At Catalyst we might be new, in fact today we are 3 months old. However, our team is so varied and experienced that we want to keep shouting about it.
Earlier this week Charlotte, our Client Project Manager, gave some great insights into her Masters and PhD – and we learnt a lot – from fish vaccines to new ways to deliver vaccines.
Today we wanted to share some more about Mike, a Director at Catalyst and our Principal Engineer. You can learn more about his incredibly varied background by clicking on his picture.
What the website doesn’t say is that alongside his 40 years of engineering experience and love of sailing and all things maritime, Mike also designed and built his own eco house to Passivhaus standards.
We thought we would ask him a bit more about his role in growing Catalyst and what the last week looked like for him:
What do you love about Catalyst clients?
The diversity and innovative work of Catalyst clients always inspires me. In a typical week I see new jobs created, businesses pushing the limits of technical knowledge and capability being properly rewarded, UK exports boosted – all underpinned by robust R&D claims.
What did you get up to last week:
- Monday: I reviewed four solid case study write-ups prepared from my call notes and transcripts, needing only a few minor tweaks. The benefits of close teamwork between the technical lead and our our experienced technical writers were clear.
- Tuesday: A day off spent supporting my favourite charity – All Aboard Watersports in Bristol. They provide disabled and underprivileged children and adults the chance to experience the joy of boats with the bonus of working with a friendly and likeminded team – check them out. I spend my time at All Aboard getting my hands dirty rebuidling and servicing outboard engines from recent Evinrudes and Mariners to classic Seagull 2-strokes. These are paired up with some beautifully restored boats with the packages being sold to raise funds for the charity.
- Wednesday: A long day of multiple technical calls with some great CPs, delving into their impressive projects, finding some fascinating R&D streams, not all of which were obvious at first sight. Preparing notes and skeletons ready for handover to the technical writing team.
- Thursday: An educational visit to a large and diverse port where we discussed some specific tech challenges they’re facing, reviewing project progress and several exciting new issues which I hope will be part of future. We reviewed record keeping too, an important aspect from HMRCs perspective as well as defining clear case study boundaries.
- Friday: A visit to a client’s manufacturing and design facility; a well attended training and support session for their engineering team. We helped them to identifying what is (and isn’t) qualifying R&D, record keeping. We found so much great work which had been overlooked by their previous (non-technical) advisors. It’s rare but rewarding to find R&D encompassing the four facets of products, processes, materials, and devices across a diversity of projects.
And that’s why I love being an R&D Principal Engineer. What will next week bring?
If you want to learn more about All Aboard Watersports, check out their website.