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Athena SWAN at Biosciences

The UCL Division of Biosciences has been awarded an Athena SWAN Silver Award by Advance HE in recognition of its commitment to advancing equality and diversity and career development.

 

Biosciences Athena Swan Silver Award

Self-Assessment Team

The Division of Biosciences Athena SWAN Self-Assessment Team was established in January 2013 and meets regularly, with the aims of promoting equality and creating a supportive working environment for all staff and students in the Division of Biosciences. We promote good practice across the Division and strive to ensure a positive work/life balance for everyone. We were first awarded a Bronze Athena SWAN Award in 2015, which was renewed in 2018.  We are delighted to confirm we were awarded Silver in 2023 but the work continues! 

The staff and students involved in our Silver submission were: 

UCL Biosciences Athena Swan SAT

Current SAT members (February 2025)

Co-Chairs

Arantza Barrios, Associate Professor (CDB) 
Tim Newbold, Professor (GEE)

SAT Members

Nadia Ali, Divisional Staffing Manager 
Aida Andres, Professor (GEE)
Wendy Birch, Anatomy Lab Manager (CDB)
Sasha Bradshaw, PhD Student (GEE)
Snezana Djordjevic, Professor and Head of Research Department (SMB)
Ryan Felice, Professor (CDB)
Fahmida Khatun, Teaching and Learning Support Administrator
Orla O'Donnell, Divisional Manager
Tabitha Owen, Executive Assistant (SMB)
Paola Vergani, Associate Professor (NPP)

    If you have any feedback or queries relating to Athena SWAN please contact Tabitha Owen, tabitha.owen@ucl.ac.uk.

    About Athena SWAN

    The Silver application was submitted by the Division’s Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team (SAT) in August 2023 and was a huge collaborative effort across the whole Division.  Enormous gratitude is extended to the SAT members as well as thanks to all other staff and students who contributed via the multiple questionnaires and focus groups that took place in order to gather data and feedback for the application.    

    The Athena Swan Charter is a framework across the globe to support and transform gender equality within higher education (HE) and research, encompassing representation, progression and success for all.  It encourages institutions to meet equality legislation requirements, as well as the requirements and expectations of some funders and research councils.

    Division of Biosciences Silver Athena Swan Application - 2023

     

     

    Mentoring Programmes

    The Division has several mentoring schemes, designed to support the development of academic and professional staff and students at various stages of their careers. 

    PhD/ Post Doc Mentoring Scheme

    1st and 2nd year PhD students are mentored by 3rd and 4th year PhD students.  3rd and 4th year students are mentored by Post Docs.

    Academic and Research Staff Mentoring Scheme

    Post Docs, Lecturers and Professors are mentored by Lecturers and Professors.

    Professional Services Mentoring Scheme 

    Technical and Administrative staff are mentored by colleagues at the same grade or higher. 

     

     

     

     

       

        Funding for Women in Science 
         

        Scholarships and grants for women graduates
         

        • Wellcome Trust Career re-entry fellowship scheme for scientists who have taken a career break of at least 2 years.
        • The Royal Society: Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship - scheme for excellent scientists in the UK at an early stage of their research career who require a flexible working pattern due to personal circumstances such as parenting or caring responsibilities or health issues.  Female candidates are particularly invited to apply.

        Useful links
         

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        Inclusion Leads - support for staff and PhD students

        An Inclusion Lead is a member of staff that acts as a source of advice and informal support to staff and students.  Students and staff are welcome to contact them, in confidence, with any problems or concerns they may have.  They are all trained Mental Health First Aiders.  

        The Inclusion Leads for the Division are: