Press Information

#TECHOGNITION is an annual celebration of the work of UK school and FE college technicians that this year will take place on the Friday 10th March 2023.

The event is run by Preproom.org and sponsored by UNISON, Technical Champions, SLS Select Education and Philip Harris.

Back in 2016, preproom.org commissioned a UK survey looking at the school science technician profession which produced some shocking findings.

One finding that stood out was that was that the majority of participants said that school leaders, the general public and especially the government were not fully aware of what school technicians actually do on a daily basis in their work and there was an assumption that technicians were often seen as just 'helpers' in many schools.

Our first #TECHOGNITION event was launched in 2018 with the aim of showcasing and celebrating the role of school science technicians and in recent years we have extended it to cover ALL technical staff who work in schools and FE colleges in the UK.

We encourage ICT, Design & Technology, Music, Art, Drama, P.E. and other school and FE college technicians to take part by uploading photos of themselves performing any of the vast and varied jobs they do on any given day with the aim of publicly showcasing their essential roles in education.

School and FE college technicians are highly skilled, experienced and essential members of school staff whose value in any successful school department should not be underestimated. Preproom.org has been working closely with UNISON and others to help raise the public profile of school science technicians whilst celebrating these essential roles and in 2023 we aim to launch a new project which follows on from the successes of #TECHOGNITION - a new school standards mark for supporting technical staff - Technical Champions.

During the 2023 #TECHOGNITION event Preproom.org and their event partners and supporters will be running prize draws, giveaways and special offers for those taking part.

Prominent supporters of #TECHOGNITION include Professor Lord Winston, Maggie Philbin, Adam Hart-Davis, Johnny Ball, Stefan Gates and Jheni Osman.

If you would like any further information about the event or have any questions or comments about #TECHOGNITION, please contact the director of Preproom.org, Chris Galvin: chris.galvin@preproom.org.

Related Links

Preproom.org - The Online Science Prep Room: http://www.preproom.org

UNISON - The Public Service Union: https://www.unison.org.uk

Technical Champions: https://technicalchampions.org

UK School Science Technician Survey 2016: http://www.preproom.org/downloads/preproom-UK-technician-survey-2016.pdf

Official #TECHOGNITION Website: https://www.techognition.org

Preproom.org Community: http://community.preproom.org

Published Articles

Ladies' College celebrates work of tech support staff (from Guernsey Press, published 14/03/23)
https://guernseypress.com/news/2023/03/14/ladies-college-celebrates-work-of-tech-support-staff

#TECHOGNITION: Recognition for school technicians (from SecEd, published 28/02/23)
https://www.sec-ed.co.uk/blog/techognition-recognition-for-school-technicians-unison

Recognition for Technicians (from Education in Chemistry)
https://eic.rsc.org/news/recognition-for-technicians/3008675.article

Three Cheers for Science Technicians (from Huffington Post covering Preproom.org's 2016 survey)
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/patrick-hayes/three-cheers-for-science-technicians_b_9581004.html