News and Events

The Inclusive Education Team is thrilled to invite colleagues to apply for funding to help drive forward inclusive practice across the Faculty of Social Sciences!

Do you have a bold idea to make learning more inclusive? Want to embed equity and accessibility into your department’s everyday practice? Now’s your chance to make it happen.

🗓 Applications are open now and close on Friday 17th October – don’t miss out!

💡 Find out more about eligibility, criteria, and how to submit your bid via the link here: Faculty funding - Inclusive Education - Warwick.

We are delighted to offer two PhD scholarships linked to these two important topics:

1. Intercultural research on diversity in professional contexts

2. Linguistic Bias in Large Language Model Artificial Intelligence

A new paper by Assistant Professor Emma Langley has been published in the Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities.

Titled "Father Involvement in the Lives of Their Children With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in the UK", the article examines the roles fathers play at different stages of their children's lives.

The article is one of the outputs from Dr Langley's study which explored the role of fathers raising children with IDD at different life stagesLink opens in a new window (funded by the Research Development Fund 2021/22).

 Read the full article here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jar.70091Link opens in a new window

Carlos Cámara-Menoyo, Fangzhou Zhang (Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies) and Nathaniel Tkacz (Goldsmiths, University of London), have coauthored a new article "Eventful migration: Rethinking social media migration with help from Elon Musk’s sink".

Based on an extensive literature review on social media migration, and empirical data drawing on a survey of Mastodon users after the Twitter's acquisition by Elon Musk in 2022, and social media analysis, the authors propose a new theory of eventful migration. This eventful migration theory widens the conceptual scope for how to approach SocialMedia Migration in ways that more directly tie such movements to specific questions of power, agency and events that ripple through digital cultures. They do so by shifting from pull-push factors to eventfulness, which they divide into five components: (1) X factor; (2) critical voice; (3) collective platform consciousness; (4) migration; and (5) terrain transformation.

We are delighted to share some positive results we have received from National Student Survey 2022.

University of Warwick leads immersive Virtual Reality workshop to help Coventry residents cut their energy bills and usage by retrofitting their homes.

On Thursday 2nd October, a pioneering new project led by the University of Warwick used virtual reality (VR) to help residents experience the benefits of energy-efficient homes—without leaving their neighbourhood in Ball Hill.

Key project features:

• Interactive VR Experiences: Residents explored what a sustainable, energy-efficient home looks and feels like.

• Community Workshop: Co-designed with local people, the workshop gathers feedback and address concerns specific to Coventry’s diverse communities.

• Personalised Advice: Participants received tailored information on available grants and practical steps for making their homes greener.

• Local Collaboration: The project is a partnership between the University of Warwick, Coventry City Council, Act On Energy, and community hub Destination Ball Hill.

With over 20% of Coventry households impacted by fuel poverty, and the city – like the country – facing important climate targets, the project breaks down barriers to home retrofitting (improved insulation, boiler upgrades, and solar panel installation) by making the process more relatable and accessible.

Through immersive VR workshops, residents were able to ‘walk through’ a 3D model of a retrofitted home, see the improvements, and understand the real-world benefits for greater comfort, better health, and lower energy bills.

Dr Lory Barile, Associate Professor, University of Warwick, said:

“When residents can step inside a warmer home, even virtually, the benefits stop being abstract. Virtual Reality makes retrofit feel real and achievable, helping Coventry families cut bills, improve comfort and health, and lower emissions.

“Pairing trusted advice with immersive experience we hope to turn awareness into action, so that no-one has to choose between heating and eating.”

The workshop built on the success of the Retrofit Rocks project and responds directly to the city’s need to boost uptake of energy-saving measures such as insulation, boiler upgrades, and solar panels.

Despite generous funding schemes, uptake remains low (in some instances as low as 2%)—often due to lack of awareness or confidence in the process.

Councillor Jim O’Boyle, Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change, Coventry City Council, said:

“As we head into the colder months and face rising energy prices, it’s important that we find ways to show Coventry residents what retrofit looks and feels like. This innovative VR project brings that to life, making it more real for people and easier to see and understand the benefits.

“We want to help people access any financial support on offer so they can take action to lower their bills and live in warmer homes. This is good for health and the environment, so it really is a win, win.”

Retrofitting is a key action that people can take in the fight against climate change. For Coventry, like many other UK cities, the residential sector accounts for a significant proportion of carbon emissions (30% of total emissions). Lowering residential emissions is a vital step on the road to net zero by 2050.

Rachel Jones, Chief Executive Officer, Act On Energy, said:

“With energy costs remaining high and energy debt in the UK reaching 4billion it is critical that we can support residents and empower them on their energy journey. VR is one tool that can show the difference energy efficiency measures can have. A warm home and energy efficient home leads to improved health and lower energy bills.”

Dr Lory Barile is Associate Professor in the Department of Economics, University of Warwick - please visit her staff profile page for contact details.

Details of more successes for our students

Join us for a Question Time-style in-person event on 5 November to explore the future of work. Our experts from the Faculty of Social Sciences, including the IER, will answer your questions on all things work: What will be the impact of AI and digitalisation on the future of work? Will that future be one of good and healthy jobs for everyone? And will the future of work deliver greater productivity? The event is part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science 2025.

Please register here for the-in person event at the University of Warwick.

A new article, "Dining in the dialogical, listening through the relational: ‘withness-thinking’ for development scholarship and praxis", has been published in Globalizations by PAIS PhD Candidate Raymond Hyma and food researcher Dr Elaine Pratley. The piece explores their respective approaches of listening-based inquiry and food-as-method in peacebuilding and development research.

Read the article now!

We are delighted to announce that Keith Ansell-Pearson, Emeritus professor in the philosophy department, has published a new book titled Nietzsche’s Earthbound Wisdom. The book is an incisive exploration of Nietzsche as a bold, visionary poet-philosopher, and reflects Keith’s expertise and dedication to the field.

Published by Chicago press, the book is now available here

Congratulations to Keith on this significant achievement!

The Department of Sociology is deeply saddened by the death of Dr Carol Wolkowitz on March 4^th 2025. Carol was a hugely valued member both of the Department and of the Centre for the Study of Women and Gender. She will be remembered as a much-loved and inspirational teacher who was devoted to helping students grapple with ideas and hone their sociological imaginations.

You can read Carol's obituary here -> Carol Wolkowitz obituary | Sociology | The Guardian

The University of Warwick’s Centre for Teacher Education (CTE) has received a glowing report following a recent Ofsted inspection, highlighting the exceptional quality of training and support provided to its teaching trainees. The inspection report underscores the University’s commitment to nurturing future educators who are well-prepared and passionate about their careers.