UKTIN is excited to announce that recruitment has opened today for three Strategic Groups that will play a critical role in our work to coalesce and align the UK telecoms ecosystem.
Introducing the Strategic Groups
UKTIN convenes expertise from across the industry, academia, and government stakeholders, bringing distinct specialisms and knowledge pools together. We will work with different businesses and organisations in the telecoms ecosystem, providing a platform to collaborate and co-create cohesive positions and approaches to R&D and innovation.
A key output of this is providing a unified and informed voice that will support the shaping and delivery of new government policies, and drive a shared public and private sector strategic vision. The UKTIN Strategic Groups are our vehicle to achieve this.
Our Strategic Groups will bring together an unparalleled pool of talent and experience, taking inputs from members networks and experiences, as well as the UKTIN Special Interest Groups, and we are now recruiting members for three groups:
UKTIN Telecoms R&D Future Capability Strategic Leadership Forum
Responsible for collating knowledge from across the ecosystem to help shape future capability strategy, bridging gaps in R&D activity for industry, as well as analysing UK strength areas. The group will bring together industry leaders and representatives of the UK telecoms ecosystem to:
- Gather insights from across telecoms related industry to shape future capability strategy
- Align key findings and building new bridges between industry and academia (bringing in findings from the Academic Future Networks Strategic Group, led by the University of Bristol), to establish priority areas for future R&D, using a systems-thinking approach
- Collate information from Special Interest Groups and wider groups to reach a community-wide consensus that can be shared with the Cross-Government strategic group and inform new recommendations
- Explore place-based opportunities, strengths and challenges from across the UK in order to reflect national areas of prioritisation that will enable growth for all areas
Activity will be focussed on analysing capabilities across different technology areas as well as areas of strength in the UK to inform understanding across the ecosystem. It will explore, but not be limited to, R&D priorities identified in initial technology trend analysis
UKTIN Academic Future Networks Strategy Group
The Academic Future Networks Strategy Group will bring together academic leaders and coordinate academic activities and inputs across the UK telecoms sector to drive future facing activity where the UK can lead in this space. It will also be responsible for:
- Conducting a review of academic activities across the telecom sector looking at all levels of Technology Readiness Level (TRL) and Future Emerging Technologies as the fundamental research areas.
- Coordinating the communication of the state of the art in telecom’s research, its advancement, and key strategic Research, Design, and Innovation issues to other UKTIN strategic groups and Special Interest Groups.
- Leveraging existing academic expertise and forging new connections to the ecosystem
UKTIN Telecoms Diversification Industry Coordination Group
The Telecoms Diversification Industry Group will bring together industry experts to connect and align industry diversification planning and activities with government-aligned activity and strategic planning. It will do so by:
- Creating a critical mass of commonality in the industry stakeholder groups that can link to broad UK priority areas, as opposed to focusing on individual industry player.
- Enabling recommendations and interventions that bring together a shared vision for the UK
- Analysing industry roadmaps and consider existing capabilities, skills and gaps across the UK’s telecoms ecosystem
- Identifying any relevant industry collaboration opportunities for UKTIN
- Feeding into potential long-term policy interventions that will endeavour to unite industry stakeholder groups
Each of these groups will feed outputs up to the UKTIN Cross Government Telecoms Strategic Coordination Group, which will put forward key policy considerations and intervention options for the UK Government.
The Role of Strategic Group Members
We are looking to appoint 8-12 senior individuals to each of the groups, with relevant experience in the group’s focus area, and a desire to enhance the strengths of the UK telecoms ecosystem.
Specifically we are looking for individuals who can provide:
- Demonstrable expertise: Members will be chosen based on their expertise in areas aligned to the group theme and / or focus area. They will be responsible for advancing knowledge, delivering impact, undertaking stakeholder engagement, illustrating community leadership and the broader telecommunications ecosystem in the UK.
- Strategic thinking: Members should be able to illustrate a strategic approach to the group theme and / or focus area and bring their own perspectives, backed up by evidence and expertise, to each session. This will include the consideration of research, skills and training, innovation, infrastructure, impact and interdisciplinarity.
- A collaborative ethos: Members should be committed to making the most of collaborative discussion and fora, working with other members and groups to bring about the best possible outcomes for both UKTIN efforts and the broader ecosystem. Openness and adaptability will be essential to develop, test and challenge new approaches.
- Representation: Members should be willing and able to participate as representatives of the wider telecommunications community. They will gather insights and act as the voice of those who they work with, representing a collective point of view. Group membership will require two-way communication in order to gather different perspectives and capture key challenges, opportunities and gaps across research, development and innovation.
Each group will meet every 3-6 months so members must be able to sign up to that time commitment in addition to, on an ad hoc basis, attending relevant open calls and participating in cross-group workshop activities.
Benefits of Participation
UKTIN is a body dedicated to ensuring creativity, diversity, openness and interoperability are strengthened within the telecoms supply chain. Members at all levels will have the unique opportunity, as recognised experts within their fields, to input into discussions that will shape the UK’s strategy to benefit the wider ecosystem. Specifically, members will have the opportunity to:
- Inform the direction, and support in the identification of key areas of focus for the future telecoms R&D&I activity in the UK
- Make concrete policy recommendations to shape interventions and put forward considerations for the UK government, feeding input directly into governmental, regulatory and representative bodies
- Gain collective insights to determine UK strength areas in telecoms, as well as shared challenges and opportunities across the national ecosystem, and globally (where applicable)
- Gain novel access into the opportunities available in the sector
- Meet like-minded peers, and develop connections across the array of telecoms networks in the UK to drive forward a shared vision for the national community
- Offer expert advice and guidance to other members of the telecoms community, as well as the UKTIN advisory board, as thought leaders in the field, bringing your experiences, ideas and knowledge to support the UK’s telecoms capabilities.
How To Apply
To be part of the journey to transform UK telecoms, please submit your CV along with 300 words outlining your suitability to join a specific group to enquiries@uktin.net. Please use “Strategic Group Recruitment” in the subject line.
The deadline for submissions is 5pm 10th March.
We are committed to providing equality and fairness for all and not to discriminate on grounds of gender, marital status, race, ethnic origin, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, mental health, or age. We encourage and celebrate the different qualities that our colleagues, and others we work with, bring to our work, and we believe that seeing things from a wide range of different perspectives helps us to resolve problems, adapt our approaches and develop as an organisation.
We want to ensure diversity across our Strategic Groups and we are keen to hear what you think you will bring from your own background and experience (beyond your professional knowledge and skills).
All applicants will be reviewed against a standard criteria by a panel made up of members of the UKTIN team. All applicants will receive direct feedback. Those wishing to understand more about the review process can contact enquiries@uktin.net.
