IER has been awarded a Bronze Athena Swan Award in recognition of its efforts to promote equality, representation, progression and success for everyone working within the Institute. Professor Clare Lyonette, along with Catherine Vassallo, IER’s Administrator, led the Athena Swan submission with support from the Self-Assessment Team. Clare and Catherine are delighted with the award which is a testament to the incredible hard work and effort by all involved.
Clare said: ‘We are proud that the Equality Challenge Unit has recognised us in this round of awards and we are now looking forward to fully implementing our Action Plan. We have a dedicated team of staff who will be working together to make sure that the impetus is maintained over the coming months and years’. She added: ‘The Athena Swan submission included new data collection and analysis and led us to reflect upon our processes and practices more closely, particularly with a new intake of early career researchers in recent years. We will strive to ensure that they, and all staff and students, are equally recognised and have equal opportunities to thrive in a busy and demanding research-only environment.’
Lifelong guidance policy and practice in the EU expert workshop
As part of the study on lifelong guidance policy and practice in the EU, funded by the European Commission DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, a workshop was organised on 15 May 2019 in Brussels. The aim of the first workshop was to support information gathering, stimulate discussions and debates on lifelong guidance policy and its impact. A number of invited experts from across the EU participated in the workshop representing a range of organisations. Discussions focused on 'what might future lifelong guidance services look like to ensure it is relevant in a changing labour market' in terms of actors, coordination, leadership and innovative practice. The study is due to complete in December 2019.
IER organises workshop for Directors of Skills
A meeting of Directors of Skills took place on 14 May 2019. It was organised by IER and hosted by West Midlands Combined Authority. Directors of Skills from seven of the nine current Mayoral Combined Authorities met to share and discuss their experiences of skills devolution and the development of their Local Industrial Strategies. The workshop, chaired by Olly Newton of The Edge Foundation, also heard presentations on skills ecosystems and apprenticeships by Ewart Keep (Director of SKOPE, University of Oxford ) and Peter Dickinson (Senior Research Fellow, IER). A follow-up Director of Skills workshop is planned for Autumn 2019.
IER researchers at 'The Future of Work and Inequalities' workshop
IER researchers Wil Hunt, Sudipa Sarkar, Chris Warhurst and Sally Wright presented their work at the 'Future of Work and Inequalities' workshop at the University of Warwick on 13 May. The interdisciplinary workshop was jointly organised by the Industrial Relations Research Unit (IRRU), the Warwick Institute of Advanced Study (IAS) and CREW - Connecting Research on Employment and Work. Contributions were organised around three broad themes: future labour markets, workplaces and inequalities and the event provided an opportunity for researchers from the UK, Belgium and Sweden to engage in meaningful, in-depth discussions. (Image credit: gov.uk)
Daria Luchinskaya appointed as co-convenor of SRHE Employability, Enterprise and Work-based Learning network
IER's Daria Luchinskaya has been appointed as a co-convenor of the Employability, Enterprise and Work-based Learning network for the Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE). Together with convenors Heike Behle and Ciaran Burke, Daria will be organising SRHE network events and other network activities - look out for forthcoming events on the SRHE website. (Image credit: Lego Grad Student)
