Session Abstracts

Building a Sense of Belonging
Kirri Watson, Head of Adult Education, UK/I, Anna Artemyeva, Head of Education, UK/I and Grace Kelly, Head of Customer Success, UK/I, Google for Education

Belonging creates a ripple effect with powerful results. When we cultivate belonging for everyone, it empowers each of us to go further, unlocking creativity and innovation that could create new opportunities for others. Just as the ripple flows out, it also flows back in. At Google, we look forward to the changes our actions will drive in the world, and to the changes that progress in the world will inspire in us.

The Comfort Zone, the barrier to ambition
Julie Walters- Digital Programme Manager, Swansea University

Your career can take different twists and turns. Opportunities are often available, but you don't always take them. This workshop will explore “comfort” and “ambition” and whether we should be challenging ourselves, in and out of, the workplace. Filled with practical tips and experience and an opportunity for Q&A.

What is it like working in a women-centred team - My experience!
Sarah Walmsley, Digital Learning Services Manager, Leeds Trinity University

What is it like to work in a women-centred team? I’d like to share with you my experience working in the Digital Learning team at Leeds Trinity University where most of the team are women. I’ll unpack and discuss the feedback, opinions and thoughts from the team and wider teams we work with. Question why the team is women-centred? Is the Digital Learning team at LTU unique? Have others been in this situation? Are there certain characteristics of working in the Digital Learning team that entice women into the job role?

Creating a Sense of Community to Facilitate Institution-Wide Technological Change
Rebecca Anderson, Lead Learning Technologist, University of East Anglia

I will explore how a Community of Practice was established at the University of East Anglia to help facilitate the transition to Blackboard Ultra, which is a significant change to the virtual learning environment. The creation of this community helped to overcome resistance to change, presented a more approachable face of IT, and empowered users to share best practice and support each other. These communities are an important step in ensuring IT is seen as an accessible service for all, regardless of technical ability, and helps to demonstrate that a broad skill set is useful for careers within IT.

A man’s world – but it wouldn’t be nothing, without a woman or a girl
Stacey Downton, Head of IT Partnering, Research and Tilly Beech, Head of IT Partnering, Professional Services, University of Bristol

STEM, historically dominated by men, sees less than a quarter representation of women and non-binary individuals in its workforce. Despite acknowledging this persistent gender imbalance, and the need for transformative change, progress is sluggish.

This session aims to delineate actionable steps for accelerating the attainment of a more equitable gender balance in STEM and seeks to inspire collective action. Through this talk, we hope to inspire everyone to contribute to creating a diverse, gender-balanced environment. The goal is to incite change, fostering a healthier and more inclusive space for all individuals involved in STEM fields.

Breakout sessions 13:50

• Is it getting better? The experiences and aspirations of mothers and childless/childfree women working in IT  
  Shireen Walker, Technology Programme Manager, University of Oxford

  In collecting and sharing the experiences of women working in IT over the last 40 years, we can see where improvements have been made, and where they are still required. I investigate whether these experiences have differed for mothers and childless/childfree women and gather their recommendations about how employers could improve the working lives of all women.

• In at the deep end
  Kelly Weber, Director Digital Strategy Mobilisation, University of Southampton

  Kelly took on her first role in Higher Education in January 2020, after a 20 year career working as a consultant in a range of corporate roles. Thrown in at the deep end in a challenging environment, she found a way to create an inclusive culture to develop her teams and thrive in this sector. She would love the opportunity to share her experiences and how the lessons she learnt enabled her to transform the culture within her organisation and create a better workplace for everyone.

Breakout sessions 14:15

• A path to personal wisdom - how to understand yourself in order to make the right choices for you
  Charley Bayley, Senior Business Analyst and Katie Burn, Senior Business Analyst, University of York

  Aristotle said "Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom" and after many career highs and lows we have enough self-knowledge to be our best at work, and this clarity allows us to identify and overcome barriers in the workplace and make sound choices for us. In this session, we'd like to share the practical activities that can help you on your path to wisdom, plus how managers can support this journey.

   

• "Double it and give it to the next person" : doubling the number of women in our IT department
  Sarah Kennedy, Assistant Director IT Services, Erin McWilliams, Research Systems Support Officer and Helen Parker, Digital Tools Support Specialist, University of York

  In five years IT Services at the University of York has doubled the number of women employed in our department and seen a rise in the number of women in senior positions.

  Join us as we discuss some of the deliberate actions and subtle shifts we have implemented which will offer a roadmap for replicating similar success within your own organisation. We will talk through initiatives such as our 'Gender Equality in Tech' group, mini meetings, our focus on flexible working and inclusive interviews, that helped us achieve this so we can share these to allow you to 'Double it and give it to the next person'. 

Surviving and Thriving in the First 90 Days
Kathryn Myhill, Deputy Director, Leeds Beckett University

As everyone from career professionals to presidents know, the first 90 days of a new position are crucial for new leaders - especially so for women in tech, who are under-represented in leadership positions and can feel it is even more important to get off to a good start. Join Kathryn Myhill, who took up the position of Deputy Director of IT in January 2024, for an honest self-assessment of how she's managed this important transition. She'll take you through Michael D. Watkins' go-to resource, 'The First 90 Days' and share what has and hasn't worked in a HE context.

If you want to go far, go together – the UCISA pilot Mentoring Scheme
Dr Elaine Swift, Head of Professional Development Services, UCISA

In this session, Dr Elaine Swift, will outline the findings from the evaluation of the UCISA pilot Mentoring Scheme, which WiT community members participated in. It will explore what both mentors and mentees gained from the experience, helping WiT colleagues on their career journeys and will set out where the scheme will be going next.

It's all about the framing
Samantha Ahern, Senior Digital Research Trainer, University College London

This was a recent conversation between myself and another close colleague:
Me: "Supporting the c++ module is also a challenge. I’m the only person listed on the staff list that isn’t a Dr of some form. Am also oldest staff member. Doesn’t do much for the ego".
Colleague: "Depends how you look at it. I think it’s more impressive to me."

It's all about the framing. How often do we see a negative and not a positive? In this interactive presentation we will explore our inner Edna's and how to we can use coaching techniques to change the frame.