Applicant Support Mentor: Science Council & beyond....

From 2018 until 2025 I served as an Applicant Support Mentor (ASM) for the Science Council.

In that time I provided an estimated 100 on line and in person workshops, mentored collectively and as individuals perhaps 3000 STEM scientists in HE, FE, industry and the civil service; also assessed about 300 applications for the Science Council for Professional Registration.

This has culminated in many accolades and awards, including the adjacent “Outstanding Achievement” award from Lab Innovations, 2024.

Who can apply for Professional Registration

 

  • Any body as the process is inclusive.
  • Furthermore as explained below, there are different levels or registers depending on grade and job responsibilities.
  • The absence of a formal qualification does not preclude applying for senior registers like RSci (Level #6) and CSci (Level #7), providing you can demonstrate commensurate working practice through evidential competencies.

Why Apply?

 

The benefits of professional registration are numerous and well documented, including:

  • Validation of technical skills.
  • Validation of commitment to CPD, EDI and ethical practice.
  • enhanced opportunities inside and outside the STEM work place.

What do registers mean?

There are three registers pertaining to Professional registration: 

  • The first, RSciTech, is for persons practicing as a graduate with 1 to 2 post graduate professional experience
  • The Second is RSci and typically these are STEM graduates, including degree level apprentices, with 2-5 years of post graduate professional experience and value added conduct compared to RSciTechs, like training, troubleshooting and method development.
  • The 3rd register CSci is for persons in more senior roles who supervise and/or manage teams. Moreover, they might not have active bench careers say in a laboratory setting but could manage Lab infrastructure.

How do I apply?

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

  • So what does it mean to be professionally registered?
  • How is it achieved?
  • Am I eligible?
  • Watch a recording below, in which I enunciate what professional registration is, how it is customised for person(s) at different stages of their techncial careers and benefitts that ensue from possessing post nominals.  

 

Professional Mentoring For The Science Council.

Over the last 8 years I have committed to a program of work for the Science Council, to provide mentoring services in my capacity as an Applicant Support mentor, circa 2018 to 2025. 

Specifically, in that time I have provided on line interactive work shops, examples of which are provided on this page, and in person talks at technical conferences as well as more bespoke in person work shops at specific institutes, e.g., the Francis Crick in London & the LMB and Wellcome Sanger Institutes in Cambridge.

In addition, I have provided in person and more personal support via Teams conference calls, e mails and bespoke PowerPoint webinars.

Registration for STEM Apprentices

From 2022 to 2025, I began to provide public talks, e.g., at Lab Innovations, on line workshops and in person mentoring via Teams for the Science Council about the Short Route to Registration (R2R) for qualified STEM apprentices.

  • In essence, End Point Assessment Gateway materials (to obtain apprentice certification at Level #3 and Level #6) are taken instead of formal competencies for Partly aligned Apprentice standards and, when approved, culminate in the award of RSciTech and RSci respectively, in addition to the apprentice qualification.
  • However, for such standards, pertinent statements for competency A (technical working practices) must be provided in conjunction with the Apprentice certificate
  • For Fully mapped Apprentice Standards, the Apprentcie certificate is taken in evidence, instead of formal competency statments and no further documentation is required.

 

For details, see link provided.

My own Professional Registration Journey

I am CSci as well as a Chartered Biologist. My own motivation to become professionally registered was, in the first instance, to validate my skills as a bench life scientist. Subsequently, however, I became an active national player regarding work for the Technician commitment and this was motivated by a desire to improve working conditions for up and coming technicians, recapitulating my own, evidently better experiences in the 1990s, which, in a modern context, I wanted to help others realise again.

My work in this arena, initially with the Science Council and IST and subsequently with the Royal Society of Biology and Lab Innovations, has culminated in distinguished Fellowships and a number of awards

My biopic on the Science Council website, a link to which is provided here summarises this work.

For a more detailed exploration, see pod casts I have made with the University of Edinburgh and Lab Innovations, as well as a talk I provided on line (Lab on Demand #3) and in person for Lab Innovations, the latter at their annual show in 2019.

Why do we need a technician commitment?

As I alluded to above, my own experiences of being a technician in the 1990s were apparently better than the naughties.

This is reaffirmed by a paper in "Chemistry World" I contributed to, in which a few technicians from those times pontificate on what it was like back then and shortcomings, by comparison, today.

Lab on Demand video.

Lab Innovations Conference show talk 2019.

Interview of me by the Science Council, in which I discuss my own reasons for becoming chartered, my extant work linked to the Technician Commitment and my hopes and aspirations for up and coming Technicians, linked in part to that commitment. See also my PodCasts for an unexpurgated personal discussion on that subject.

A talk by me at Lab Innovations 2019, in which I introduce the Technician Commitment, reasons for instigation and my own personal work in the arena of Professional Registration.

Examples of Mentoring for the Science Council

In the videos provided below, I provide examples of recorded archives of webinars and live talks pertaining to registration from the Science Council. These include:

  • On line webinars on various aspects of applying for Professional registration.
  • On line "Lab on demand" instructional webinars talking about the technician commitment and aspects of professional registration, respectively.
  • Interactive work shops provided for the Science Council as part of the Midlands Innovation "Festival(s) of Talent." 

Lab Innovations on line learning webinars & Live talks.

These workshops were provided as "Lab on Demand" webinars, exploring the Technician commitment and recapitulating a live talk show from Lab innovations 2019 "Lab on Demand 3" and a second, exploring the impact of Professional registration and handy hints for completion of competencies ("Lab on Demand 7").

Midlands Innovation Workshops.

Between 2020 and 2024, I provided at respective "Festivals of Talent" back-to-back interactive workshops on all aspects Professional Registration. In particular:

  • The Initial introductory workshop introduced Professional Registration: How to do it and why do it; The three principal registers commensurate with level of experience, grade and job responsibilities, viz. RSciTech; RSci & CSci; & joining a licenced body as an integral part of CAP.
  • The subsequent workshop took a deep dive into examples of competency practice(s) in the context of these three registers:
  • Competencies are the main evidence to demonstrate work place proficiency in your on-line application via the Common Application Portal or CAP. 

 

Introduction to Professional Registration.

A deep dive into Competency completion.

ASM Duties..

A series of pictures of myself at Conference, supporting the Science Council and also on line intructional webinars on different aspects of applying for Professional Registration, linked to the Science Council You Tube Channel.

On line videos made by the Science Council by ASM's about different aspects of Professional Registration 

Standard 2 hour interactive Science Council workshop, circa 2025. 

My training talk at MMU for Qualified STEM apprentices in chemistry and biology about fast track registration (R2R) for these apprentices based on their Apprentice standard.

Apprentice workshops.

Opposite is an event I attended at MMU for degree level #6 Bioscience & chemistry apprenticeships and at the bottom I talk about how for example this apprentice standard qualifies for an abbreviated application route for registration at the Lab innovations 2025 trade show at the NEC, Birmingham.

2025 Lab Innovations show.

At this show, in my capacity as an ASM, I spoke about the fast track route to professional registration for Qualified STEM apprenticeships.

This talk about Fast track registration has been re iterated at the MMU Apprentice training Forum 2024, the NTDC partners forum, and NTDC tech meet #1 as depicted on this page. 

Details of eligible standards can be found on the Science Council website.

MMU Apprentice workshop.

As depicted, in 2024, I also attended a training event for qualified STEM apprentices who were part of a Level #6 degree level apprenticeship which as a "fully mapped" apprentice standard for Biology & Chemistry was eligible for an automatic award of RSci when the Apprentice standard had been obtained.

In essence, Work place materials, evidenced during end point assessment to gain the apprentice qualification are taken in lieu of competency statements.

Article about Fast R2R for Qualified STEM Apprentices.

Power point presentation to MMU Apprentices regarding Fast R2R. 

Standard On line Science Council Professional Registration Workshops.

Discover our collection of creative work and visual projects. Each piece showcases our attention to detail and commitment to delivering results that exceed expectations.

Standard on Line Science Council Workshops

Since the Inception of COVID, workshops for Professional registration have migrated on line. These workshops are in orthodox form 2 hours in duration and are interactive in Nature.

During the first hour:

  • Professional registration is covered in the context of the Three principal registers, licenced bodies & applying via CAP or via the Licenced bodies themselves

During the second hour:

  • A deep dive is taken into examples of practice concordant with competencies and how these can be realised for the three registers
  • Moreover, interactive excercises, effected through Slido, are utilised to reinfoce the above

Finally, these workshops can be offered bespoke to a specific target audience on line or adapted for in person provision, e.g., The Francis Crick London or QMUL. 

John Innes Workshop 2023

I provided an on line work shop to Technicians at the John Innes Research institute and associated facilities.

This workshop focussed on introducing Professional Regsitration, including:

  • Why do it.
  • How to apply. 
  • Licenced bodies and CAP.
  • The three professional registers, viz. RSciTech, RSci and CSci.

Personal mentoring for the Science Council.

For about 1 year, (circa 2024-25), I mentored Science Council apprentices, pertaining to their own personal particulars, regarding Professional Registration and, indeed, other STEM related matters, like hacks for effective presenting.

Harper Adams Technical Conference 2025.

I provided an interactive work shop on Professional Registration for Agro Bio Technicians at Harper Adams University 

Power Point Slides from Durham University workshop.

This in person trip to Durham, in order to provide a work shop consisted of the usual introduction, cf. what is it? how to apply? Licenced bodies. The benefits of applying & the 3 principal registers, cf. RSciTech, RSci & CSci.  

In person workshop Provided @ Durham: 

  • What is Professional Registration?
  • The 3 principal registers.
  • How to apply.
  • Licenced bodies.
  • Why apply?

In person workshop Provided at Durham: Deep dive into competencies.

Registration Workshops at Leicester University.

Apart from my outside Science Council duties, I provided in house mentoring for Professional Registration at the University of Leicester.

This is summarised in diagrams and text opposite and in the You tube video, made for the first reformatted Technician Commitment conference at the University of Leicester.

Workshops were provided to Technicians at the University of Leicester. 

These were provided in two sessions, affording an introduction and then a deeper dive into competency completion.

 

Following these generic sessions, a more personalised provision was offered to individual registrants in order for them to feel confident that they could competently complete their answers and subsequent on line CAP submission.