2024/25 Technical Teaching Fellowship recipients announced

The recipients of the Technical Teaching Fellowships for 2024/25 have been announced. The prestigious awards, made jointly by the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) and Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, are to be presented to:

• William Davies and Daniel Pritchard of the NPTC Group of Colleges (Newton and Brecon Colleges). This joint Fellowship will focus on electrical vehicle maintenance training using synchronous and asynchronous hybrid delivery, building on the work they are already engaged in on electric and hybrid vehicles.
• Jen Deakin, Course Leader of Graphic Design and Advanced Practitioner at Runshaw College. Jen’s Fellowship will look at technological innovation in technical education, with a particular focus on the use of artificial intelligence to enhance learning and reduce teacher workload.
• Sophie Harris, an Advanced Practitioner teaching Fashion Business Retail at Derby College. Sophie’s Fellowship will focus on the integration of economic, social and environmental sustainability into curriculum design in technical pathways.
• David Jones, Life Skills Academy Employment Coordinator at Pembrokeshire College. David’s Fellowship will focus on developing and embedding vocational skills by creating tools and resources for use in Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision.
• Aine McGreeghan, Deputy Head of School – Engineering, at South Eastern Regional College (SERC), Northern Ireland. Aine’s Fellowship will focus on gender diversity in the engineering and manufacturing industry, including pathways to support women and girls, mentoring, and changing themes in engineering education.
• Scott Rorrison, Teaching, Learning and Improvement Manager at Humberside Engineering Training Association (HETA). Scott’s Fellowship will focus on fostering innovation and helping engineering tutors, lecturers and coaches to bring Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects to life for their learners and apprentices.

For 2024/25, following a review of the impact of the Fellowships in previous years, the geographical eligibility for applications was extended from being England only to the whole of the UK, and the potential number of Fellowships increased. All Fellows now also become alumni of the Royal Commission, providing them with further support to drive quality improvement in technical STEM teaching and training and the opportunity to access further funding.

Applications are assessed against criteria including demonstrating highly effective approaches to improving teaching and learning in technical education, how the Fellowship will be used to inspire others, and the planning of professional development opportunities to impact on the pedagogy and professional practice of other teachers.

Fellows are expected to develop knowledge transfer and exchange activities, sharing effective practice at national and regional conferences and via networks, facilitating CPD and contributing to thought leadership through an established technical community of practice. They will also contribute to a final report to engage and motivate technical education practitioners in their specialist subject areas. Each receives a financial award to support their activity and guarantee remission time and is allocated a mentor to support them for the duration of the programme.

The Fellowships will be formally presented at an event being held at the Royal Society in London on Friday 1 March. That event will also see Fellows from previous years describing their Fellowship activity and its impact.

John Lavery, Secretary of the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, said:

“The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 congratulates all the new Technical Teaching Fellows and is thrilled to welcome them to the 1851 community. The work they will undertake within the Further Education environment is hugely important and the awards recognise the incredibly high teaching standards and example that they demand, and deliver, of themselves. The Royal Commission is thrilled that the 1851 Technical Teaching programme has proved so successful and is delighted to work in collaboration with the Education and Training Foundation to deliver this newly expanded initiative”.

Dr Katerina Kolyva, CEO of the Education and Training Foundation, said:

“Our congratulations go to the recipients of the 2024/25 Technical Teaching Fellowships. These awards recognise leading lights in technical education and support them to effectively share and extend the reach of their practice. We look forward to seeing them follow in the footsteps of their predecessors, developing the capability of technical teaching across the UK. In doing so, they will help to foster the skills required to address the profound technical, economic and sustainability changes society faces.”

Further details are available on the Technical Teaching Fellowships page of the ETF website.