Technical SIG
The Technical Special Interest Group (TSIG) was created in 2024 by co-chairs Amelia Dingley (Technical Manager at Brunel University) and Ash Osbourne (Technician at Lancaster University) to empower technicians and strengthen their role within CASES and the broader sport and exercise sciences community. This will be achieved by enhancing the visibility, development and recognition of technical staff across sport and exercise sciences. The TSIG is open to all who seek to empower and support technical staff. This includes, but is not limited to, technicians, academics, and managers.
Other current TSIG advisory members include; Neil Guthrie (Edinburgh Napier University), Bill Norton (University of Brighton), Romain Denis (Dublin City University), Finlay Wright (Heriot Watt University), Robert Hunter (University of Durham), Ryan Stewart (University College Dublin) and David Green (UK Sport Institute). Dublin), David Green (UK Sport Institute), Emmanouil Lymouris (Heriot Watt University) , Alishia Rockson (University of East London), Molly Hodges (University of Brighton), Daniel Hill (University of Salford).
Our Mission is to ensure that technical professionals are equipped with the support, recognition, and career progression they need to thrive. By integrating the principles of the Technician Commitment into its strategic framework, CASES is taking an important step toward fostering an inclusive and progressive environment for technical staff across the sector.
Objectives
- Promote Recognition and Visibility: Advocate for the acknowledgment of technical staff critical roles in supporting teaching, research, and innovation. We will break the ‘invisible workforce’ stigma and elevate the technicians’ contributions.
- Foster Professional Development: Provide opportunities for technical staff to enhance their skills and knowledge through training, workshops, and CPD. The SIG will support technicians in sharing best practices and advancing their careers.
- Encourage Inclusion and Representation: Ensure technicians have a voice within BASES by promoting their representation at all levels, including conference presentations, Board discussions, and decision-making processes. The SIG will create a platform for technicians to influence and contribute to the future of sport and exercise sciences.
- Facilitate Knowledge Exchange: Create a collaborative network of technicians, where SIG members can share expertise, challenges, and solutions. This includes engagement with academic colleagues and other stakeholders to promote a greater understanding of the importance of technical roles.
Since being formally approved back in November 2024, TSIG has made its conference debut at the 2024 CASES Conference, presenting Revealing the Hidden Workforce: Empowering Technicians within CASES. Following this, it has led to CASES becoming a supporter of the Technician Commitment (April 2025). In that same month, TSIG Co-Chair Amelia Dingley also represented CASES at the national signatory event, presenting on TSIG’s progress.
The official launch of the CASES Technical Special Interest Group (TSIG) took place on Thursday 4 September, hosted at Nottingham Trent University. Technical staff from all over the UK and Ireland gathered to be part of the landmark event. More details can be found here: Technical Special Interest Group Launch Event
Since its formation, the group has delivered multiple webinars on TSIG’s aims and technical career development, with plans to host bi-monthly webinars going forward. Ongoing projects include developing technical skills training days, creating resources, conducting a national survey to map the technical workforce in sport, health, and exercise sciences, and more. Monthly Steering Group meetings continue to shape this work as TSIG champions the vital role of technicians across the sector.
Steering Committee
 | Amelia Dingley - amelia.dingley@brunel.ac.uk |
 | Neil Guthrie - n.guthrie@napier.ac.uk |
 | Bill Norton – b.norton@brighton.ac.uk |
 | Romain Denis - romain.denis@dcu.ie |
 | Ash Osborne - a.osborne1@lancaster.ac.uk |
 | Ryan Stewart – ryan.stewart@ucd.ie |
 | Dr David Green - david.green@uksportsinstitute.co.uk |
 | Finlay Wright - f.wright@hw.ac.u |
| Dr Robert Hunter - robert.hunter2@durham.ac.u |
Emmanouil Lymouris - e.lymouris@hw.ac.uk
Alishia Rockson - a.rockson1@uel.ac.uk
Molly Hodges - m.hodges3@brighton.ac.uk
Daniel Hill - d.hill7@salford.ac.uk
Activities
Technical expertise is critical to the success of sport, health and exercise sciences in UK Higher Education, and sport and health settings. The technical workforce underpins a multitude of core activities including teaching and learning, research and innovation, athlete and patient support. Moreover, the technical workforce is vital in maintaining and developing new technologies and methods, and ensuring health and safety, which underpin the aforementioned work. Despite this, technicians are frequently described as the ‘invisible workforce’. Moreover, there is a lack of visibility and recognition of technical expertise. For example, technicians are described as ‘just technicians’ etc. We firmly believe that a technical career is both a valid and important career, and there needs to be greater support and awareness of the barriers that exist for technical staff.
The establishment of the Technical Special Interest Group (SIG) within BASES will provide significant advantages to both technical staff and the broader membership. Here are the key benefits:
1.Enhanced Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing: The SIG will create a platform for technicians to share their expertise in the latest technologies, methodologies, and innovations. This cross-disciplinary knowledge exchange will benefit academics, researchers, and practitioners by fostering collaboration and driving advancements in sport, health, and exercise sciences.
2.Improved Access to Technical Expertise: BASES members will gain better access to the technical expertise that underpins research and laboratory practices. By having technicians more visible and involved, members will be better supported in utilizing cutting-edge equipment and techniques for research and teaching.
3.Strengthened Research and Innovation: Technicians often contribute significantly to research projects. Through the SIG, BASES members will benefit from having these technical experts recognized for their contributions, which can enhance research outcomes, innovation, and the quality of publications within the field.
4.Support for Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Goals: The SIG aligns with BASES’ commitment to EDI by promoting inclusivity for a vital workforce that has historically been underrepresented. This will enrich the diversity of perspectives within the organisation and contribute to a more inclusive and collaborative culture.
5.Professional Development Opportunities: The SIG will offer targeted CPD opportunities for technicians, which will benefit all BASES members by increasing the overall skill level within the organisation. This will foster a high-performance environment, driving progress in sport and exercise sciences.
By establishing this SIG, BASES can create a more inclusive, skilled, and collaborative community, ensuring the technical workforce is an integral part of its future success.
CPD – Career Development
We host monthly webinars or informal coffee catch-ups which have included ‘Lab Accreditation’ (David Green and Sarah Gilchrist) and ‘Sport Science and Beyond’ (Russ Wilson and Phill Dodd-Chandler).
If you are interested in hosting and delivering a webinar on a specific topic, please contact enquiries@cases.org.uk to discuss.
We are currently organising technical skills workshops days which will be advertised soon.
For career development information, please see below for different routes to consider.
How to get involved
To join the SIG, you’ll need to be a CASES member but if you don’t have a membership, you can join the mailing list for any updates on the SIG’s activities by contacting enquiries@cases.org.uk
Ongoing Projects – Sub-Groups To get involved in ongoing projects, contact enquiries@cases.org.uk for further information.
Key Documents/Resources
Opportunities for Technicians - UK ITSS
Herschel Programme for Women in Technical Leadership - UK ITSS
https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/fellowship
https://www.techniciancommitme...
You can now apply for RSci and RSciTech through CASES, for more information please contact enquiries@cases.org.uk.
Experience from 1-2 individuals - Quotes
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/casestechnical
Conflict Resolution – Written by Romain Denis
Infographic – Made by Romain Denis
Fair Attribution Guidelines – Written by Robert Hunter
Infographic – Made by Robert Hunter
Technical Special Interest Group Launch event 2025
About the event
Welcome to CASES Technical Special Interest Group (TSIG). We are delighted to be hosting our first in person event on Thursday 4th September at Nottingham Trent University, Clifton Campus. The launch event is open to all who seek to empower and support technical colleagues in sport, health and exercise science. Whether you're a CASES member or not, all are welcome. This includes, but is not limited to, technicians, academics, and managers. The theme of the event is to launch our TSIG and celebrate CASES becoming a supporter of the Technicians Commitment. This event will aim to bring technicians together from across the UK and Ireland, connect with likeminded technical professionals, meet suppliers and view some of their latest technology and explore career pathways and opportunities. The event will include a selection of workshops including team games in ‘Battle of the Techs’ with the full schedule below.
About the TSIG
Many refer to technicians as the "hidden workforce," but with the support of CASES, we are working to amplify the voices of technicians and increase the visibility and recognition of technical roles across Sport and Exercise Sciences. As part of this initiative, we are excited to share that back in December 2024 we launched CASES Technical Special Interest Group (TSIG), and more recently CASES has pledged to support technicians by becoming a supporter of the Technicians Commitment, this aims to empower technicians and strengthen their role within CASES and the broader sport and exercise sciences community.
Registration
We are opening a travel bursary for technical colleagues to support attendance that you can apply for. For more information on it, please email cases.technical@gmail.com or add a comment when signing up. Registration is free for all! Don't miss out by registering now. If you plan on driving, please complete the form here so you can use the visitor car park. Registration for the event closes on 20 August 2025, and the deadline for the travel bursary is 14 August 2025.
Sponsors
A big thank you goes to our sponsors who without their support this event would not go ahead:
• Qualisys Motion Capture Technology and Systems | Qualisys | Qualisys
• Cranlea Human Performance Cranlea Human Performance | Fitness & Medical Equipment
• Delsys Europe Delsys - Delsys
• Fisher Scientific Laboratory & Production Essentials | Fisher Scientific
• COSMED - The Metabolic Company COSMED - The Metabolic Company
• Summit Medical and Scientific Summit Medical and Scientific - Home - Biomechanics and Rehabilitation
• National Technician Development Centre NTDC•
Gait and Motion technology
• Chartered Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (CASES)
Organising committee
Amelia Dingley, Technical Manager, Brunel University of LondonHannah Divall, Senior Technician, Nottingham Trent UniversityNeil Guthrie, Senior Technician, Edinburgh Napier UniversityFinlay Wright, Technician, Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh.
To find out more about the agenda and to register, please head to the following link: CASES Event - Technical Special Interest Group Launch event 2025
Suppliers and Sponsors
Cranlea Human Performance - Cranlea Human Performance | Fitness & Medical Equipment
Delsys - Delsys - Delsys
Cosmed - COSMED - The Metabolic Company
Fisher Scientific - Laboratory & Production Essentials | Fisher Scientific
Qualisys - Motion Capture Technology and Systems | Qualisys | Qualisys
Summit Medical & Scientific - Summit Medical and Scientific - Home - Biomechanics and Rehabilitation
National Technician Development Centre - NTDC
Technician Commitment TSN ROKS - https://itss.org.uk/tsn/tsn-ro...
Updates
Upcoming Events (dates for events included); Webinars; News
August 2025
Formally approved by the CASES Board in November 2024, the Technical Special Interest Group (TSIG) has rapidly gained momentum. With 28 active members and 79 on the mailing list, the TSIG is working to embed the principles of the Technician Commitment - visibility, recognition, career development, and sustainability - within CASES.
The TSIG made its conference debut at the 2024 CASES Conference, presenting Revealing the Hidden Workforce: Empowering Technicians within CASES. This led to CASES becoming a supporter of the Technician Commitment in April 2025. That same month, TSIG Co-Chair Amelia Dingley MCASES represented CASES at the national signatory event, presenting on TSIG’s progress.
Since its formation, the group has delivered two well-attended webinars on TSIG’s aims and technical career development, with plans to host bi-monthly webinars going forward. A national launch event is planned for September 2025 to foster wider engagement and collaboration. Ongoing projects include: developing technical skills training days, creating fair attribution guidelines, and conducting a national survey to map the technical workforce in sport, health, and exercise sciences, Technician of the Year award and more. Monthly Steering Group meetings continue to shape this work as TSIG champions the vital role of technicians across the sector.
There are two other SIGs – the Molecular Exercise Physiology (MEP) SIG, convened by Dr Georgina Stebbings MCASES, and Performance Analysis SIG, convened by Louis Langdown, whose updates were not available at the time of publication.