Pippa Handley has been an Accredited Animal Technologist (Certified) Dissemination of agricultural science (livestock pigs) Production animal research management) since July 2020. She started her career in corporate livestock research science, working with a whole range of production species including pigs, cows, goats, horses, sheep, and poultry, which involved working to various national and international standards to deliver scientific research that met regulatory, marketing and licensing requirements. She then went on to work as part of a university research group, focusing on pig and poultry research, predominantly for academic and product development purposes, and now specialises as a Senior Knowledge Exchange Manager for AHDB Pork.

Pippa took the decision to join the BSAS Accreditation Register as she felt that there were limited opportunities for someone with her background and experience to be recognised formally as having a particular set of skills, qualifications, and experience, that lend themselves to progressing in the animal science industry. For Pippa, becoming an Accredited Technologist has provided a point of comparison between herself and her peers, which along with her continued CPD investment (an aspect that is becoming more recognised across the animal science industry) has helped to highlight her dedication to maintaining a high professional standard within her field. Examples of the CPD and learning activities that Pippa has carried out in the past year include, delivering informative webinars on pig production, participating in putting tender together to solve pork industry issues, delivering a podcast on current knowledge exchange work, and completing training on management and coaching methods in the workplace.

While Pippa has experienced a host of great benefits since becoming a member of the Register, she says the most significant to date:

‘Has come from the networking opportunities both from industry and academia. Within knowledge exchange it is vital to know where to access the most up to date information, and through the register I have access to industry and academic experts who can point me in the right direction to make sure I am staying current.’