ASPoN Forum

Third Workshop

13th February 2018, Queen’s University Belfast

The ASPoN Forum is a national network for British Psychology departments who are engaged with the Athena Swan Charter and committed to advancing the careers of women and addressing gender imbalances. Further details about its Terms of Reference can be found at https://asponforum.wordpress.com/about-us/

Following two successful workshops in Royal Holloway (2015) and University College London (2016), we will be holding our third workshop on 13th February 2018. The workshop will be held in Riddel Hall, Stranmilis Road, Queen’s University Belfast. Attendance is free of charge and all are welcome, but advance registration is required. Given that the SWAN scheme has now been extended to include the Republic of Ireland, we would like to extend a welcome to colleagues in psychology departments in the Republic of Ireland as well as the UK. To register, please use the link on this page. On the day, the reception at Riddel Hall will be able to direct you to the meeting room.

The aims of this workshop are to:

(i) Provide an up-to-date briefing to attendees on the Athena SWAN process. This will be supplied by a representative from the ECU.

(ii) Provide a briefing on research on the psychology of gender that can be used to inform the work of departmental SWAN SATs.

(iii) Allow attendees to discuss their experiences of the application process in order to provide constructive feedback to the ECU about the process. Feedback will be collated on the day and subsequently passed on to the ECU from the network.

(iv) Construct a common survey to be used by any psychology department preparing to apply for an award. The aim is to allow benchmarking across the discipline and to reduce workload. If your department already has a survey it has used, it would be useful if you could pass a copy of the survey questions on to us in advance of the workshop as we will be compiling existing surveys for discussion on the day. Please pass on any survey questions to Sarah Hurson, s.hurson@qub.ac.uk.

(v) Provide a dissemination opportunity for department representatives to brief workshop attendees on any initiatives they have been conducting within their own departments. If you would like to give a 5-10 minute presentation at the workshop in which you describe some work being done within your department, please contact Teresa McCormack, t.mccormack@qub.ac.uk.

Programme

11-12.00 What psychology SATs should know about the psychology of gender. Dr Ioana Latu

12.00-1.00 Briefing on the Athena SWAN award process Jessica Kitsell, ECU

1-1.30 Lunch

1.30-2.30 Your experiences of applying for SWAN awards: providing feedback to the ECU on the process. Small group discussion

2.30-3.00 Feedback from groups to ECU (points will be collated to subsequently provide a written statement)

3.00-4.00 Compiling a common survey instrument (tea & coffee) Chaired by Professor Narender Ramnani

4.00-4.30 Short presentations from any departments about their initiatives
4.30-4.45 Wrap up

Travelling to Belfast

Morning and evening flights mean that it is often possible to travel to Belfast for the day. Belfast is serviced by two airports, George Best Belfast City Airport and Belfast International. Most flights from the UK take less an hour and are reasonably priced if booked in advance. George Best is much closer to the city of Belfast and the University, and thus is preferable if there is an appropriate flight. If you are taking a taxi, you should ask to be dropped at Riddel Hall on the Stranmilis Road, which is about 10 minutes away from the main campus.

George Best Belfast City Airport

•Located just three miles (5 kilometres) from Belfast City Centre.

Getting from the airport to Riddel Hall, Stranmilis Road

•By Taxi: Approved taxis operate from the Airport taxi rank outside the terminal building. Wheel-chair accessible taxis are available. The approximate cost of a taxi to Riddel Hall from Belfast City Airport with the approved taxi provider is £10.00 (including £2 surcharge). You can book a taxi (02890 809080) but it is often just as easy to wait at the rank. Outside of peak hours, travel from the airport to Riddel hall takes around 15 minutes. Travel time will be longer at peak times, especially before 9am.

•By Bus: The Airport Express Bus Service (Service 600) operates every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday from outside the airport to the Belfast Europa Bus Centre adjacent to the Europa Hotel, in the heart of the city. The service, Airport Express 600, operates between 5.45am and 9.25pm. From the Europa Bus Centre it is around 30 minutes to walk to Riddel Hall, or 5-10 minutes in a taxi.

Belfast International Airport

•Located 13 miles (21 Kilometres) northwest of Belfast.

Getting from the airport to Riddel Hall

•By Bus: The Airport Express Bus Service (Service 300) operates a regular service on weekdays and weekends and takes around 35 minutes. The bus leaves from the bus stop located opposite the terminal exit and drops off at the Europa Bus Centre. From the Europa Bus Centre it is around 30 minutes to walk to Riddel Hall, or 5-10 minutes in a taxi.

•By Taxi: The International Airport Taxi Company, official taxi operator for the Belfast International Airport, are available for hire 24 hours a day 7 days a week outside the right hand door of the airport Exit lobby. A list of sample fares is displayed in the exit hall of the terminal building. For bookings, contact the Belfast International Airport Taxi Company on +44 (0)28 9448 4353. For more information and to book online visit www.belfastairporttaxis.com. You can also book taxis that will come from Belfast to pick you up from the airport; these will typically either meet you in Arrivals or wait in the Short Stay area. The two biggest taxi companies are Fonacab (02890 333333) and Value Cabs (02890 809080). Taxis are likely to be around £30 and will take around 30 minutes to get to Riddel Hall (slower at peak times).

Staying in Belfast

Hotels next to the University

Malone Lodge, 60 Eglantine Avenue (also does apartments)

Wellington Park Hotel, 21 Malone Road

Duke’s Hotel at Queen’s, 65-67 University Road

Tara Lodge, 36 Cromwell Road, Botanic Avenue

Holiday Inn Express Queen’s Quarter, 106 University Road

Ibis Hotel Queen’s Quarter, University Street

Benedict’s of Belfast, 7-21 Bradbury Place

B&Bs and Guesthouses next to the University

All of the following are very close to the university.

Windermere House, 60 Wellington Park

Camera House, 44 Wellington Park

Avenue House, 23 Eglantine Avenue

Eglantine Guest House, 21 Eglantine Avenue

Marine Guest House, 30 Eglantine Avenue