Rate My Professor Helen Turner

Prior to this appointment, Dr Turner served as Director of the Midlands Energy Consortium for seven years, where she played a key role in successfully securing £60 million in funding for the Midlands Energy Research Accelerator, promoting advanced energy research and development. In her current leadership position, she has championed the vital role of technical staff in higher education and research. As co-lead of the £5 million TALENT programme—a collaboration between The University of Nottingham and University of Warwick—she oversaw the production of a landmark report providing recommendations to upskill and create career pathways for 30,000–50,000 technicians nationwide, supporting the UK's ambitions in science, engineering, and creative industries. Dr Turner established the Higher Education Technicians Summit (HETS), the UK's largest conference dedicated to technicians, and the Papin Prizes, which recognize outstanding achievements by technical professionals. Her contributions extend to broader initiatives like PRISMs and AI-RDN+, and she advocates for regional university partnerships to attract international investment, as demonstrated through her policy writings and speaking engagements at events such as the Universities UK Research and Innovation Conference. Earlier in her career, she held positions as Head of Research and Innovation Services at the University of Surrey and Head of Research Support at the University of Leeds.