On Wednesday 27th of April, the Technical Apprenticeship Programme sent our Apprentices and Digital T-level students to Jodrell Bank Observatory for an internal network day. This was to experience different side of the University and view areas like their chosen specialisms. 

The day began with welcome and introductions from Neil Roddis, Head of Engineering at Jodrell Bank, and Benjamin Bartle, Telescope Engineer Apprentice. They gave a brief overview of the day’s schedule and a presentation from Ben on his day-to-day role working with telescope engineers to maintain their observing capacity, along with all the interesting and varied training he has undergone, such as climbing and working at heights.  

The Apprentices and T-level students from The Manchester College were then split into two groups and taken on tours around the observatory. This ranged from mechanical workshops to an in-depth chat with the pulsar astronomer on how he uses the telescopes and how the masses of data are stored on-site for future processing and analysis. 

After a fine lunch, the most anticipated part of the tour began, ‘The Climb’ of the world-famous Lovell Radio Telescope. They all scaled the telescope using the tower lift led by Ben and David and got the chance to see the telescope from inside the bowl –a sight only seen by a few. The day ended with Ben teaching the group how to tie ropes in specific ways. All the attendees commented positively about their experiences and noted how fortunate they have been to see behind the scenes of such an iconic establishment in such fine weather conditions. 

Post written by: Lauren O’Hara (Apprentice Technical Business Administrator, Skills and Development Team)
Date: 4th May 2022

If after reading this post you have any questions relating to the apprenticeship program, please contact Colin Baines (Head of Technical Skills and Development, and Technical Apprenticeship Lead) c.d.baines@manchester.ac.uk

If you have any feedback to provide, please send it to TCLG@manchester.ac.uk. 

If you have any stories or information you would like to contribute to this blog site, please send them to TCLG@manchester.ac.uk. 

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