Meeting – 8 December 2020

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At our committee meeting in December we started to look at the action plan we had set in our previous Athena Swan application. We used a traffic system to highlight the level of progress against each action point we had identified. We discussed a series of initiatives to move forward those action points for which we had achieved little progress.

A lot of discussion was around the support in place for early career researchers (loosely defined as up to the level of first lectureship). Support in a variety of ways: teaching opportunities and the achievement of a Higher Education Academy qualification, highlighting fellowship applications and tailored funding opportunities, but also a welcoming environment. All of this had already been the focus of our Joseph Banks Laboratories Early Career Researchers (ECR) committee, unfortunately the committee has become inactive over the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore we talked about reviving the committee initially through our newly established Teams channel for ECRs and also through our ‘socials’ Teams channel at the school level.

Meeting – 5 November 2020

giossa / / Meetings, Uncategorized
Recreating coffee breaks during the pandemic

One of the first items that our committee discussed in this month’s meeting, was how to keep the social interaction of a school during the pandemic. Specifically we considered those groups that are not interacting as before, students, early career researchers and staff. We’ve therefore set up two new Teams channels: one for early career researchers to revive the ECR committee which has not met during the pandemic, and one for staff/student socialising, a sort of ‘coffee break’ online space to mimic the ‘corridor chat’ that is not happening with the move online.

In other items, Iain Stott and Sheena Cotter were elected as vice-chairs of the EDI committee and we discussed preparing the application for our Bronze application next spring 2021.

Meeting – 7 October 2020

giossa / / Meetings, Uncategorized

Today the committee met and we discussed a variety of points. One of those, was the Athena Swan application for a silver award of the School of Psychology and in particular which actions they have implemented at school level in that respect.

The committee then discussed our newly launched blog and how to add this to the main website presence of the School of Life Sciences so that it is easily accessible for all. We also worded an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion statement that is going to be added to the welcome statement of our Head of School.

Dr Iain Stott wins prestigious BES award

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Dr Iain Stott, senior lecturer at the School of Life Sciences and member of the EDI committee, has been awarded the prestigious Equality and Diversity Champion award by the British Ecological Society. This annual award (established in 2016) “honours and celebrates those who have made significant, innovative and cumulatively outstanding contributions to enhancing the practice of equality and diversity in the ecological community“. Now in its fourth year, the award aims to highlight the work done by those working tirelessly to make the ecological community more welcoming for everyone. Iain is the single recipient of the award this year.

On receiving his award Iain said: “I wouldn’t say anything I’ve done is extraordinary, and in many ways I was surprised to win this award. On reflection however, I certainly could have done with many of these things as an early career researcher and I’ve never really felt like I know a senior LGBT+ academic role model to look up to.”

We are very proud of the work that Iain has already done, and look forward to his insights and contributions to our committee.

Congratulations to Iain!

Spotlight – Beth Williams

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Spotlights

We are going to run a series of Spotlights on committee members, staff and students to raise the profile of colleagues in the School and get to know each other now we are socially distanced and a lot of us are based at home. Here Beth Williams, our postgraduate representative on the EDI committee introduces herself.

Bethany WilliamsI am a first year PhD student at the University of Lincoln, with a love for baking and playing music. I joined the university as a Biomedical Science undergraduate student in 2016 and have lived in Lincoln and studied at the university ever since!

Entering my fifth year at the University of Lincoln, I felt I wanted to get more involved with the organisation of the university. So, when the opportunity arose to become the postgraduate research representative on the EDI (Ethnicity, Diversity, Inclusivity) committee this summer, I jumped at it!

I have always been passionate about inclusivity and a feeling of community, always striving to ensure those around me have a sense of belonging in their place of work or study. I believe everybody, regardless of their background, deserves equal opportunities and representation. I enjoy being an advocate for others, striving to ensure every voice is heard and listened to.

I have been lucky enough to find Lincoln a very inclusive and welcoming place, but improvements can always be made. I am passionate about using my role within the EDI committee to bridge the gap between the student and staff community, ensuring inclusivity and the celebration of diversity is felt equally across all members of the university.

I am always open to suggestions and happy to report any feedback to the wider EDI committee – if anyone has any comments, I would welcome any emails to bewilliams AT lincoln dot ac dot uk.

Thank you!

Meeting – 11 September 2020

giossa / / Meetings, Members

The committee met on the 11th September 2020 to discuss various actions, including the creation of this blog! Following our school-wide call, we welcomed a new member, Dr Ambrose Tinwarno, who is a senior lecturer in the Animal Behaviour and Welfare research group.

New name and chair

giossa / / Meetings, Members

In June 2020 the Life Sciences Athena Swan Self Assessment team met virtually and welcomed our new chair, Dr Jenny Dunn, senior lecturer, and several new members: Dr Iain Stott and Dr Teresa Romero, also senior lecturers, Professor Oliver Burman, Dr Franklyn Nkongho, postdoctoral fellow and Bethany Williams, PhD student, both of whom joined the School earlier this year.

The committee thanked the work done by those members who stepped down: Professor Steve Bevan, Head of School, Megan Mortimer, postgraduate students representative, Dr Mike Christie, Co-chair of the committee and Dr Nadia Andreani, early career researchers representative.

The first act of the committee was to change its name to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion committee, to signify our commitment to uphold these values and work towards making our school a welcoming and inclusive place to work for everyone.