CSci

Chartered Scientist

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About CSci

Dr Andrew Wadge

CSci FIFST

I’m pleased to have recently been awarded Chartered Scientist (CSci) status.  I was also recently appointed a Fellow of the Institute of Food Science and Technology and it’s always nice to have a few more letters after my name. 

But, while the status is always nice, I think the real achievement comes from investing in yourself as a professional scientist, committing to maintaining your technical knowledge and developing it. 

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is relevant at all stages of your career whether you have just graduated or have been in your chosen career for 20 years or more.  Actually, it is probably more important the further you move away from the time you spent in formal education.  CPD is the opportunity to reflect on the experience you gain and keep track of all the learning that happens as a result of the challenges you face as a part of your job.

For me, of course, my PhD was an essential part of becoming a scientist; it is an accepted way to show you have reached a scientific standard and gained the skill sets needed along the way.  The Chartered Scientist award, however, is a way of demonstrating that I am committed to using and communicating science to a high standard in the way that I approach my work as Chief Scientist today; that science for me remains robust, relevant and alive in how I work. 

This is for us as individuals, but also for organisations such as the Food Standards Agency to understand that we have committed to continuing professional development.  CPD is not just relevant to a bench or academic scientist, but in all of the varied contexts within which modern scientists work. In the current financial climate it is more important than ever that government policies are based on robust evidence.

The CSci award is a relatively recent award from the Science Council and is not as well established as it is for other professions such as engineers, accountants and surveyors where chartership is synonymous with those roles. However, it is an award that is rapidly gaining in reputation and recognition as the gold standard across Government, academia, industry, professional bodies and learned societies.  It is also acknowledged across international borders, in Europe it is considered the international mark of assurance that the skill set you bring as a scientist remains relevant and rigorous.

I believe that committing to undertaking CPD as a part of how we work in Government is an important part in recognising the professional contribution that scientists make to policy development.  It is also a clear signal to those outside government that we take our science seriously and that our standards remain high.