Warwick Inclusion Conference

Warwick Inclusion Conference 2025 - Programme

The conference provided an opportunity to share practice, generate ideas, reflect on what it means to be an inclusive institution and to celebrate our collective achievements and progress so far.

Event overview

Scarman Conference Centre

Tuesday 10 June 2025

Arrival from 09:00 for a 09:30 start. Sessions will finish at 16:15 and will be directly followed by an extended awards and celebration event (close by 18:00).

Arrival from 9:00am

9:30-10:00 - Welcome and Introduction

Tea and coffee will be available in Scarman Lounge on arrival

10:00-10:45 - Keynote with Binna Kandola - "Rethinking DEI"

The backlash against DEI has prompted many organisations to retreat from previously public commitments. In this talk, I’ll examine the nature of that retreat—what actions are being dropped and how statements are being reframed. But not all DEI efforts deserve defending. Over time, orthodoxy has replaced critical thinking, and many so-called “best practices” are simply inherited routines. To make lasting progress, we need to challenge the assumptions behind current approaches and focus on evidence-based, values-led practices that are genuinely inclusive. It’s time to rethink not just how we do DEI—but why we do it.

Biography:

Binna Kandola OBE is co-founder and Senior Partner at Pearn Kandola, a business psychology consultancy specialising in diversity and inclusion. A Visiting Professor at Leeds University Business School, he has spent over 40 years researching bias, organisational culture, and leadership. He has advised global organisations including Microsoft, NATO, American Express, the World Bank as well as the University of Warwick. An award-winning author of 12 books (with another due in October), he was awarded an OBE in 2008 for services to diversity. He has regularly featured on the Asian Power List since 2020 and holds an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Aston.

10:45-11:00 - Break, refreshments and move to next session

Morning Breakout Sessions - 11:00-12:15

Option 1 - 11:00-12:15

The power of compassionate communication

Linda Sherwin and Penny Cowie

Whether you're delivering feedback, sharing difficult news, or navigating complex conversations, the way we communicate matters. It shapes our culture, our relationships, and the wellbeing of everyone in our community.

Join us for an inspiring and practical session on Compassionate Communication – a transformative approach that helps us engage with empathy, clarity, and care, even when the message is tough.

This session is part of the Compassionate Communication Change Initiative at the University of Warwick – a university-wide movement to embed compassion into the heart of all student communications. From formal letters to everyday conversations, we’re rethinking how we connect with one another to build a more supportive, inclusive, and values-driven environment.

In this session, you will:

Discover what Compassionate Communication is – and how it can enhance relationships across the university.
Explore the growing call for compassion in higher education – and imagine what a truly compassionate university could look like.
Learn about Warwick’s new guidance and the exciting progress of the Compassionate Communication Change Initiative.
Reflect on what compassion means in a professional context – and how it can shape our culture for the better.

Option 2 - 11:00-12:15

Inclusion through reflexivity

Ryan Arthur

Reflexivity is the practice of critically examining one’s own assumptions, values, and impact. It is essential for fostering inclusive, ethical, and effective academic environments.

This in-person, interactive workshop invites university staff to engage in structured activities, discussions, and reflection exercises aimed at deepening personal and professional awareness. Through real-world scenarios and collaboration, attendees will explore how their positionality influences their teaching, research, and engagement with colleagues and students. By the end of the session, participants will have developed personalised strategies for sustaining reflexivity as an ongoing and empowering part of their practice.

Option 3 - 11:00-12:15

Enhancing inclusion: A neuroscience based approach

Belinda Edington, Director at MindSpark

Join Belinda from MindSpark CIC to explore the essential role of executive functions and how insights from neuroscience can enhance support for neurodivergent individuals.

Many workplace challenges, such as communication difficulties, time management struggles, or resistance to change, are often linked to differences in executive function skills.This session explores the brain-based abilities that underpin cognitive control, including attention, emotional regulation, mental flexibility, and goal-directed behaviour. You’ll learn how these are shaped by neurobiology, stress, trauma, relationships and the environment and we will explore how they influence workplace performance, engagement, and well-being.

You can expect practical strategies to support self-regulation and metacognition while helping teams become more inclusive, compassionate, and resilient. These approaches strengthen relationships, improve communication, and promote self-awareness and self-compassion. They also support engagement, productivity, and ownership of professional development while informing policies that reduce barriers for neurodivergent staff.

By the end of the session, you will walk away with tools and strategies for designing evidence-informed practices and policies that support diverse teams, foster an inclusive culture, and create a workplace where all staff, regardless of neurodivergence, can reach their full potential.

12:15 -13:00 - Lunch

13:00 -13:45 - Senior Leadership Panel Session

As the inclusion agenda continues to evolve, so too does the role of leadership.

In this thought-provoking panel discussion, members of our University Executive Board and Senior Leadership Team will reflect on how their leadership journeys have changed in response to growing expectations around equity, diversity, and inclusion. From role modelling inclusive behaviours to embedding EDI into policy and strategy, this session explores what it means to lead with authenticity, accountability, and purpose in today’s higher education landscape.

Submit a question Link opens in a new windowin advance using our online form.

Rachel Sandby-Thomas

Registrar

Lorenzo Frigerio

Pro Vice Chancellor (Education)

Kirstie Haywood

Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor (Research)

13:45-14:00 - Travel to next session

Afternoon Breakout Sessions - 14:00-15:15

Option 1 - 14:00-15:15

Expressing inclusion through art

Laura Nyahuye @ Maokwo

A creative workshop with artist Laura Nyahuye @Maokwo

What does inclusion feel like? Can we see it, hear it, touch it – express it?

You are warmly invited to a creative workshop led by artist and storyteller Laura Nyahuye, Founder and Creative Director of Maokwo. Through the universal language of art, this session invites you to explore themes of echoing voices, seeds, and harvest – metaphors for identity, belonging, and the stories we carry.

As the University of Warwick celebrates its 60th birthday, we reflect on stories of origin – where we come from, what we bring, and how we grow together. This workshop is a space to pause, connect, and create. No artistic experience is needed.

Option 2 - 14:00-15:15

Designing together: Inclusive co-creation

Bo Kelestyn and Jess Humphreys

Design thinking offers an interdisciplinary and inclusive approach to fostering creativity and problem-solving within Higher Education (Chon and Sim, 2019). This methodology presents exciting opportunities to influence decision-making processes and develop new educational initiatives (Dunne, 2016) not only for, but with our learners and colleagues, addressing the critical challenge of enhancing belonging and learning experience.

This workshop introduces a design thinking-based toolkit aimed at facilitating more inclusive conversations in teaching and learning and student experience innovation. Utilising cards created collaboratively by staff and students, the workshop will demonstrate the potential of this resource to engage learners in the authentic and more inclusive co-creation of their learning environments and experiences (Fielding, 2001). Research indicates that this practice increases students' sense of belonging and their interest in university decision-making and co-creation.

We will discuss how the Designing Together cards and methodology can be applied in various contexts to enhance student engagement and co-creation. This approach aims to improve education through more inclusive and participatory methods. Participants will have the opportunity to explore and take away a deck of cards as a tool for implementing design-led co-creation in their work and contexts.

Option 3 - 14:00-15:15

Nurturing Warwick's Talent: Supporting Inclusive Cultures

Emma Cann, Paul Blagburn, Vicky Strudwick, Romain Chenet

How do we create a university culture where everyone can thrive?

Join us for an interactive panel session that shines a spotlight on the positive action programmes making a real difference across the University of Warwick. This session will showcase the stories, successes, and lived experiences of those who deliver and benefit from these initiatives – highlighting how inclusive practices are already taking root in our own community.

Chaired by the Emma Cann, Head of Social Inclusion, this conversation brings together:

Paul Blagburn, Head of Widening Participation and Social Mobility
Romain Chenet, Accelerate Participant
Vicky Strudwick, Pathways Programme Lead

Together, they’ll explore what it means to build inclusive cultures, the impact of targeted support, and how we can continue to grow a university where everyone feels seen, supported, and empowered.

15:15-15:30 - Break and travel to next session

15:30-16:15 - Keynote with Shappi Khorsandi

Comedian, host and social commentator, Shaparak Khorsandi is known for her razor-sharp wit and eloquent presenting style. Receiving critical acclaim for her performances on TV, radio and stages globally, she is also a highly respected author. July 2023, saw the publication of her third book Scatter Brain: How I finally got off the ADHD rollercoaster and became the owner of a very tidy sock drawer. Previous books include: best-seller A Beginner’s Guide To Acting English, a memoir of adjusting to life living in London in the 1970’s having fled Iran with her family, and novels Kissing Emma and Nina is Not Okay.

16:15-18:00- Inclusion Celebration including awards and poetry

Join us for a celebration to honour those making a difference across the Warwick community as we reveal the winners of this year's Social Inclusion Awards. There will also be live poetry performed by our resident conference Poet, Ralph HoyteLink opens in a new window and the chance to connect informally with colleagues.

Ralph Hoyte is a Bristol based augmented sound artist, poet and writer who specialises in declamatory poetry.