Institute of Water’s Licensing body, the Science Council have announced that Professor Della Freeth has been appointed Chief Executive, starting on 1^st August 2023.

Della is currently Executive Director of Education at the Royal College of Physicians and brings with her experience of working in a network of diverse professional membership organisations. She also brings expertise from research and senior leadership roles in four contrasting universities. Della said: “I’ve worked on several innovations addressing national workforce development needs, supported the emergence of new professional roles and promoted interprofessional collaboration. I am passionate about career-long learning and addressing barriers to career progression. I’m looking forward to working with and for the wide range of Science Council Members, registrants and stakeholders, to shape and deliver focused, increased impact.”

Adam Donnan, Chair of the Science Council, said: “Della’s strong grounding in science and academia combined with significant managerial experience makes her the ideal Science Council CEO. I look forward to working with her in the next stage of the Science Council’s growth.”

The current Chief Executive, Helen Gordon, will be leaving the organisation in late August to pursue a portfolio career in non-executive/trustee roles and leadership coaching. Speaking of the change in leadership at the Science Council, Helen said: “Della brings a wide range of valuable experience and skills to the Science Council at a time of great opportunity for the organisation, its Membership and registrants, plus the wider science community. I look forward to working with Della to ensure a smooth handover.”

The Science Council’s CPD Awards are back for 2019 to celebrate 5 years of excellence.

 Have you gone above and beyond to keep your CPD up to date? Think you have an outstanding CPD record? Consider nominating yourself for the Science Council’s CPD Awards 2019 which are now open for nominations.

 The CPD Awards are designed to celebrate outstanding professional development in science. They celebrate the professional development efforts and achievements of registrants across the four Science Council registers: Registered Science Technician (RSciTech), Registered Scientist (RSci), Chartered Scientist (CSci) and Chartered Science Teacher (CSciTeach).

The awards provide evidence for good practice and continuous improvement. There are four award categories in total: one for each register.

Members of <name of Licensed Body> are encouraged to make a nomination to ensure that <type of scientists in the scientific discipline e.g. marine scientists> are represented in the awards. As well as self-nominations, nominations can also be made by Licensed Bodies and employers. All nominations must be made using this online nomination form.

Please take a look at the guidance for nominators before making a nomination. In particular this guidance clarifies the criteria used by the judging panel to assess nominations.

Also, prior to submitting a nomination, permission must be granted from the nominee using the nominee declaration form.

Nominations close at 23:59 on Friday 26^th July. Winners will be notified in mid-September and the awards ceremony held on 7^th November.

Helen will be starting her new role on 4^th February and brings with her 13 years of leading professional membership organisations following a career in the health service.

Originally training as a nurse at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, she progressed through a number of clinical and managerial positions in hospitals in the National Health Service, before leading The Hillingdon Hospital and then Queen Mary’s Sidcup NHS Trust in South East London. She then moved to national roles to support the development of health professionals.

Between 2005 and 2018, Helen has led the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the Royal Society of Medicine. Helen is also a council member of the University of Reading and chair of the Alumni and Development Board at Henley Business School.