Declan Wales

It is fantastic working in labs with someone that is helping to make the practical classes that I deliver as sustainable as possible, and importantly, to be able to tell students what changes have been made to make their education more sustainable.

Laura Corns, University Teacher, School of Biosciences

Can you sum up what you do in one sentence?

I support teaching in Biosciences laboratory spaces. 

This means providing materials, equipment, and resources for laboratory teaching, keeping the labs organised and updated, and making sure that we're able to facilitate good-quality laboratory teaching for students.

You were nominated as an inspiration to others, how does it feel to be recognised?

I'm very grateful to have been nominated, and it feels really great that my hard work and the teaching lab has been recognised, especially what I've done to make the teaching labs more sustainable.

I hope that I've inspired other technicians in my team, and across the University, to make positive change both for the environment and for education. 

What part of your work brings you the most pride or joy?

I work in a team of really great technicians — this is really rewarding and is one of the main reasons why I've enjoyed being at the University.

There's a lot of camaraderie in the teaching technical team, and this makes difficult situations or big projects easier to achieve.

Dec has gone beyond what is expected of him to ensure that the teaching labs are becoming more sustainable. Throughout this process he has shown leadership skills by setting regular team meetings, and demonstrating an impressive awareness of his colleagues’ expertise to delegate tasks appropriately.

Laura Corns, University Teacher, School of Biosciences

How does your work create an impact in research, innovation and education?

Through my work, I've tried to make laboratory teaching more accessible for students, and communicate important information such as laboratory safety, clearly and in an engaging way. 

For example, I created a laboratory induction presentation for our new first years. This had loads of useful information like good lab practice, fire safety, health and safety documentation, and even information about the tech team. This is really helpful for students so they can get the most out of their labs and work safely.

In another example, I noticed students were having difficulties with correct waste streaming. So I made a flow chart and distributed them around the labs to help students with correct disposal. 

In my daily work, I also ensure that the labs are clean, professional and organised for the benefit of both students and staff.

What is one thing about your workspace or role that would surprise people? 

I think some people would be surprised that as teaching technicians, myself and the rest of the team still work during non-teaching periods, especially in summer. 

There's a lot of unseen work that goes on over summer, even when there isn't any teaching, such as preparation for teaching coming up in semester one. 

This is also the time when myself and my colleagues try to improve the lab for the next round of incoming students, buy equipment, test new practicals, and do as much as possible to improve the student experience in the labs.

Are there any upcoming projects or new technologies that you’re particularly excited to be working on? 

I have been doing a lot of work recently towards sustainability in the teaching labs, particularly in getting them LEAF awarded.

Myself and three others in the team achieved Bronze in January for the teaching labs, and then more recently achieved Silver, which we were very proud of. 

So I hope that going forward we can focus on improving our ways of working in teaching even further, to reduce the impact we have on the environment.