In this case study, hear from Dr Robert Moorehead about how an exchange enabled him to build a community and conduct experiments at facilities across the region.

The Yorkshire Technician Exchange Partnership (YoTEP) connects technical professionals across Leeds, York, and Sheffield to share expertise, solve common challenges, and elevate technical careers across the White Rose University Consortium.

“The YoTEP technical exchange partnership has helped bring together like-minded technicians who work in our specific area; if you’re looking to build a community, it’s a great place to start.”

I’m Robert Moorehead, Technical manager for Experimentation and Characterisation in the School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering at the University of Sheffield. My role is to run our X-ray facility, whilst managing the team who support the variety of characterisation facilities provided by the school.

What made you want to take part in a YoTEP exchange? What were you hoping to get out of it?

My colleague Craig Robertson also manages an X-ray facility in the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences. Together we applied to the YoTEP exchange fund to build a relationship with our colleagues who manage similar facilities, to see what equipment they have and how they’re managed, and to discuss challenges and solutions in the sector.

What did you gain from the experience?

The main output was the development of a community of X-ray specialists in the area and having an understanding of their capabilities.

What did your exchange involve?

For this exchange, we travelled to the University of Leeds to meet with the 3 technical specialists who manage X-ray facilities. We toured their facilities and discussed how they’re run, what type of experiments we do routinely and the challenges we face.

Was there anything that surprised you or that you didn’t expect? 

It was surprising, and reassuring, that we’re all facing similar challenges.

What would you say to a technician who is thinking about taking part but isn’t sure? 

The relationships we built off the back of this exchange have been invaluable. Since the initial visit, we’ve conducted experiments in each other’s facilities, shared samples and techniques, and, most importantly, we made some good friends who can offer support for us and our facilities.

Find out more about the partnership here.