Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at ICTM - Inclusion for Excellence.
The purpose of the EDI Team is to promote and advance the Institute’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion principles through the promotion of good practice for the benefit of all staff and students irrespective of protected characteristics. The group's tagline is Inclusion for Excellence, something that underpins all the work we do.
At ICTM we wish to foster a positive cultural climate where all staff and students can flourish. We aspire to be a place where people can be authentic, and their unique perspective, experiences and skills be seen as an asset to the Institute.
Equality is about developing a fairer society, where everyone can participate, and each person has the same opportunity to fulfil their potential. The Equality Act 2010 is designed to address unfair discrimination, harassment, and victimization, and to advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. There are 9 protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex, sexual orientation.
Diversity acknowledges and values the full range of differences between people both in the workplace and in wider society. Diversity acknowledges that both entry into the workplace and an individual realising their potential once there can be influenced by a range of factors beyond the characteristics included within equality legislation, including social, economic, and educational background, professional background, hierarchical level, working style, nationality etc.
Inclusion refers to an individual’s experience within the workplace and wider society and the extent to which they feel valued and included.
Meet the team
The EDI Team is made up of passionate members of the Institute. Our EDIT Co-Chairs joined the Team in February 2023.
Angela Meade - EDIT Co-Chair and MRC CTU Principle Research Scientist
Melanie Ferrao - EDIT Co-Chair and MRC CTU at UCL Unit Manager
Additional Core Group Members:
Max Parmar
Nick Freemantle
Nick Thomas
Carole Booth
Lucie Margetts (secretariat)
EDI at ICTM
The EDIT Team support key groups within the Insitute, encouraging them to keep EDI values at the heart of everything they do.
- Early Careers Network
The Early Career Network (ECN) is a panel of professional, academic and research staff based at the Institute of Clinical Trials and Methodology (ICTM). It was formed following discussions with the former ICTM Athena Swan group (now EDIT) with the aim to bring together representatives from different functional groups (e.g. Trial and Study Management, Administration, Clinical Science, Statistics) to develop and promote career development opportunities across the Institute.
The inclusive nature of the ECN is reflected in its membership and overarching purpose: to support the integration of different roles and specialties and cement a ‘team science’ approach to research. The ECN will primarily, but not exclusively, target 'early career' trialists within ~5 years of starting a career in clinical trials or those seeking further development of the base knowledge of their career. The ECN will collaborate with the MRC CTU Training Committee and other relevant/ associated committees to ensure identified training areas are not duplicated and that the ECN has visibility of any available upcoming training opportunities.
You can watch a short intro video about the ECN here and view the latest ECN Newsletter here. If you would like to know more or are interested in joining the ECN please email ictm.earlycareersnetwork@ucl.ac.uk .
- Wellbeing
Wellbeing at ICTM is hoping to support staff’s psychological wellbeing by promoting activities to help in an individualised way – whether that be through mental support or through tips for physical activity to promote a healthy body (i.e. movement, sleep or hydration).
We also aim to educate staff members and increase wellbeing by helping them feel recognised in their workplace through representation, acknowledging important events such as Black History Month and LGBT+ History Month.
If you would like to know more or are interested in joining please email ictm.wellbeing@ucl.ac.uk.
- Mentoring
The ICTM Mentoring group promotes, encourages and supports mentoring across the institute and links to a faculty scheme which enables staff members to find mentors from any institute in the faculty plus the Cancer Institute. Mentoring can be very beneficial in a variety of areas of working life and can help with confidence building, networking, role transitions, promotions, career development and work-life balance. We regularly run trainings and drop-ins which can be used to find out more information and provide access to a list of staff that are available to be mentors. We also support staff to make connections and begin meaningful mentoring relationships to help grow in their job role and develop their career.
If you have already been trained then please access the moodle course (in which you should be enrolled) for more information and to find the mentoring manual and list of mentors: https://moodle.ucl.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=11155
You can watch a short intro video about the Mentoring Group here.
- Social Committee
The ICTM Social Committee is made up of members from across the Units and is responsible for planning our social activities.
The group has previously organised seasonal parties, such as Summer and Christmas parties, and social gatherings to celebrate notable events such as staff retirements. They also raise funds for various charities through events such as quizzes, and through creating and selling themed recipe books.
Events are normally advertised via Unit-wide emails and the Weekly News. If you would like to join the Social Committee or have any queries or suggestions, then please email the Social Committee.
- Seminar Committee
The ICTM seminar committee arranges Monday lunchtime seminars each week during term time. These talks cover a wide range of topics that are of broad interest to staff across the institute. These often include results from clinical trials, meta-analyses and epidemiology, and work on how to improve clinical trials (“trials methodology”) and meta-analyses. They may also encompass other forms of research. Speakers are from within ICTM, elsewhere at UCL or from the wider community. The talks are intended to inform and educate staff in a variety of issues relevant to the work of the Unit and so they are regarded as valuable training: all staff are strongly encouraged to attend. The Seminar Committee will be organising termly EDI focussed sessions.
Seminars are advertised via ICTM-wide email lists. For further details, including on how to suggest a speaker (or volunteer as one), email the Seminar Committee.
- MRC CTU Training Committee
The MRC CTU at UCL Training Committee is responsible for identifying suitable specialist training relevant to Unit staff and provide advice regarding training as and when approached. Members of the Training Committee include representatives from across the different groups and departments within the Unit.
The committee works closely with HR to ensure that the training and development needs of all staff are met, has developed and maintains the electronic log of training records via DMS support and monitors SOP R&U rates across the Unit informing functional group leads quarterly. The Training Committee is also responsible for developing and maintaining the New Starters intranet page, as well as coordinating induction seminars for new staff members. You should normally attend the induction seminar during your first few months at the CTU - ask your Line Manager about this or contact the Training Committee directly.
The Training Committee can be contacted by email and should be your first port of call if you need advice about training at the Unit or want to find out more about the opportunities that are available to you.
Please visit the learning and development opportunities available here. A list of upcoming training courses is available on the Training Committee SharePoint page.
- Research Degrees Committee
Tbc
- Staff Student Consultative Committee
The ICTM Staff-Student Consultative and Teaching & Research Committee meets three times per each academic year and is an important forum for raising comments (both good and bad) and facilitating information exchange.
Personal Stories of EDI Support
The Institute of Clinical Trials and Methodology acknowledges the importance of our employees striking a healthy work-life balance that enables them to meet their responsibilities outside work. Here are a few success stories of ICTM colleagues currently working in flexible working arrangements who are sharing their personal stories:
- Lucie Margetts - Institute Administrator
I am currently a part-time Masters student at the University of Westminster, studying two days a week.
When applying for the Insititute Administrator role I was able to ask questions about flexible working patterns that would allow me to continue with my studies whilst also working at ICTM. I confirm my study days in advance with my line manager and have been supported with working three days a week at UCL.
I am also able to change my working days if additional meetings or assignments require me to be available on my typical working days. An example of this was completing my dissertation presentation: my line manager confirmed that I could swap my working days for that week. This flexibility and support meant I could work on my presentation and attend the session without stress and achieve a grade I am proud of.
The support at ICTM allows me to manage my time appropriately and complete my work to the best of my abilities, whilst completing my studies in a subject I am passionate about.
To mark International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we interviewed our EDIT co-chair Angela Meade and PhD student Shiva Taheri about their experiences as women in science.
At ICTM, we want to celebrate the achievements of women in science, remembered and forgotten, and encourage the next generation of girls to get involved in STEM so everyone can benefit from their future contributions. By raising awareness, we hope to expand the professional opportunities available so women can fulfil their potential!
YouTube Widget Placeholderhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaNiut6JeFU
EDIT Events
ICTM’s Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Team hosted an International Day!
In Happiness at Work Week 2023 we invited staff to bring in dishes from their home country or a country they are affiliated with. It was great to share food with colleagues and celebrate the diversity of our Institute!
Thank you to all the staff who participated, and we look forward to next year’s event.
This year, EDIT hosted a Diwali and Bandi Shhor Divas celebration!
Our staff enjoyed some sweet and savoury treats, as well as making coloured sand and sequin rangolis. We put information posters up around the room so our staff could learn about the meaning of the festivals and celebrate the diversity of their colleagues.
We wish everyone a Happy Diwali and Bandi Shhor!
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