March 5, 2025, by aczht

Embracing career growth: Sunny Sunshine’s career journey supported by Nottingham University Business School

Sunny Sunshine, a Senior Research Technician in Digital Pathology at the University of Surrey, shares how her experiences with the Your Entrepreneur Scheme (YES) 2022 and the Executive Programme in Strategic Technical Leadership (EPSTL) 2024 at Nottingham University Business School have shaped her career, supported her teams, and contributed to her organisation’s success.

Finding the right path

When I returned to the lab after having taken time out to start a family, I wanted to do something with my time that I enjoyed and felt was worthwhile juggling around family time.

After a bumpy start managing one lab, I found my people in another part of the university with two Nicola’s, Dr Jackson and Dr Annels. They saw me – the whole me – and gave me a chance. My role initially involved managing an Oncology lab part-time, which led to me managing a new imaging platform which Nicola A. wanted me to develop for our lab users. This was both challenging and rewarding because I enjoy working with innovative technologies and curious people, which in turn supports my development, curiosity, and skills.

Taking the leap with Your Entrepreneurs Scheme (YES) 

Once the imaging platform pipeline was successfully running, the next step was commercialising it during research downtime. Lacking business skills, I sought training to help me understand what was needed to set up in a university setting.

I chose YES because I liked the course facilitator, Tracey Hassall-Jones’s, communication style and the course’s ten-week format. I was one of the first three technicians to participate in 2022 – and the oldest person on YES – but Tracey made anything seem possible.

Part of the training involved working on bringing a product to market. Four of us from different parts of the UK formed a group and met online in the evenings – when our children had gone to bed – to review each week’s training session and build a business case for our product: a migraine equivalent of Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM). This was challenging but exhilarating. I was learning so much and connecting with experts in the field every week.

YES helped me build business analysis skills for the lab. I reviewed what is already in the academic market, finding the gap that our platform can fill and how we can expand as the area of digital imaging develops.

Strengthening technical skills with the Executive Programme in Strategic Technical Leadership (EPSTL)

After completing YES, I wanted to develop my understanding of technical strategy. I had found the Business School to be a safe place to speak up and take risks, so when I saw the EPSTL course advertised, I knew it would be a supportive and safe place which suits my learning style at this stage of my career.

EPSTL introduced me to how and why other research institutes implement technical strategies in their unique contexts. Through course content, time to reflect, and access to individuals leading the Technician Career Pathway, I started building a valuable network – one that keeps me connected to the current landscape of technical careers across the UK. More importantly, the psychological safety created within EPSTL’s training space was both refreshing and encouraging.

The future of technical careers and the Technical Specialist Network (TSN)

The EPSTL training has shaped my outlook on the Technician Commitment within research universities. It’s possible that other institutions will eventually move towards some sort of technician visibility, recognition, development, and skills sustainability, particularly as Ref29 begins recognising all people involved in research. Some institutions will lead the way and others will follow.

I choose to work for people like me – technical research specialists – to support their development so that we can better support our research fields in whichever institutions we may move through. EPSTL has also introduced me to the TSN, which brings technical specialists together. It provides a valuable platform around structured skills planning for the future of research institutions and partnerships.

Further information:

Find out more about Your Entrepreneur Scheme (YES)

To find out more about EPSTL

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