ABE UK newsletter June 2026

"Welcome to the summer ABE UK newsletter, which celebrates the exceptional recognition of three of our educators as ABE Master Teacher Fellows (MTF). Each upcoming edition will feature insights from an MTF, commencing with Dr Sam Ward in this issue. This edition also highlights the significant success of our recent Cutting-Edge Biotechnology Day, which was jointly organised and delivered alongside colleagues at the Wellcome Genome Campus in Cambridge on 18th March 2026.  A key structural transition is currently underway for the organisation. After more than a decade of dedicated coordination from the Centre for STEM Education at the University of Hertfordshire, the management of ABE UK is relocating to the Teacher Scientist Network (TSN), based at our Norwich hub. This administrative relocation is not expected to impact the delivery of the ABE UK programme, meaning all activities for the current academic year will proceed as planned and all summer 2026 ABE CPD sessions are running as scheduled. Furthermore, all trained participants will automatically be eligible for ABE UK kit loans from hubs for the upcoming academic year as usual. Please note that this transition will introduce a new TSN primary contact email address (ABEUK@nbi.ac.uk) and a new web presence, which we are excited to share with you very soon. Currently, teacher and technician contact details are securely held by the University of Hertfordshire; in alignment with our strict adherence to UK GDPR, we have contacted all stakeholders individually on 17/06/26 and provided formal notification regarding the transfer of data controller responsibilities to TSN and provided an opt out option. Please note that the transfer of data controller enables you and your school and college to continue to participate in the programme, does not require any action on your part and has no fee attached. Based at the Norwich hub, TSN is a highly respected, 30-year-old science education charity hosted by the John Innes Centre and led by Dr Phil Smith MBE. TSN and Phil have, since 2016, partnered closely with the Centre for STEM Education and schools across the UK to deliver this impactful and exemplary programme that now reaches over 5,500 students a year nationally. Phil talks more about TSN in his section below."