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Challenging outdated power dynamics in academia: issues and solutions.

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On Friday 27 March 2020, UCL MAPS and Enginerring Science Faculties will hold a discussion forum on Challenging power dynamics in academia.

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The event will be open to all staff - from senior academics to professional services and post-docs - and is a joint endeavour between the MAPS and Engineering faculties.

We aspire for our departments and institutes to be welcoming and integral places to work, do research, and study. We also understand the importance of guaranteeing that within our work and academic communities everyone is respected. But evidence is showing that there are several instances in which we are failing to identify and understand misuse of power as well as the conditions and dynamics that nurture hostile behaviours.

Research also shows that within STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields, different forms of harassment and bullying have gone unchallenged for too long, resulting in the harm of the careers and lives of members of our communities, mostly women and colleagues from ethnic minorities.

In this event, we aim to generate an open and constructive conversation on the power dynamics that foster unacceptable behaviours in our academic and work environments within our Faculties and in the wider STEM communities, and what we can do about it.

We believe this is a timely and much needed forum. Your insights and experiences as academic, postdoc, researcher, professional service or technical staff are essential to generate the dialog we need to have so that we can improve our work culture. We hope you participate, share your views and help us make this forum a success.

The event will be opened by the UCL Provost, Professor Michael Arthur. We will have a guest academic speaker, Prof Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, co-PI in the ADVANCEGeo partnership, an academics-led initiative that has developed effective strategies to tackle harassment and transform the work environment in the Geosciences community. This will be followed by two Heads of Department from MAPS and Engineering sharing their efforts to address these issues. Group discussions will then take place. One outcome these discussions will be questions for our Accountability panellists.

The accountability panel will be formed by the Deans of MAPS and Engineering, other two Heads of Department, and a UCL Senior HR manager. The panel will address questions of how we can ensure prevention and accountability within our faculties and in the wider of UCL.

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