Forum Q&As - The Grads Meet Senior Staff

Figure 1: Cake, made by Jagoda

The graduate forum is a monthly event organised by and for the graduates. Through it we receive important information, debate actions, delegate tasks, hold democratic elections, update others on our activities/inactivities, bake and eat cakes (local rules permitting; see Fig. 1), and host glamorous awards ceremonies (read: hand out gold stars).

More recently we have used the opportunity to invite senior members of staff for a Q&A. In January we were joined by UKAEA Chief Executive Officer Ian Chapman, followed in February by UKAEA Chief Operating Officer Lyanne Maclean. The aim of these has been to establish a dialogue between some of the least- and most-experienced employees at UKAEA. Through this, the graduates have learned more about senior roles and the co-ordinating activity around site, received pertinent advice from people who have shaped their own careers successfully, and been able to ask questions directly to the people in-the-know. Meanwhile senior staff have had the opportunity to meet a group of people at the very beginning of their careers at UKAEA, hearing about what we do and getting opinions from a group that is important to the future of the organisation.

Here we summarise some of the key discussion points and things we’ve learnt from these two meetings.

Q&A with Ian Chapman, 17^th January 2020

Ian started by describing his journey to his current role, which began with his degree in Maths & Physics at Durham University leading to a position on the graduate scheme here at UKAEA. While on the graduate scheme he also completed a PhD in plasma physics with Imperial College. He then held group leader positions in plasma physics, JET and MAST, before successfully applying for the CEO role in 2016.

His background demonstrates the potential for progression from a position on the graduate scheme. The possibility of working towards a PhD as part of our work is something that isn’t much discussed, and is no longer a pre-requisite of the graduate scheme especially with the focus on engineering roles, but is worth bearing in mind. Ian did state the usefulness of leaving on secondment in order to gain a greater breadth of experience, which is an opportunity available to many graduates. 

It was also interesting to hear about his surprise at becoming CEO. Ian highlighted the importance of ‘chancing your arm’ in applying for positions, in order to show your ambition, and to do this carefully ensuring that you will be prepared in the case that you’re successful! Asked about his transition from a technical to an executive role, he commented that he prefers the breadth, depth and variety of his current work. Later in the discussion, we asked what skills were needed in fusion. He replied that while there has been a focus on technical staff, a culture shift is needed in order to bring in more broadly talented and entrepreneurial people.

On the subject of recent applications for government funding, he advised that the key to a successful proposal is breaking the pitch down into simple messages, and emphasised the importance of paying attention to stakeholder requirements. Asked to talk about a skill he saw as particularly valuable, perhaps surprisingly he chose English. He went on to describe how his English A-Level and love of writing have been important in communicating effectively in writing and in presentations. 

The discussion went on to cover a variety of topics, including fusion regulations, the essential long-term role of science laboratories in high-tech research, and the status and future of JET. To end the session Ian was asked to give one piece of advice to the graduates. He suggested using the time and opportunities available to us in order to broaden our knowledge, reiterating the benefits of looking into secondments and projects in adjacent fields.

Q&A with Lyanne Maclean, 13^th February 2020

Lyanne discussed with us her experience of 26 years with the British Army and more recently working for Royal Mail. All of these seem a far cry from fusion energy, but she made clear the importance and relevance of the skills that she gained over this time. Asked about the skills she learnt in the army, Lyanne highlighted leadership, authenticity, decision-making, the ability to face plans head-on, and treating people fairly. She stated the importance of being prepared for when a plan goes wrong (‘because it almost always does!’). Also important is to learn how to react to this, and specifically not rushing into decisions unless absolutely required to.

We asked Lyanne whether there was anything in particular that struck her as needing improvement when she arrived at UKAEA. She explained the importance of safety, implementing a safety culture and minimising complacency. It seems that the graduates are on the same page, because when asked about our own priorities, safety culture was the first answer. We also suggested improving the opportunities for remote working and discussed how to ensure a work-life balance.

Given Lyanne’s role as COO, there were many questions regarding current issues on site. Lyanne described the work in data management, succession planning in HR and department manager meetings in order to improve knowledge-sharing. She explained more about how the new ‘Fusion Foundations’ budget would be used to improve the infrastructure around site in order to increase space, reduce traffic and facilitate the increasing population on site. We also discussed the latest work on MAST-U, how the project would be pushed forward and how to avoid mistakes and delays.

Leading on from this and the discussion on safety culture, the graduates asked what lessons UKAEA could learn from previous experiences. Lyanne’s answer was that we should feel empowered to challenge behaviour, to speak up and ask questions, and not to just accept the way things are. It is important that we hear these words from the most senior people at UKAEA – it reassures us that the organisation is committed to improving workplace culture and safety, and gives us the confidence to enact change.

Feedback

Lyanne Maclean:

“I spent a few hours with the Graduate Forum and found it to be an enlightening experience with much challenge and many ideas.  I recommend taking the time to address the Forum.”

The graduates:

“We were able to get more of an insight into the roles of the CEO and COO. I felt like we were able to give our thoughts and feedback honestly, that they would be listened to and taken on board. This is very positive to bridge the gap between staff and upper management.”

“It was a great environment – it wasn’t too formal, so we felt comfortable asking questions and the responses were honest and informative. I learnt a lot.”

"It was a really good opportunity to get some insight into the key decisions and skills Ian and Lyanne had made or developed that helped them achieve what they have so far. I thought their advice was specific enough for me to be able to relate to it but general enough to be relatively scenario-independent. Their enthusiasm was contagious and had a lasting effect on my motivation. Ian also answered some questions about the general direction of the company and offered his opinion on alternative types of fusion, which was useful for my own understanding of why UKAEA takes the approach that it does."

It’s clear that each of these meetings has been highly constructive. It is particularly important that we, as graduates, understand the roles that senior staff play in the organisation. The success of the meetings is no doubt due to the level of preparation from all sides: each speaker was ready to talk at length about their role and achievements but was also interested in what we had to say, ready to answer every question and responding with questions of their own. Meanwhile the graduates came well-prepared and helped to drive the debate with a variety of insightful questions. 

We’d like to finish by thanking each of the invitees for taking time out of their busy schedules to take part, and for making it such a useful experience.