and opinions from a range of contributors to help you change research culture into what you want it to be.

Welcome. My name is Ged Hall and I'm the Researcher Development Team Leader at the University of Leeds. My researcher development specialism is research impact, which covers the development of both individuals, researchers, and as research, impact professionals, as well as organisational development, uh, around the university.

All of the episodes I contribute to the Research Culture Uncovered podcast focus, therefore on research impact, and they're all available via a playlist, which is in the show notes. But one of the areas of work I've been, uh, focusing on recently is actually the career development of research professionals.

Not just people doing impact roles, but you know, people who maybe in funding roles, people who were doing all sorts of things related to the research process, but who aren't strictly speaking researchers or academics. Ruth, one of my co-hosts and I talked about that work in a recent episode and the link to that.

Two, and I quote from that, press release 'cultivate a thriving dynamic and vibrant community of research technicians.' Now we are lucky that one of those projects, one of those 11 projects, is coordinated here at Leeds. So I'm delighted to be joined by Marie Daniels, who is the Programme Manager. And I'm gonna take a deep breath 'cause this is long for the UK Robotics and Autonomous Systems, Strategic Technical Platform, or UK RAS STEPS.

Marie, welcome to the Research Culture Uncovered podcast.

Thank you very much. Great to be here.

And it's lovely to have you here. I I, I'm, I'm amazed that, that you have enough lungs to be able to say that regularly.

I think a lot of our community know now u what UK RAS STEPS, uh, stands for, thankfully. But yeah, it is a bit of a tongue twister.

It is, but, uh, we'll see how well we do through the rest of the episode. So before we dive into the details, um, please can you give the listeners an overview of the aims of that, you know, we mentioned 16 million pound investment by EPSRC. Um, and then describe who's involved, what is happening in UK RAS STEPS to deliver on those aims for research technicians working in robotics and autonomous systems.

Absolutely. Um, so yes, as you've said, Ged, um, E-P-S-R-C announced this huge investment in research technical professionals, really, or RTPs. That's our sort of abbreviation for that. Um, and this is really focused on, uh. Recognising their expertise, supporting their career development, and embedding them more deeply into the overarching UK research landscape.

Um, the goal across all of the projects is to build this vibrant and connected sustainable technician community that drives the research excellence. UK RAS STEPS, um, as you say, is one of the 11 funded platforms. Um, and we focus specifically on the field of RTPs working in or with robotics and autonomous systems.

And I should say that that. Area is a lot larger than we initially anticipated. So essentially if a research technician switches on equipment or any piece of kit that they're working with, they would be classed as working with an autonomous system. So this is really wide ranging. Um, we're a consortium of four core institutions, so, uh, led by the University of Leeds with a National Robotarium based at Heriot-Watt.

Imperial College London and the University of Birmingham. We also utilise links with the 37 partner institutions of the UK Robotics and Autonomous systems, which is UK RAS network, so it can get a bit confusing, and that's a national initiative funded by. PS RC, which brings together those leading universities, research centers and industry partners to coordinate and advance robotics and autonomous systems research across the UK, and that serves the real hub for collaboration.

Public engagement, policy, influence and knowledge exchange, um, which is really important to help position the UK as a real global leader in this, uh, rapidly evolving field. Um, the difference with UK RAS STEPS though is that we're building this collaborative community. Where RTPs can thrive and grow in their careers.

So instead of focusing on the research outputs, it's on this network, this community. And we're doing this by creating hands-on training and placement opportunities shaped by the community, helping teams come together to tackle the various technical and organisational challenges. Supporting international visits so technicians can learn from and connect with world leading robotics labs and just setting up various networking and workshop events.

Um, so yeah, public engagement championing the vital contributions that our technicians make within national and international forums. Our work is really about creating that real lasting change. And we've now got technical staff from more than 50 universities across the UK engaged with our activities.

Um, and as you mentioned, I probably should just mention the other 10, um, strategic technical platforms. So each of these focus on strengthening and supporting RTPs across, across a range of disciplines. And these can span areas such as material science and environmental research, advanced manufacturing and life sciences, each tailored to this specific technical challenge.

And together we work with one another to assess. What our research technician community needs, and hopefully we'll be delivering some really exciting outputs over the next couple of years.

Yeah, but it's, it's lovely that, uh, that this funding is actually focusing on the process of, uh, of, of, you know, research technicians or, uh, research technical professionals to give them their full title A, an essential element of that, uh, of that process.

And, and it's just fantastic that it, that they are being recognised. Um. With something major like this, you know, um, the Research Technician Concordat that came out, uh, a while ago, but it's nice to see almost the money where the mouth is now, isn't it?

Mm-hmm. Definitely. And it, it really is fantastic and it's a new initiative, um, these sort of subgroups.

We've got fantastic organisations already, such as the NTDC (National Technician Development Centre) , um, ITSS (The UK Institute for Technical Skills and Strategy) , the technician commitment as you mentioned. But we're really getting down to these, these. Granular level detail of the groups and, and what's needed because it's such a huge remit, technicians work across every facet of research you could possibly imagine.

And so, um, yeah, I think it's, it's a much needed, um, initiative and hopefully, uh, one that has a real lasting legacy.

Yeah, absolutely. Now, although the press release came out in March, um, all those 10, was it all of the 10 projects started in January of that year, 2024.

It's been a little bit of a staggered start.

Ged Hall 00:08:33

Okay. Which is why the press release came out in March. Yes. No doubt. So, but, but as, but as you started in January, you're about halfway through your, your funding period. Mm-hmm. And, uh, we're recording this in the middle of, um, middle of July and in the middle of last month in, in June the 18th in London, you had a massive celebration event.

So. Tell me about that. What were the successes from the first half of the funding? Uh, and tell us more about the people and the activities that were recognised at that event.

Sure, yes. I'll take a deep breath for this one. Um, so, um, the project officially was launched uh, last September at Leeds Royal Armouries.

Um, we had roughly 40 RTPs attend from just over 20 institutions. Um, since then, the focus has really been to grow the network and just get the communications out there, make sure that the relevant people know what we're doing and what we're trying to achieve. Um. It's the first time anything like this has been done for robotics, RTPs, and it's been fairly challenging to sort of get that knowledge, um, and our opportunity set opportunities out there.

Um. It's involved a great deal of outreach. So firstly, we need to locate the people who would gain the most from this initiative. And due to the fact a lot of RTPs often feel a little bit sidelined or perhaps unseen, maybe working in silos, it's really been essential to build that trust and provide tangible evidence as to the benefits.

We are bringing, um, and we've found, obviously time pressures due to the increasing workload across the sector has been a real challenge. So we need to provide those worthwhile opportunities that people feel able to participate in. And. Actually can see the benefit that it will bring to their day-to-day lives.

Um, we've achieved a great deal specifically, um, we have knowledge exchange placements where fully funded, um, RTPs can travel to any UK institution to develop their real world experience, facilitate the sharing of best practice, and just build these collaborative links across institutions so participants can spend.

A time, whether that be a day, a week or a month. Um, leading UK labs and facilities, getting that hands-on experience with the cutting edge technologies and connecting with experts. And we've had some real progress of small subgroups being developed and sort of going off and delivering some really exciting, um, new work.

So special interest groups have sort of arisen through these links that have been developed and we've got a number now, um, one in automation in liquid handling. Uh, that's a really popular one. A fairly new sort of RAS type field. Um, it's only been automated in sort of the last 10 to 15 years, so we've got a real key exciting group being developed there.

Recycling of 3D printed materials. Um. Obviously looking at sustainability, the more we print, the more we create, what do we do with all of that product? And we've got a core team of research technical professionals working on that. And they've come up with an actual procedure with fairly low cost bits of kit that can be implemented at any.

University. Um, we've got manufacturing for and in robotics, AI and automation, and ROS, which is the robot operating system for anyone like myself who is not technically versed. Um, we'll be providing training and networking opportunities for these groups and providing the funds that they identify they need so that they can go off and do.

Whether it be workshop training or the activities that will sort of really develop those groups, um. In-person workshops. So we've had one at the University of Liverpool's Materials Innovation Factory, which was a huge success. Various online workshops, looking at, um, presenting data, how we describe our research, how technicians can communicate about what they do and how vital it is.

Um, we've had one of those, we've got another two coming up in October and November. Um, I will explain how people can sign up to those a little bit later on. Um, we also offered various support and training, um, for, for various technicians including AI health and safety lab visits. And as I've mentioned, we've got significant collaborations with various other.

Technician support groups and we'll be working with them to implement career pathways work as we go through the project. Um, we've got a very active LinkedIn following. I think we've got roughly 550 people on there now. So that's where a lot of our engagement is based. Um, and of course you've mentioned the hugely successful technical showcase, which was held at the Science Museum in June.

Um, that I think the final figure was 132. Technical professionals from 48 institutions. Um, so I think that shows how much the network has grown since our initial launch event less than a year ago. Um, we recognised individuals in that who are making a real impact. So we had technicians presenting on their research.

Really nice cross section of work going on there. Um. And it's, it was their first time of presenting to sort of that national audience. So I think it was really vital to get their point of view across there and with that visibility, so the confidence builds and that's exactly what we're trying to achieve.

Um, part of that event, uh, incorporated the. Technical Excellence Awards. So they, these were our in inaugural awards for UK RAS STEPS, and we had three categories, um, which were Innovative Teamwork in Robotics, Transformative Robotics Impact, and Outstanding Robotics Engineering. And our very own. Graham Brown, uh, from the University of Leeds, um, was the winner of the Innovative Teamwork Award, which is fantastic.

And that was all done by an external judging panel. Uh, nobody within the sort of UK RAS STEPS executive team was involved in that. So it was completely autonomous. Um, but we had a fantastic day. We had Yuen Chan from the Natural History Museum winning an award and Rob Clowes from the University of Liverpool.

So it was, I think, just a nice way to end a really successful day and to show the technicians that their work matters and we're, we we're listening.

I'm, I'm glad you took a deep breath because that was a heck of a lot of stuff that you've, uh, you've managed to deliver. So I was, um, lucky enough to help facilitate some of those conversations at that launch event in, uh, in the Royal Armouries beautiful venue in in Leeds for that kind.

Kind of thing. Um, and uh, it was interesting on the day there was so much talk about backfill. You know, if I'm the only person who can make this kit work, how can I get released when it's, you know, when there's a, you. You know, four or 5 million pound project that is dependent on that piece of kit. Um, and it, it, it's just absolutely fascinating that, that actually, you know, that must have been, or at least ways, diff lots of different ways to solve that must have happened to get 132 research technicians in one place from 48 institutions.

So. Mm-hmm. So I'm really glad to see, see the progress on that. And that what kept, kept coming up on that day is a big issue.

It is, and I think it still is. And it's very much dependent on, I think, which institutions technicians work in how, how far on they are with the technician commitment and the values within that.

Um, and also it's helped that we are communicating what we are doing and as. The, uh, benefits of UK RAS STEPS is getting talked about and is becoming more apparent. We'll be getting that buy-in from the senior leadership teams of universities. And my, one of my main goals to begin with was to sort of make links with those technical managers across.

The key institutions and just get that messaging filtered through, um, which, which was the first challenge. But there'll always be stumbling blocks. I think it really does depend on the teams and the leadership within those as to how possible it is for people to engage with us.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I mean, it, every day is always a balancing of priorities, whoever you are, but, um, but it's great to see that, uh, that that career and CPD aspect is being prioritised for those, uh, for those people who were lucky enough to come along and, and, uh, and the many, many, many more who've engaged with all your activities over the last, uh, year and a bit.

Yeah, it, it, it was really great to see a very satisfying sort of, and to the, the first part of this project.

Yeah, absolutely. Now, um, you mentioned the executive team, um, on UK RAS STEPS and, uh. Let's, let's dive into that a little bit more, because there are tech technicians who are part of the executive team, aren't they?

So there are technicians who are Co-Is leading work packages, all of those sorts of things that are kind of normal language to an academic when, uh, when they're putting big, big projects together. But can you tell us a bit more about. Um, how, especially the research technicians who are leading work packages might have been supported in, in those maybe new roles to them.

And what kind of benefits have emerged for them when they've been, uh, been taking on that kind of new pieces of work potentially.

Yeah, sure. So, um, as you've mentioned, at its core, the sort of this whole portfolio of work really needs to be technician led. Uh, we, we need their input and we need their engagement to make it work.

So, um. Technicians are not just participants, they, they're also co-investigators, work package leads and strategic decision makers within the project. And that's really critical because our aim is to build a programme with this community and not just for it. And I think that is where you could sometimes trip up.

Um, so we've got Andy Blight, who is Robotics Software Technician at the School of Mechanical Engineering here at Leeds. Um, Andy's a Co-I. Um, it's his first experience of co-leading a grant and it's been really great to hear his views and experience of what is needed in the sector and how he can help us to deliver what's needed.

Um, especially with the knowledge exchange placements. Um, so Andy actually leads those for Leeds. Um, we've had. Fantastic experiences already with a technician coming and spending some really valuable time with Andy. Um, and similarly, Andy will be going out to other universities to learn and to just make sure that what we are doing is, uh, communicated effectively.

Um, so that's been really great for reciprocal learning and we hope to be building on that in the coming months. We've also got Salzitsa Anastasova, who is Facilities Manager at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College, and I believe it's Salzitsa's first experience co-leading a grant as well.

And she's been instrumental in coordinating technical presentations at our two large networking events, bringing together a full team of, um, helpers to just facilitate what is needed on something of that scale. Um. Very much a can-do person. She's got the summer school coming up at Imperial next week, which is also a huge event and we've got some of our network attending that, which is fantastic.

Um, both Andy and Salzitsa are also involved with our Special Interest Groups, so as well as sitting on the Executive Committee and the Operations Group, they're just helping steer the general direction. So yeah, absolutely we need this. Sense of ownership that these roles bring. Otherwise we might be working at cross purposes and we need that sort of input as to, well, you know, that that might not work because of X, Y, and Z.

Mm-hmm. Um, and I think hopefully it's opening up new development for them as well. So bringing in sort of some more leadership and project management experience, which I think is always beneficial. Um, whatever area of, uh, of. Sort of the institution you are working in. So yeah, really looking forward to continuing to work with them and seeing what we can deliver.

Yeah, I mean, I don't think, uh, I don't think Andy will think I, I was being rude, but he, he and I are probably of a similar vintage and, uh, and he's had a, you know, I was reading his bio on the, uh, on your website and he's had a really significant career in industry writing software. Um. In all sorts of different places.

You know, it was kinda like, ooh, ooh, ooh. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, and it's just, uh, it's just really lovely to see him taking opportunity to kind of carry on growing his career. 'cause sometimes you get to, you know, you might get to the stage where, Hmm, I think I might coast a little bit now. Uh, if my boss is listening, I'm definitely not doing that.

Um, but it, you know, it's just lovely to see him grasping those opportunities and kind of absolutely driving, uh, you know, things that will enable both his and people who come after his career to, to, to grow and be brilliant. Uh, brilliant opportunities for those, uh, those communities of technicians.

Yeah, absolutely.

And as you've said, um, you know, Andy has got a fantastic career and we nearly really need to be tapping into this experience and this knowledge that our mm-hmm. Technical community has because I think it can often be overlooked that. People may come to us from industry, they may have had a whole other two, three different careers before actually arriving at a university.

And we need to be able to, to help them develop and grow in an area that they, they wish to. Yes. So as I say, I think Andy's past career or careers has really benefited the project and, uh, yeah, really valuable member of the team.

Yeah, absolutely. So we, we mentioned a little while ago, we're about halfway through, um, this significant investment.

Um, so what are the plans for maintaining the momentum? You know, when the funding comes to an end in about, I guess about 18 months time or so. What, what, so take us through that 18 months and what, what comes after?

Yep. So sustainability has been a priority from day one. So we. Designing all activities, whether that be placements, the special interest groups, the workshops to be scalable and replicable beyond the life of the funding.

So we are producing various toolkits, templates and guidance that can hopefully be adopted by other organisations following. At end of the project lifespan. Um, we're also embedding partnerships with professional bodies and various national networks so that support for technicians can continue with the existing structures in place.

Um, so for example, we're working with UK RI, the UK Institute for Technical Skills and Strategy, which is ITSF and the technician commitment to ensure that our, our outputs align with those national frameworks. And finally, hopefully we're investing in the people. So by equipping the technicians with the leadership skills and the networks and the confidence to continue this work long after the programme ends.

And our goal is to not just leave behind a set of resources, but a selfsustaining network of technicians who have hopefully met one another throughout the process. And they may not have done so had we not. Join them together.

Yeah, absolutely. You know, I think back, um, I think back to the technicians who supported me in my undergraduate years and, uh, uh, and PhD years and, and you know, they're.

They were kind of buried in the lab, you know, it was kind of like they never got out of it. Um, kind of never, you know, never got their white coat off, um, other than to, other than to go home. Um, and then it was, so, it's, yeah, it's absolutely fantastic that we're, you know, we're somehow managing to find the space on time, um, and, uh, and energy to, to do that.

Um. So in your, um, description earlier in the, in the recording, uh, in the episode, you mentioned a huge network now of, um, I think it was nearly 50 or so. Mm-hmm. Uh, universities that are involved in UK RAS STEPS. So, uh, and you also mentioned that kind of there was a real, um. A sort of ramping up period where you had to engage with that community and, and as you said, to, to be able to do things with them rather than to them.

Um, so, so how, how, how have you found that? To work, you know, what have been the best communication routes to generate that engagement and get us to that stage where there's such a large community of, uh, lots of organisations and lots of individuals involved. And, uh, and really to try and understand all the different needs and, and things that people and organisations want out of, uh, outta the investment.

Yeah, so this has been a real challenge. Um, so given the scale and diversity of the network that we're trying to create, and when I began in post, I'd come from a de very different sector. I was in AgriFood technology research prior to starting at Leeds. Um, so I was pretty much starting from scratch, building up a whole new contact space again.

Um. So I think as ever with these things, it's really a multi-layered approach that works best. So for the wide reach, we have our newsletters that people can sign up for details to come later. Uh, we've got our LinkedIn page and we've got the website. So we sort of obviously post our latest news on there.

But I think for me, the real. Sort of valuable insights came from smaller focused spaces like, uh, the online discussion sessions, various special interest groups, and really just individualised communications. So it would entail finding out who the technical manager is at the various universities and setting up conversations with, explain what we're doing, how we hope to achieve that, and then hopefully they then cascade that information to the, the most appropriate.

People within their institutions. And as you can imagine, that was incredibly time consuming to begin with, but I think has paid real dividends because the network we have, the contacts I've made, are just really pushing this initiative forward. And without them, we wouldn't have been able to achieve what we have done.

So far. Um, so also we have made it, um, our mission to link in with, um, internal networks and external groups. So I've been very busy going to various conferences, went to the National Technician Development Centre conference and speaking at places like that where you've got a captive audience. Now you have technicians from all sectors attending, but if you have just two or three.

That can go back to their institutions and say, oh, have you heard of this project? Look at what it's doing. Could it be of value then? Great word of mouth is fantastic. Mm-hmm. Um, and I think it's about asking questions and listening to the answers, and then co-creating those solutions. Um, I think that's helped us stay really responsive to what the key community wants, whether that be technical training, clearer career pathways, or just better recognition really.

And we can't promise to fix everything.

We won't be able to deliver on every single request we've received, but. Hopefully by the community knowing that we are here, we are listening, and we're doing our utmost to provide some tangible change. I think the more people see that, the more trusted we are as an organisation and a group to, to sort of push.

Some real key messages forward.

Yeah. And some of those, um, some of those changes will need to come later. Um, not everything can be done at once, and that's where, uh. Uh, actually making the community cohesive rather than just know that there are lots of individuals, you know, like the, like the, um, uh, raisins in a plum pudding.

Of what's on the agenda for the 18 months, but maybe if we can go into just a few more details. Um, what's next on the agenda and how do any research technicians who haven't yet engaged and then maybe listening to the podcast get and this episode get involved?

Sure. So, uh, yeah, we've definitely got a lot to be doing.

Uh, we've been collating an awful lot of information and feedback that we received during the showcase and have, um, a lot of plans. Uh, and as you say, this is just currently a three year project. We're halfway through. Um, we're not going to be able to achieve. Everything. A lot of what will be starting is more long-term impact and effect, but hopefully there will be funding mechanisms or some way to continue the work that we're starting.

But specifically, um, we're really focusing on our fully funded knowledge exchange placement. Um, we are looking at creating set dates for visits. To specific institutions, and we can do ad hoc as well. So if anybody's listening and they've always wanted to go to a particular lab, university or work with someone in particular, we can create those links.

We can arrange that on your behalf and we can support you with all the funding to do that. Um, so that's. Open-ended. We will accept applications from anybody. All of the information is on our website, which I will give you the link to later. Um, we're also focusing on growing our special interest groups.

We've now got the five that I mentioned earlier. They're all open to new members. Um. We've got the second automation, liquid handling workshop later in the year. Um, I'll be sharing the details of that once we've agreed, agreed the dates and specific location, and we've got a couple of really exciting international visits, um, in the pipeline.

Quite complex task to arrange, as you can imagine, with diaries and the logistics. Um, but we're getting there. Uh, we've already got a list of people interested in these and we will be asking for more expressions of interest when we announce details. Um, we've got two online workshops coming up. Um, so we've.

And the second one is storytelling for research. So again, a continuation of the theme of. How to express yourself, how to explain what you do and why it matters. And that's on the 14th of November 10:00 AM. Um. We additionally have a conference and training funding scheme that's open. So this is, um, a set 1000 pounds available per institution, pretty much first come, first served.

So, mm-hmm. It, it's, it's done on that basis. This can go towards anything from conference registration fees, training course fees, networking, career development opportunities, professional body membership, or just general. Travel and accommodation to facilitate a particular activity. Um, and as I say, all of these opportunities, information on our website, people can sign up to our quarterly newsletter.

You won't be bombarded. It is quarterly, uh, with a few other communications popping up, but it is not one of these where you will receive three emails a day.

Yes. Yeah, that's, uh, I guess most people are probably relieved about that. Marie, it was great to find out more about your programme and, and the 10 others.

So don't forget anyone listening, it isn't just about robotics and autonomous systems. There's 10 other prog pro, uh. Projects covering, um, different technical areas and different disciplines. Um, so it was great to find out how all of those 11 projects are improving the environment and careers of research technicians.

So yeah, thanks for, thanks for coming along to the podcast and, um, can I leave it to you to say goodbye to our listeners and give them all of those contact details and we'll make sure. They're all in the show notes, so you don't have to have pen and paper while Marie, uh, Marie tells you them, but you can look them up.

But let, I'll leave it to you to say goodbye.

Thanks very much, Ged. So, um, yeah, for anyone listening who hasn't yet been involved or heard about us, please do get in touch. You can visit our website at ukras-steps.org to sign up for updates, explore current opportunities, and join our mailing list. Or email us at info@ukras-steps.org.

So whether you are brand new to RAS or have years of experience, there's a space for you in our community and we'd love to have you on board.

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