Events, activities and initiatives
The University has hosted a number of events during 2022/23 to raise awareness of a wide range of equality and diversity perspectives.
The majority of events hosted by the University were open to students and staff, many also encouraged participation from the public. Some events were initiated by the focus groups or by individual Schools and departments, and others were joint initiatives mutually benefitting the University and local support organisations. These events developed greater awareness and understanding of difference and provided opportunities for staff, students and the public to learn about different cultures, religions and backgrounds.
Inclusive Teesside University
Our five focus groups collaborated to organise Inclusive Teesside University. The event provided an opportunity to address unconscious bias and discuss how it can be tackled, to take time in our daily working lives to stop, think, challenge and change.
Ethnic and cultural diversity
Middlesbrough Mela
Middlesbrough Mela 2022 is one of the biggest and most spectacular multi-cultural festivals in the North-East. The University had a stand at the Mela in support of the festival and to encourage people from minority ethnic backgrounds to apply for positions within the University and to increase our student population.
Diwali
Diwali, also known as The Festival of Light, is a global celebration representing the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance and good over evil. Teesside University sponsored the event and had a stand with a range of interactive activities. Staff at the event spoke to attendees about the benefits of studying and working at the University.
Black History Month
The University celebrated Black History Month, the accomplishments and contributions of black Britons with a series of activities and discussions, access to creative resources, and sponsored local community-led initiatives. One activity, Living While Black, was one of a series of anti-racism talks that will continue throughout 2023.
Tees Valley BME Achievement Awards
Teesside University was proud to sponsor the Tees Valley BME Achievement Awards 2022, as part of our commitment to promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion within our communities. The prestigious annual event recognised individuals and organisations who provide opportunities for people from ethnic minority backgrounds, and who demonstrate positive change.
Sajid Abdullah, Principal Lecturer (Programmes - Engineering), from the School of Computing, Engineering & Digital Technologies, received the Tees Valley BME Education Award for Individual Excellence in Education.
Community hate crime reporting
The University hosted a hate crime reporting event attended by the Crown Prosecution Service and Cleveland Police who led an awareness session on hate crime, advice on family safety and how to report hate crime incidents. The event provided an opportunity for an open and honest conversation where community members were able to discuss concerns in relation to reporting hate crime.
Minority ethnic businesses
The Minority Ethnic Businesses event was held to support minority ethnic businesses in the region and demonstrate ways the University can help them to flourish. We provided information and advice on a wide range of support solutions for new businesses and highlighted growth opportunities for existing organisations. Attendees included representation and business owners from a range of sectors, including retail, food, printing, and technology.
Know My Country
Organised by Teesside University International Business School the Know My Country is a series of events. Each month a member of staff delivers a session on their home country, sharing a unique insight to the culture, history, cuisines and customs with personal anecdotes and examples.
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers
A partnership agreement has been signed to promote diversity and look for ways to encourage more black and ethnic minority students to consider engineering as a career. Teesside University aims to support IMechE achieve its diversity and inclusion ambitions through its Institution of Mechanical Engineers accredited engineering courses. Sajid Abdullah Principal Lecturer (Programmes- Engineering) has supported and provided access to industry relevant lectures through the Teesside regional IMechE and valuable learning material at Teesside University, developing students beyond the classroom.
Tackling inequalities in higher education: Pro:NE conference
The Pro:NE project is a partnership of Teesside, Durham, Sunderland, Newcastle and Northumbria universities. It aims to tackle inequalities in higher education by building a sense of community, promoting inclusion and strengthen the pathway into academic employment for racially minoritised ethnic students. A conference brought together students, researchers, and academics to discuss the underrepresentation of racially minoritised ethnic people in postgraduate research.
Teesside Sanctuary Award for students seeking asylum
The University offers five scholarships to students that are seeking asylum. The Sanctuary award covers course fees and contributes towards other study costs through a learning bursary.
My favourite welcome
Student & Library Services organised a campaign to ask all students what their favourite welcome is. Our community and the diversity within it are one of our greatest strengths as a university. Responses included everything from 'ey up', 'stick the kettle on' to 'salamat datang' and 'bienvenido a casa'. The content was artworked and displayed in the windows of Student Life and included on the University's current students web page.
Disability
The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Campaign
The sunflower has become a globally-recognised symbol for hidden disabilities, and the University has signed up to the initiative to enable colleagues to indicate to others that they have a non-visible disability and may need a helping hand, understanding, or just more time. It is a discreet way to make the invisible visible, and colleagues can choose to wear a sunflower lanyard, badge, or wristband to facilitate a conversation and to share an awareness of their condition. An event in December promoted Hidden Disabilities Sunflower to coincide with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
International Day of Persons with Disabilities
To celebrate the day a range of interactive activities shared the experience of living with some invisible disabilities to increase awareness. Staff also were on hand to discuss any reasonable adjustments in the workplace.
Disability matters: removing barriers to achievement
The Disability Focus Group launched a new webpage to promote awareness, accessibility, and inclusion.
The site provides details of upcoming disability campaigns, and includes links to information, tools, and resources to help colleagues to adopt accessibility best practice in their own areas of work.
Disability pride
As part of Disability Pride month four members of the Disability Focus Group shared their experiences to discuss misconceptions about disability and what colleagues can do to create a more inclusive campus.
Staff highlighted some challenges they face and the support they receive from the University.
Gender
International Women's Day
The University marked International Women's Day, with a series of events and initiatives to showcase inspirational women who make a positive contribution to our society.
A range of activities took place across campus on the day, including a keynote speech by Juliet Sanders, Woman of the Year 2022. Best-selling author and Teesside University honorary graduate Adele Parks talked about her amazing career. The campus was illuminated in purple light during the evening in demonstration of our support for the day.
Celebrating women in engineering
Engineering academic Dr Tannaz Pak shared her career journey in a special podcast marking International Women in Engineering Day. She was named among the 2021 winners of a Top 50 Women in Engineering: Engineering Heroes award by the Women's Engineering Society.
Inspiring girls to pursue careers in computing
Over 150 girls from the region were invited to Teesside University to explore the opportunities for careers within computing. Students from local schools and colleges attended the Hello World Conference, which was established to encourage young girls to pursue careers in computer science, animation, games and digital technologies in response to the gender imbalance within the industries.
Parenting room - a safe space
A new parenting room has opened in Centuria, to offer additional support to parents as they return to work or study. Facilities include a comfortable seating area, a fridge and a changing table to provide support for parents around feeding and changing, as well as expressing and storing breastmilk.
Aurora
Aurora is an Advance HE's leadership development initiative for women. It is run as a unique partnership bringing together leadership experts and higher education institutions to take positive action to address the under-representation of women in leadership positions in the sector. The University is taking part in the programme which will commence in 2023.
Hershel
Within higher education and research settings there are only 32% of women in technician management and leadership roles and less than half of those in the technical workforce are women. To address this, the University is supporting eight female technicians to attend the Hershel programme. This six-month programme includes modules on self-awareness, leading in a technical environment, negotiation skills and navigating the organisation. It also offers unique opportunities for networking. The programme started in January 2023.
Beth Mead Scholarship
The Beth Mead Scholarship supports four future football students who identify as a woman to study for a degree at Teesside University in pursuit of their career whilst supporting them to play at the highest level. The scholarship runs in partnership with Beth Mead, Arsenal Women and England footballer and BA (Hons) Sports Development graduate of Teesside University.
Family-friendly study sessions pilot
Student & Library Services (SLS), together with the Department of Education in School of Social Sciences, Humanities & Law, have introduced family-friendly study sessions over the summer period to provide a study space for students with children who wish to study on campus whilst at the same time supervising their children. The initiative supports study time for students with children who might otherwise find this difficult to manage around childcare responsibilities.
Employers' Initiative on Domestic Abuse
The University has become a member of the Employers' Initiative on Domestic Abuse (EIDA) and has signed up to the Membership Charter. The charter sets out mutual commitments that will enable better support for employees affected by domestic abuse.
Athena Swan
The University retains the Athena Swan Bronze Institutional Award. This award recognises the University's demonstrable achievements in ensuring gender equality in the workplace. The University will submit a bronze renewal application in November 2023. All Schools had an ambition to achieve a departmental bronze award during 2020-21, however, this was significantly impacted by Covid-19. Activity has now resumed, and all Schools have an active self-assessment team and are working on their timeline to submission. Peer review training has been arranged for School leads with Advance HE to support a new internal review process, aiming to build a community of practice for gender equality that reduces the tendency for schools to work in silos. School leads are also embedded in the new institutional governance structure for Athena Swan.
Faith and belief
Ramadan
Ramadan podcasts and a padlet were created and featured Muslim staff talking about what Ramadan means to them. These initiatives were created to help students understand and learn more about Ramadan and how the University can best support staff during Ramadan.
Holocaust Memorial Day
International Holocaust Memorial Day took place on Friday 27 January with the theme being Ordinary People.
It was an opportunity for people across the world to come together annually to remember those who lost their lives in the Holocaust and the genocides that followed, and to hope for a better future.
We illuminated our campus as an act of remembrance, and staff lit and displayed candles in windows.
LGBTQ+
Teesside Pride
Teesside University held its largest Pride event in June which included a wellbeing walk, and a broad range of guest speakers, activities, and events, a literary hour showcasing the work of LGBTQ+ writers, queer yoga and meditation sessions, a musical performance by singer Jade Mia Broadhead, and a DJ and deck mixing workshop by Abby Harris.
The campus and Middlesbrough Tower were lit up in the colours of the LGBTQ+ rainbow flag demonstrating our support.
LGBTQ+ History Month
The University held a diverse programme of events with students, staff and the wider community in celebrating and commemorating LGBTQ+ history.
Transgender Awareness Week
The University marked trans awareness with a range of events and activities and observed the Transgender Day of Remembrance to honour those whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.
Pronoun Campaign
As part of the pronoun campaign the University offers pronoun cards to all staff and students. Wearing a pronoun badge, regardless of what your gender identity is, can be a great way to signify you are an ally to those who may be facing discrimination elsewhere. We want all our students and colleagues to feel safe and to be true to who they are.
Stockton Pop Up Pride
Teesside University attended and supported Stockton's first ever Pride event.
