The UCD College of Science EDI Committee organises a series of events throughout the year and takes part in the UCD EDI University-wide events. Information on these events is in the events calendar. The news and events listed on this page are a sample of EDI related activities to take place in the UCD College of Science. Information on events throughout the university can be found on the UCD EDI Events Calendar.
EDI Annual Report 2023/2024
To mark National Carers' Week the CAREWELL team with the support of UCD EDI, hosted a seminar.
Members of the UCD LGBTQIA+ community were invited to the monthly get-together.
May's Neurodiversity Masterclass presented findings and recommendations from the recently completed 'Making UCD a Neurodiversity Friendly Campus'.
This conference aimed to inform key roles within the Higher Education Sector and the wider community about the issues faced by our students and employees. Dignity & Respect Support Services hosted the Dignity & Respect Conference 2024 on Thursday, 2 May at Astra Hall.
Employees of all genders were invited to join on 30 April at the UCD Global Lounge for a dynamic and thought-provoking event centred around Engaging Men in EDI through the World Café session.
This masterclass was hosted by Anna Justine Sochacka, Neurodiversity Advocate, on 'Neurodiversity Movement Online: Challenging the Norm – Language, Community & Resistance.'
This menopause coffee morning took place on Thursday, 25 April 2024. This Mindfulness and Menopause Session with Aoife FitzGerald. Aoife is a Mindfulness Teacher and Trainer based at UCD.
The UCD EDI Neurodiversity Group launched the "Making UCD a Neurodiversity Friendly Campus" Report on Thursday, 18 April 2024. More information is available at UCD Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (Opens in new window).
Members of the UCD LGBTQIA+ community were invited to meet in the UCD Clubhouse.
Attendees created handstitched gifts with MENU Committee Member Ulyana O’Neill.
Dr Tim Beechey, Nottingham University, presents on 'Autistic researcher studies normal communication.'
An initiative organised by The Immigrant Council of Ireland was to wear red for the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
To mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (21 March) and support the development of UCD’s Anti-Racism Action Plan in line with the HEA Anti-Racism Principles, UCD community members were invited to the UCD EDI Conference: Tackling Racism and embracing Cultural Diversity and Intersectionality.
The EDI unit hosted a series of networking sessions around Peri-Menopause and Menopause providing practical tips from the guest specialists, opportunity to share stories and tips or just listen to their colleagues and guest speakers.
Paddy’s Day was celebrated in a sustainable way. Handstitched gifts were crafted with MENU Committee Member Ulyana O’Neill.
Members of the UCD LGBTQIA+ community were invited to meet in the UCD Clubhouse.
To coincide with UCD Students Union's 2nd annual Pride march for Rainbow Week, 20th February, Pride coffee mornings for employees were taking place in UCD Colleges and Research, Innovation and Impact from 20 to 29 February 2024.
Attendees discovered the ways of celebrating the Lunar New Year with our member Evan Furlong.
The Family Matters series is for parents and carers. This is designed to support children's wellbeing and will cover understanding anxiety, managing stress, building confidence and positive self-talk.
Members of the UCD LGBTQIA+ community were invited to meet in the UCD Clubhouse.
To celebrate St Brigid’s day, the Celtic Goddess of Ireland, a Brigid’s Day eve lunchtime gathering was held to embrace the energy of the ‘storyteller’ and attendees learned a little about the Celtic traditions of Goddess Brigid.
A 1-hour expert-led Masterclass was hosted for working parents returning from family leave to learn about balancing home life with your career, setting value-based boundaries, banishing guilt and managing your energy to help prioritise your wellbeing.
The news and events listed are a sample of EDI related activities to take place in the UCD College of Science. Information on events throughout the university can be found on the UCD EDI website event calendar (opens in new window).
Join Aoife Fitzgerald for lunchtime drop-in mindfulness meditation sessions. This will be a chance to bring some mindfulness into your working week. Suitable for those with even a small bit of mindfulness experience who are looking to renew their practice. Starting on Thursday November 9 - December 7, 2023. The drop-in sessions will run for 5 weeks every Thursday from 1.15pm - 1.45pm. No need to book, just show up. More information is available on the UCD in the Community website (opens in new window).
Join UCD Disability Subgroup and UCD Neurodiversity Group for a celebratory event to mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities. This event will showcase projects, research, and supports available in UCD for disabled and neurodivergent employees. Speakers will have 5 minutes to share their area of expertise, a project or research on disability and neurodiversity inclusion in UCD. Book your place via the EDI website (opens in new window).
Following the success of the Culturally Responsive Mentoring Postdoctoral Coffee Meetups that took place for postdocs in the College of Science over summer 2023, the College of Science EDI Committee and the Culturally Responsive Mentoring team are keeping the momentum alive with a new rotating coffee morning for postdocs in the College. Every two months during the 2023-24 academic term, a different school in the college will host postdocs from across the college for informal mentoring and light refreshments. Read more.
All current & retired staff are welcome. No experience is necessary. More information is available on the UCD Events Calendar (opens in new window).
Students and staff from the College of Science were invited to join UCD LGBTI Staff Network to observe Transgender Day of Remembrance together in the Quad Room of the Student Centre. This event is organised by UCD LGBTQI+ Staff Network and supported by UCD Chaplaincy. You can learn more about the supports available for trans students and staff at on the UCD Science EDI webpage.
UCD Chemistry PhD students are raising funds for men’s health in honour of International Men's Day. Further information is available on their (opens in a new window)event page (opens in new window).
Employees of all genders, across all equality grounds, were invited to join on Thursday, 9 November from 12-2pm in the Astra Hall for a consultation event. All involvement was vital to ensure that the next action plan for UCD is inclusive and addresses employees' needs from a gender and broader equality perspective. We were delighted to welcome Dr Salo me Mbugua as our keynote speaker.
Managing Bias training was available on 7 &13 November for those involved in recruitment and selection. Find out more about the bundle on the EDI website (opens in new window).
On Thursday, 2 November 2023 Members of the UCD LGBTQIA+ community were invited to meet at the UCD Clubhouse. This meet-up is a reoccurring event scheduled every first Thursday of the month.
Celebrating Intersex Awareness Day is an opportunity to promote the inclusion of intersex people in our University and in society more broadly. The UCD LGBTI Subgroup are marking this day to highlight awareness and recognise intersex people in UCD. Find out more on the EDI website.
The event was focused on the range of employee focused wellbeing policies, supports and networks, including those supported by EDI. A series of inspirational speakers, information seminars and stands covered s range of physical, mental and financial wellbeing supports UCD offers.
More information is available on the Wellbeing Day website (new window).
On 26 September the 2023/24 EDI Training and Awareness Raising Programme was launched in the latest VP for EDI Newsletter. The programme contains courses specifically tailored for our UCD community based on UCD's EDI strategic commitments and feedback from last year’s sessions. The programme is now live and includes a range of EDI-related face-to-face training and awareness-raising sessions as well as our EDI eLearning courses.
Could you please help to spread the word and promote this training in your areas and within your networks? Upcoming sessions are highlighted below. Colleagues can register now on the EDI Training and Events Calendar.
UCD College of Science got Pride month off to an incredible start with a well-attended Pride Celebration event on Thursday 1st June. Read more about the event in our College of Science Pride Celebration Event 2023 article.
(opens in a new window)World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development is an annual (opens in a new window)UNESCO observational day that celebrates the richness of the world’s cultures on 21 May 2023, and the essential role of intercultural dialogue for achieving peace and sustainable development. We would like to invite you to some events that schools in UCD College of Science EDI Committee are organising on to recognise and celebrate the cultural backgrounds of our students and staff.
The UCD School of Physics are hosting an Intercultural Coffee Morning at 11am in the R134 SCN Physics Common Room. Refreshments will be provided and people are invited to come along to socialise and learn about the cultures of others.
The UCD School of Computer Science are hosting a Cultural Dialogue event at 5.30pm in the O'Neill Lounge in UCD Clubhouse. The event will see staff and PhD students share aspects of their culture in short presentations to each other, to encourage conversation and broaden understandings of the backgrounds of the people we work with each day. Food and drinks vouchers will be provided to those who attend either to present or socialise and learn about the cultures of others. Please fill in the (opens in a new window)Google Form by 15 May if you would like to attend, and if you want to present a 5-10 minute presentation on your culture/an aspect of your culture or background, please give more details in the form.
The UCD School of Biology & Environmental Science Cultural Diversity Coffee Morning will be held on Monday, 22 May, at 10 am, just outside the kitchen in Science West. This event aims to celebrate the rich cultural heritage within the school and to support a worthy cause, the Immigrant Council of Ireland. To make the morning even more delightful, we will be hosting a bake sale, and we kindly request your contribution of delicious treats. Share your culinary delights by bringing treats from your home country. It's a chance to showcase the unique flavors and traditions that make our community diverse and vibrant. Any contribution, big or small, will be greatly appreciated.
The Multicultural Employee Network of UCD (MENU) aims to make International employees feel welcome, to help integrate them into the UCD Community and beyond, to provide a space for international employees to network, support members and exchange ideas with a focus on promoting cultural diversity and awareness in UCD. We now have over 200 members representing 50+ countries around the globe, making MENU the biggest employee Network in UCD. To join email menu@ucd.ie.
This essential 1-day face-to-face Dignity & Respect training took place on 31 March to equip people managers with skills and knowledge to support those impacted by bullying, harassment or sexual misconduct.
To mark Neurodiversity Celebration Week, UCD hosted an in-person event exploring creativity and neurodiversity and Making UCD Neurodiversity Friendly Campus Project led by UCD EDI Neurodiversity Working Group. A panel of neurodivergent speakers shared their own experiences of working in filmmaking, comic book illustration and comedy as Gaeilge.
This event showcased the latest evidence-based developments in Mathematics Accessibility in Higher Education including the themes of Digital Accessibility using LaTeX, Addressing Mathematics Anxiety, Mathematical Resilience, the efficacy of text-to-speech technology in reducing barriers to inclusive reading for mathematics students in higher education. Read more...
The support group is intended for colleagues who want to learn new and supportive ways to reclaim moments of contentment and happiness while honouring those they have lost. Find out more about the support available at UCD EDI Bereavement Support Group.
UCD EDI invited attendees to a national Menopause Conference “Time for Change in the Third-Level Sector” hosted by UCD for the third-level sector.
UCD celebrated International Women's Day on Wednesday, 8 March 2023, to celebrate women's achievements, raise awareness and take action for equality.
For International Women's Day, a conversation session between UCD Alumna Dr Lydia Foy and her lawyer, Bill Shipsey, UCD Alumni Awardee, on Lydia's legal battle to have her gender recognised in law.
Practical tools for employees who recently returned from maternity/adoptive leave to make a confident return to work, including self-care, balancing work, managing guilt and setting boundaries with work and home.
International Day of Women and Girls in Science is celebrated every year on 11 February to recognise the critical role women and girls play in science and technology. To mark the occasion this year, UCD community members were invited to an exhibition in the O’Brien Centre for Science that showcased the diverse range of talents, knowledge and hard work from women in Science.
The exhibition presented videos from the ‘Role Models in pSTEM’ project that was created to recognise positive role models for young women in the subjects of physics, mathematics, computer science and engineering. The videos on display in the O’Brien Centre highlighted the work of 8 role models who are making valued contributions to their Schools and disciplines. The exhibition therefore provided an opportunity to promote full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls in UCD. By showing the videos of the role models the project leads, Dr Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin, UCD School of Mathematics and Statistics and Associate Professor Catherine Mooney, UCD School of Computer Science, hope to encourage more young women to feel included and become aware of the many career paths and opportunities available to them in pursuing pSTEM subjects. Read more...
A webinar took place on 26 January 2023 with Associate Professor Sue Johnston Wilder from the University of Warwick to discuss: 'Maths Anxiety - A consequence of neurodiversity?'
On 5 December 2022, postgrad and postdoc representatives on the UCD Science EDI committee hosted the “Let's Connect - A Postgrad and Postdoc Networking Event”. The event was attended by 40 postgrads and postdocs from across the College of Science. It provided a relaxed, sociable atmosphere for postgraduate students and postdocs to meet with colleagues across the College and to identify networking opportunities.
Since it was proclaimed by the United Nations in 1992, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities has been observed annually on 3 December and the day aims at promoting a greater understanding of issues related to disability and to mobilise support for the dignity, rights and well-being of individuals with disabilities. Read more...
The United Nations have designated 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, to raise awareness of women being subjected to rape, domestic violence and other forms of violence; additionally, another aim of the day is to highlight how the scale and the true nature of the problem are often hidden. Read more...
Transgender Day of Remembrance is a commemoration event that has been held annually on 20 November since 1999 and is a day to memorialise those who have been murdered as a result of transphobia. Read more...
International Men's Day is a global holiday that is annually celebrated on 19 November to recognize and celebrate the positive value that men bring to the world, to their families and their communities. Read more...
The RESET workshop, developed and delivered by David Delaney of the UCD Student Advisors Group, ran for four consecutive Mondays in the College of Science in October. The goal of the RESET workshop is to improve student self-awareness, shifting away from a “me” to a “we” mindset.
In collaboration with the Students Union, the Student Advisors and the College of Science EDI Committee, more than 80% of Stage 1 undergraduate students have taken part in Active* Consent workshops. Consent is an ongoing, mutual and freely-given agreement to take part in sexual activity. It applies to all relationships, all genders, and all sexualities. The Active* Consent workshop material was inclusive and well-designed to be relevant and engaging, especially for young men. Further workshops will be rolled out for Stages 2 – 4 in Spring.
Report by Dr Karina Nigoghossian, College of Science EDI Postdoc Rep
The Postdoc Appreciation week started with a Postdoc Coffee Afternoon on Monday 19th of September 2022. The event was organized by the Research Careers team and hosted by Alanna O’Sullivan (Researcher Development Specialist). Postdocs were able to freely interact, introducing themselves in terms of affiliation, current and previous postdoc experiences, research background and career path. Interestingly, fresh postdocs asked which advice the more experienced ones would give to them. We shared some pleasures and difficulties that life in Dublin offers us, which mainly involved accommodation issues. We also talked about our academic life before, during and after covid. Another common topic was our perspectives for the future and which areas can we can migrate to, if not staying in academia. We also talked about the challenges of our current position, not only related to doing our research and writing papers, but also involving teaching, student supervision, grant writing, and attending career development workshops, among others. Some postdocs mentioned their efforts for building a postdoc community by creating WhatsApp groups and organizing events. All of these conversations among postdocs have shown our motivations for helping each other.
On 20 September 2022, the Postdoc Appreciation day was celebrated in an open event organized by UCD College of Health and Agricultural Sciences (CHAS) Postdoctoral Forum. The day started with a coffee where postdoc colleagues could meet and chat around the exhibition of photos representing “A postdoc’s life”, which highlighted the efforts involved in this challenging career phase. Messages of appreciation and support were left in a “Positivitree”. During the morning, postdocs were able to train their communication skills in a workshop by Dr Jessamyn Fairfield (NUI Galway). In a very informal session, we were encouraged to speak briefly about our research. This brief talk practised several times helped us to build our confidence and ability to improvise. In the afternoon, Dr Fairfield gave a motivational talk about being “Open to surprising things”. The session was followed by “Take 5”, a flash talk competition featuring postdocs’ research in an unconventional way. The event ended on a warm note with food and drinks, along with an opportunity for exchanging contacts, in order to keep in touch with postdoc peers who we met during the day.
UCD EDI launched a campaign to raise awareness and promote an inclusive and respectful environment on campus, more information is available at Race & Ethnic Equality page on the UCD EDI website.
To celebrate our fathers and highlight some of the support for parents available at UCD, the College of Science EDI committee invited staff members in the College of Science who are fathers of children of any age, infant to adult, to provide some insight into being a father in the College. The videos are quite informal and provide some advice for other fathers about what worked or didn’t work so well when trying to balance parenting and work. You can watch the interviews with Antonio, Simon, Rem and Ritchie on the (opens in a new window)UCD Science YouTube account.
The College of Science Celebrated Pride Month on 16 June 2022 in the O’Brien Centre for Science. College Principal, Professor Jeremy Simpson launched the celebration and Dr Niamh Nestor, co-Chair of UCD’s EDI LGBTQI+ Subgroup, gave a moving talk highlighting her own experience growing up gay in Ireland and highlighting the origins of Pride as a protest and one which must continue to be seen as a protest to ensure complacency in pursuing equality for LGBTQIA+ individuals does not stall. Niamh highlighted that although huge strides have been made in legalising gay marriage and improving acceptance of queer people in Ireland that there are still marginalized LGBTQIA+ individuals including trans individuals, and queer people of colour who still face discrimination and stigmatization as a result of their gender and sexuality. There is also no hate crime legislation in Ireland which needs to be campaigned for to protect LGBTQIA+ individuals. We had tea, coffee, balloons, a craft table where people could create rainbow bracelets to take away, and most importantly, a giant rainbow cake! The event was well attended with representation from across the community including students, technical, administrative and faculty members. Feedback was overall highly positive and suggested that the event should be expanded and repeated next year.
The CoS EDI Committee hosted a networking event for postdocs in the O’Keefe Lounge at the Clubhouse Bar. The objective was to provide a sociable, informal space for postdocs within the College to meet and develop relationships. The event was particularly relevant to postdocs, many of whom spent large portions of their time at UCD working from home. The event centred around a table quiz with food provided for attendees. The event was very well received. Three teams competed in the quiz, which went to a tie-breaker, and the feedback from attendees was uniformly positive. There will be similar events held in the following months.
Not just the 8th of March” was the first EDI symposium of the series “Behind the position”, organised by the EDI PhD members of the UCD School of Chemistry, Maria Rosa Fernandez Pison, Francesca Giulia Nacca, and Mara Di Filippo. The aim of this event was to raise awareness among the scientific community about gender equality, particularly focused on the career path of women who occupy higher positions in academia and industry. For this reason, seven speakers from different employment backgrounds, work and/or family situations, genders and cultures shared their life experiences and hurdles to achieve higher career positions. Moreover, the event was intended to introduce women role models to younger scientists. As PhD students, we believe it is important to show them that, despite the difficulties, it is everyone’s responsibility to make the professional workplace more inclusive and accessible to everyone, regardless of their gender, culture, religion, or background. We strongly believe that big changes must be made together.
UCD has launched a new role/model video series to encourage more girls to consider pursuing pSTEM careers. The video series is titled “Role Models in pSTEM: You Can Be What You Can See”, which showcases ten women from across Ireland who have studied physics, maths, engineering, or computer science. Read more...
IDAHOBIT is the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, Intersexism and Biphobia. UCD College of Science is committed to ensuring that our community is LGBTI inclusive. Please check out the Top Ten Tips for supporting LGBTI inclusion for further information and resources.
The College of Science EDI committee raised awareness that many of our Muslim staff and students are fasting during Ramadan and highlighted some of the issues in an accessible way.
21-27 March was Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2022. The College of Science EDI Committee in collaboration with Julie Tonge and Fiona Quinn, UCD Access & Lifelong Learning, presented a workshop for students who are neurodiverse or who have an interest in neurodiversity. The webinar covered topics such as the support in UCD for neurodiverse students, top tips for focusing in lectures and where to go for more information or to seek a diagnosis. Visit the(opens in a new window) official website for Neurodiversity Celebration Week for further resources on the topic.
Anyone who has experienced, been impacted by or witnessed harassment on the grounds of race can contact the UCD Dignity & Respect Support Service for both informal and formal support. The Dignity & Respect Support Service can be contacted by telephone at 01 716 7716 or by email at (opens in a new window)respect@ucd.ie. Further details can be found on the UCD Dignity & Respect website
As part of the International Women’s Day celebrations, the College of Science hosted two webinars on menopause “An Introduction to Menopause” and “Menopause In The Workplace For Managers” with Loretta Dignam from The Menopause Hub. These educational webinars help to break down the taboo surrounding menopause and demonstrate how menopause is a societal, healthcare, workplace and economic issue. Topics covered include: what is menopause and why does it matter; the symptoms and available treatment options; the line manager’s role in supporting menopause at work; and how to have confident and supportive conversations with staff and provide the best support.
To help break the bias, a range of events were being held across the University to mark International Women’s Day.
To mark International Day of Women and Girls in Science the UCD College of Science launched a new video series ‘Role Models in pSTEM: You Can Be What You Can See’, showcasing ten contemporary women from across Ireland, including UCD alumni, who have studied physics, mathematics, engineering, or computer science to highlight the varied and exciting opportunities open to young women in pSTEM. Leading the project, which was funded by the Higher Education Authority and the Institute of Physics, are Dr Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin, Assistant Professor at the UCD School of Mathematics and Statistics, and Dr Catherine Mooney, Associate Professor in the UCD School of Computer Science. The full suite of videos, with associated teaching resources for use in classrooms, is available on the (opens in a new window)Roles in pSTEM YouTube Channel and via the Role Models in pSTEM website.
More information about the launch is available on the UCD website.
UCD EDI promoted an inclusive UCD for trans students and colleagues during Transgender Awareness Week 2021.
