2025 was an action-packed 12 months for Individuals and Tradition actions. Alongside delivering on our Athena Swan motion aims, we additionally ran our biannual workers and scholar surveys.
Thanks once more for serving to us obtain such excessive response charges (86% for employees and 67% for college students). These responses give us a much more correct understanding of what’s working properly and the place we have to enhance. It was notably encouraging to see so many college students participating, and we proceed to discover higher methods of integrating college students into the Division. Collectively you highlighted strengths in communication, management, profession growth and inclusion in addition to areas needing additional consideration, together with how we deal with stories of bullying, inductions and Skilled Growth Evaluations (PDRs). These areas will type key priorities for the important thing forward.
Our Athena Swan constitution work has continued at tempo, with key initiatives applied and lots of milestones achieved forward of schedule. We’re progressing so properly that we plan to use for Gold in our subsequent submission, extending past our present Silver standing.
Quite a few initiatives have grown out of the Athena Swan constitution motion plan, which focuses on gender in addition to wider equality and inclusion amongst workers and college students. One instance is the Rising Leaders programme, led by Clare Mackay and Lynn Clee. This gives a help community for researchers transitioning to Principal Investigator and Affiliate Professor roles, providing teaching and steerage throughout important areas. The present cohort will full subsequent 12 months, and recruitment is already being deliberate for a brand new group beginning in Autumn 2026.
Our PI peer-learning lunches additionally proceed to be properly attended, providing Principal Investigators beneficial area to mirror, share challenges, and trade greatest apply. Over the previous 12 months, subjects for dialogue have included understanding cultural variations, supporting grant functions, managing profession growth, and extra. These classes reply on to themes raised by PIs and points recognized by means of surveys and different suggestions.
Whereas our Division-wide strategic initiatives are essential, our working teams stay the lifeblood of Individuals and Tradition. They lead on occasions, share data, and take accountability for key areas of labor arising from the workers survey and Athena Swan motion plan. We’re delighted to have launched three new teams this 12 months: the Neurodiversity and Incapacity Working Group, the coed working group and the Medical Educational Working Group.
Occasions coordinated or supported by the working teams embody, Black Historical past Month actions, Profession Growth Periods and the Oxford Well being NIHR BRC Neurodiversity Convention. This two-day convention introduced collectively researchers, clinicians, native organisations and members of the neurodivergent group. It was a really inspirational occasion whose influence continues to develop – one which personally reshaped my understanding of what real inclusion in analysis seems like, and the way necessary it’s to make sure we don’t inadvertently create limitations.