Six impossible things before breakfast: the (non)sense of work-life through a pandemic
Sarah Fielding, Manager, Digital Learning Team, University of Southampton
Alice fell down a rabbit hole into a strange world completely different to her own and had to find her way back home to normality. When our world went topsy turvy at the start of March 2020 we never left our homes, but we've all been on some strange journeys. Storytelling and reflections on impossible things achieved in the last year for home and work.
Challenging the HE sector, policies and procedures, on supporting Womens’ career progression
Ismini Vasileiou, Associate Professor of Information Systems, De Montfort University
The presentation will look into HE organisations experiencing the impact of Covid and the reality of Flexible Working. Universities have been for a long time looking at EDI aspects, and for example ensuring there is an Athena SWAN award in place. But in reality, what does it mean for the employees? Why does EDI still seem to be a separate agenda and not embedded across all activities of an HE institution? The presentation will also draw upon the study WHEN (completed during 2020) evidencing the impact the pandemic had on women. The presentation will conclude with recommendations participants can take away to inform policy and governance structures.
Removing the Mask: Women, the Phantoms of the Tech world.
Louise Morgan, Head of Practice (Business Analysis) and Charley Bayley, Senior Business Analyst, University of York
I was a woman in tech – I donned my mask and tried to blend in- How the pandemic changed this! As we invited the working world into our homes, there was no space for masks. We saw the whole person and we appreciated each other more. The boundaries became blurred. I no longer felt like a woman in tech, I felt like an individual in tech. A talk on how we reconnected, understood more about equality and diversity, took off our masks and were respected for being our true selves.
Panel session - Managing a family whilst managing a team: a panel session to share experiences of juggling parental and work responsibilities
The guests speakers in this panel session are all working parents in senior positions in the field of digital education. They will share recent and current experiences; challenges they've faced; and how they have attempted to resolve aspects of parenthood - from planning a family, going on parental leave and then returning to work, all within the context of a global pandemic. Audience members will be invited to contribute to the discussion by offering examples from their own experiences.
- Chaired by Sarah Sherman, Director, Bloomsbury Learning Exchange
- Stella Ekebuisi, Head of E-Learning, Queen Mary University of London
- Julie Voce, Head of Digital Education, City University of London
- Farzana Latif, Head of Digital Learning, University of Sheffield
- John Ramsay, Digital Education Support Team Lead, Imperial College London
Learnings from a year of flipping blended everything
Julie Christie, Assistant Director of IT/COVID Education & Student Experience Programme Manager, University of Dundee
Seconded to lead a University wide programme in May 2020 to flip to blended learning and blended services for 20/21, this session will reflect on personal and professional lessons learned from running a COVID programme while coping with family life while working at home, loss, becoming a gran and a bout of COVID towards a very different outlook on a work life balance.
The skills we need for post-pandemic tech careers
Bethan Vincent, Marketing Consultant
The pandemic represents a clear opportunity to do things differently and reimagine work in a genuinely inclusive way. But will organisations move forwards or stick to the status quo? In my talk I will discuss how the pandemic has changed the recruitment and working landscape for minorities in tech and some of the challenges and opportunities we face in rebuilding a workplace that works for everyone.
