Sign up for our next webinar!
Universities and other organisations have myriad committees and working groups dedicated to all manner of noble outcomes. However, there is generally a sizable gap between these activities and the actual on-the-ground environment within which researchers and innovators operate. While valuable and important, top-down committee-led change is often slow and there is generally a lack of clarity regarding ultimate responsibility at each level. The reality is that a lack of inclusion in our research institutions undermines our ability to build the most effective teams. Exceptional research talent is therefore being lost continually, all due to a lack of understanding and positive action where it is needed most. Real, permanent and effective change is therefore required within researcher working environments. Since the diversity and inclusiveness of our teams directly impacts their performance and wellbeing, there is necessarily a joint responsibility at all levels of research leadership to understand these issues and adopt inclusion positive best practice. This applies equally to individual appointments, such as PhD recruitment, all the way up to how we structure our largest teams and even entire departments. In order to achieve these outcomes, it is critical that all staff are made aware of the genuine and tangible benefits of inclusion positive practices, while also being provided with the necessary support and best practice frameworks to allow new approaches to be adopted at every level.
An on-the-ground, joint responsibility model for change is therefore proposed as the best solution. In this presentation, Dr Edward Hart will detail the Strathclyde University EEE Department’s journey towards driving such change. This will include a discussion of the key definitions and concepts, our developed initiatives and lessons learned, as well as a summary of the resulting best practice guidance for inclusive advertising and recruitment.
Programme (times in CEST)
15:00-15:10 Introduction (Salvatore Daniele)
15:10-15:25 Presentation “Fostering diverse and inclusive research environments – let’s stop talking about it and get on with it!“
Edward Hart, The University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
15:25-15:50 Questions and discussion
15:50-16:00 Summary of discussion and closing (Salvatore Daniele)
Key-note speaker Edward Hart
Dr Edward Hart is a Royal Commission Research Fellow based at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow (UK). Dr Hart specialises in interdisciplinary problems in renewable energy, and their solution via physics-based modelling and digitalisation techniques. His current focus is tackling premature failures in wind and tidal turbine main bearings. A passionate advocate for the benefits of diversity and inclusion with regard to the effectiveness and wellbeing of innovation teams, Dr Hart has led efforts to improve diversity and inclusion within his department for the past 5 years. This includes founding Strathclyde Game Changers, an inclusion-positive research internship scheme, and the development of evidence-led best practice guidance for improved advertising and recruiting practices.
