My RTTP Journey: Phyllis Leah Speser

After more than four decades working across research, policy, universities and commercialisation, Leah Speser has experienced knowledge transfer from almost every angle. Now, her contribution to the profession has been recognised with the RTTP Fellow designation.

Leah Speser is Board Chair of Foresight Science & Technology, the company she founded 46 years ago. Her career has spanned research, legislation, university knowledge transfer, international consultancy and advising governments and NGOs.

For Leah, becoming an RTTP Fellow is both recognition of that career and an opportunity to continue contributing.

“It’s nice to get this external validation that my life has had, and can continue to have, a meaningful impact on the profession I love so dearly.”

She hopes her recognition will also encourage other highly experienced knowledge transfer professionals to consider becoming Fellows.

Leading by example

Leah's connection with RTTP goes back to its beginnings. She was serving on the AUTM Board as a Vice President when the founding associations agreed to establish ATTP. Despite already being well established in knowledge transfer, she decided to apply for RTTP because she believed in the value of professional recognition — and in leading by example.

Applying for Fellow years later prompted a different kind of reflection.

“When I applied for Fellow, I had to think about what were my significant contributions to the field and what contributions I still wanted to make. That was useful.”

For Leah, that opportunity to consider future contributions in light of where the field needs to go is one of the most valuable aspects of professional recognition.

Knowledge transfer is a team sport

One principle runs throughout Leah's reflections: knowledge transfer depends on people learning from one another.

“Technology and knowledge transfer is a team sport,” she says. Professional competence, ethics, responsibility and knowledge sharing remain essential, regardless of how the profession and its tools evolve.

Continued learning has therefore remained important throughout her career. ASTP's Annual Conferences have been particularly valuable, combining formal learning with opportunities to build relationships and exchange experiences. lessons learned, and insights.

The City Tour, conference dinners and informal conversations have helped her connect with colleagues, while the Directors' Forum and Special Interest Groups have offered spaces to discuss challenges and learn how others — including newer generations of professionals — are approaching knowledge transfer.

Some of her most valuable learning experiences have simply come from sitting with peers at the end of an Annual Conference and exchanging stories. Listening to others, she says, helps put your own career into perspective and consider how you can continue improving.

Keep learning from others

Leah's advice to ASTP members considering RTTP is simple: “Do it!”

She sees the process as an opportunity to think carefully about where you want your career to go, what you need to learn to get there and how you can contribute to the wider profession.

For those starting their careers, she particularly recommends ASTP courses, while the Annual Conference offers something valuable at every career stage: the chance to learn from and build relationships with professionals ranging from newcomers to what Leah jokingly calls the profession's “respected elders”.

Her own philosophy is perhaps best captured by advice she once gave her son when he returned to the field:

“You know the world according to Leah, now go learn from others so you can be better than me.”

After more than four decades in knowledge transfer, that commitment to continuing to learn — and helping others do the same — remains at the heart of Leah's contribution to the profession.