King's College London

A team of technicians from the Department of Engineering won big at last week’s UK Higher Education Technicians Summit where they took home the Papin Prize Technical Team Award, beating hundreds of other nominations from across the country.

Dedicated to celebrating the very best technical staff and teams in academia and research, the Papin Prizes honour the sometimes-underappreciated work of technicians in the sector.

Jon West, Charlotte Palmer, Samuel Piper, Henrique Schmitz, Ana Rubio Denniss, David Batten, Elizaveta Krasnova and Tushar Khoda were nominated by their department for their ‘exceptional teamwork, adaptability, and innovative problem-solving… in delivering transformational improvements to practical learning experiences for students.’

Charlotte Palmer, Technical Manager of the Engineering Makerspaces said of the award, "It’s such an honour to be part of the Papin Prize-winning technical team. It’s a privilege to work alongside passionate, dedicated colleagues every day, and it means a lot that our behind-the-scenes efforts have been recognised through this nomination."

In their day-to-day, the team preside over the award-winning Quad Labs space under the King’s Building where they build and manage state-of-the-art facilities for a range of education and research topics, including F1 aerodynamics and battery chemistry.

Alongside running practical, hands-on classes for current and prospective students to learn the holistic skills necessary for a career in industry, the team also present their practice-based teaching methods and use of the Makerspace to others in the sector. This has led Charlotte, Ana and Sam to be recognised as engineering role models by the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Reflecting on the award win, Professor Chris Lorenz, Head of the Department of Engineering said, “The team here at King’s exemplifies what it is to be world-class technicians. Their collaborative approach, resilience in problem solving and innovative thinking has pushed the boundaries of research and strengthened the department’s reputation for cutting-edge engineering education. The Papin prize is richly deserved and we’re lucky to have them.”

Ben Gridley, Head of Technical Services in the Faculty of Natural, Mathematical and Engineering Sciences and one of the nominators of the team said, “The Papin Prizes have raised the profile of technical professionals over the last decade, celebrating only a handful of exceptional technicians each year selected from hundreds of nominations across the sector. We're delighted to see our outstanding Engineering Education team recognised with this prestigious award for their innovation and teamwork in supporting our leading education programmes.”