Figure 1: Cake, made by Jagoda |
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, 17th 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, 13th 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.
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