Staff and students from across the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences (HLS) gathered at The Spine building this week for an event that focused on equality, diversity, inclusion, and wellbeing (EDIW) and ways in which it can be embedded into our processes.
Professor Judy Coulson, Faculty Lead for EDIW, welcomed attendees and opened proceedings with an overview of the Faculty’s EDIW objectives.
This was followed by presentations outlining toolkits staff can use to guide the integration of EDIW policy into their working behaviours and cultures. Dr Lesley Iwanejko and Dr Mark Morgan gave information on the HLS Researchers toolkit, an online tool that will help staff embed EDIW across the lifetime of research projects from discovery science to clinical trials.
A Q&A session followed with a panel comprised of the first session's speakers and the Faculty’s EDIW leads. Each Institute within HLS has their own dedicated lead on EDIW to better embed policy and shape the culture of the Institute with EDIW in mind. The panel advised on topics such as social deprivation and pathways to academia, community engagement from researchers and how data can be used to enhance our EDIW strategies.
The morning session came to an end with attendees being welcomed to interact with the poster session; these were created by staff and PGRs who had either received funding from the EDIW budget to run EDIW initiatives or had implemented EDIW into their work or public engagement.
The showcase included presentations from a number of external speakers including the Deputy CEO of the ADHD foundation Emma Weaver as well as Sophie Demellweek from Wellcome Trust, who came in person and was also one of the poster judges alongside Ronan McGrath, APVC for infrastructure and partnerships in Science and Engineering. They provided those in attendance with a unique insight from EDIW experts outside of the Faculty. Catherine Millan, Founder and CEO of Be What You See, delivered the keynote speech on the importance of intersectionality, drawing upon her own personal experiences. Catherine has dedicated her career to inclusion within workplaces and communities, specialising in work with young people encouraging them to become champions of inclusion in their own spaces.
Finally, HLS Executive Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Professor Louise Kenny presented awards for the winning posters, as well as thanking those in attendance and reminding everyone of the vital importance of EDIW in every aspect of University life.
The showcase was organised by the Faculty Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing (EDIW) team led by Dr Jenna Kenyani with Laura Davies and Judy Coulson.
Following the event, Judy reflected,
“This was our first HLS Faculty EDIW showcase and we were delighted by the number of attendees, the level of engagement, and the feedback on all the exciting work that was showcased. There is a clear commitment to EDIW within the Faculty with ongoing work across many areas; this showcase serves as a focal point to share best practice and innovation to really push EDIW progress forward.
For more information on the EDIW work taking place within HLS, please visit our website.
We would like to thank everyone who participated both in person and online.”