Monthly Archives: April 2016

Ethnicity, Race, Uncategorised

Does my face fit? Exploring the experiences of Black and Minority Ethnic academics and professionals in higher education

This symposium organised by Professor Tracey Reynolds considered the experiences of BME academics, the extent to which they are being valued in the higher education sector, and their progression to more senior positions in the profession.

Tracey Reynolds
Tracey Reynolds

 

Aim of BME Symposium 28.4.16

The Keynote Speaker was Dr Gurnam Singh. Principal Lecturer, University of Coventry.  

Other  speakers included:

Professor Ijeoma F. Uchegbu, UCL; Professor Tracey Reynolds; University of Greenwich; Dr Edward Phillips, University of Greenwich; Dr. Geraldine Brown; University of Coventry; Dr Nicola Rollock, University of Birmingham; Equality Diversity and Inclusion Champions, University of Greenwich; Dr Akile Ahmet, LSE

The symposium was opened by Judith Burnett.

BME Symposium 28.4.16

Here is Dr Nicola Rollock from the University of Birmingham talking about barriers to progression.

barriers to progression barriers to progression1

 

Race, Uncategorised

Inspiring and Encouraging BME Student Transition to Graduate Employment

IMG_8570

A one day symposium was held on 22 April at our Medway Campus entitled Inspiring and Encouraging BME Student Transition to Graduate Employment.

The event aimed to enable students to hearing inspiring, informative and encouraging stories of career development from BME role models and to provide a forum for discussion of BME employability issues.

IMG_8572

The morning session speakers included:

Trevor R Hall CBE – Executive Vice Chair Windsor Fellowship

Richard Mendez – Head of Employability and Careers Services at the University

Daniel Robinson – Manager of the Reed-ncfe job brokerage and employability support initiative

Ria Popat – Prize Winning Alumnus

Roisin Dunne – Students’ Union Vice President (Education)

Satya Shah – Senior Lecturer in Project and Programme Management

The afternoon involved a round table discussion and workshops involving the speakers and audience which explored the challenges and programme of action.

Gender, Uncategorised

Women and Water

Women and Water

From carrying coal to transporting tourists, the canals of the North have taken a variety of loads, but a new narrowboat is bringing something unusual to the waterways – a women-only arts centre.

The Idle Women project, aimed at addressing “the urgent need for women’s space” and providing “a radical redress of power, acknowledgement and voice”, has been put together by caretakers Rachel Anderson and Cis O’Boyle.

It centres around the Selina Cooper, a renovated butty with both a living area and an arts space which will travel the canals for the next two years, giving women a chance to “take off armour and just relax and breathe a little”, Anderson says.  More

Ethnicity, Uncategorised

BAME Cadet Receives Sword of Honour

BAME Top Soldier

A top-performing officer cadet at Sandhurst has thanked the Army for putting him on the right track.

Officer cadet Kidane Cousland, who grew up on a housing estate in Tottenham, says had he not signed up as a 16-year-old he would be dead or in prison.

Now 24, he served in Afghanistan in 2011 with 29 Commando, Royal Artillery.

He is among only a handful of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) cadets to be awarded the “sword of honour” for coming top of his intake.  More

Equality, Gender, Uncategorised

Shared Parental Leave

New Baby

Fathers are not taking advantage of rules that allow them to share leave with their partners, according to research published a year after the rights came into force.

Shared parental leave (SPL) was introduced on 5 April 2015 to give parents more choice and flexibility in caring for their children during the first 12 months after their birth. Parents can split 52 weeks’ leave, receiving some payment for 39 of those weeks. That is on top of the two weeks’ statutory paternity leave available to fathers.  More

Disability, Diversity, Ethnicity, Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month

Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month – April 2016

Trishna Bharadia photo

Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week starts on 25 April and with that in mind we have chosen Trishna Bharadia as our Inspirational Diversity Champion for April.

Trishna was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2008, at the age of 28. She has since worked tirelessly to help and support others with MS, putting aside her own health issues to help raise awareness and inspire others with the illness. She has worked particularly hard within the Asian community, where she feels that disability is often hidden away and discriminated against, as well as with young people who have been diagnosed with MS.

Trishna volunteers with several MS charities, including the MS Society, Asian MS and the MS Trust and in 2013 she was named ‘Volunteer of the Year’ at the MS Society Awards. As well as fundraising, Trishna is also editor of the Asian MS quarterly newsletter; writes for MS and disability-awareness magazines and speaks at both local events and large pharmaceutical conferences about MS (something which was initially very hard for her due to her fear of public speaking). She is keen to put a ‘face’ to MS, rather than being viewed as a statistic.

Outside volunteering, Trishna works hard to ensure MS doesn’t stop her leading an active life – she plays hockey and attends regular Zumba classes.

Find out more about Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week here https://www.mstrust.org.uk/