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Information about People and Culture activities and resources in the School of Informatics
Some areas of our ways of working can be improved. AdvanceHE recently carried out a consultation, leading to the report “Understanding Ways of Working“. It is freely available for you to read, and AdvanceHE will present it at the October School General Meeting. The report gives a clear overview of where we can improve as a School (as well as data to support changes at the University level). Thank you all for your input!
The next step is, clearly, to actually make things better. The report has some recommendations, and the School already had several other ideas. They are summarised on this padlet. Have a look. Do you feel these actions would be useful? Would you change or add any? Please add your take, so we end up with an concrete action plan that improves, nay perfects, our ways of working together!
Our School works best when everybody is heard, and nobody is left behind. We are always eager to find out how to improve our community, with regular official feedback opportunities. In the last two years the School Culture survey, Athena Swan focus groups, and the University’s Staff Engagement survey have been implemented. These have revealed some common issues that we should improve; and although some we can only raise to College or University, there is a great deal that we as a School can act upon.
Findings to date may indicate that we need to listen and respond further to the needs of our staff. We’re keen to hear voices from across the whole School, especially including those who may not have contributed their views yet.
Therefore, the School is contracting an external body, Advance HE, to do three things:
Analyse all available data to understand what workplace issues are happening;
Facilitate an independent consultation of our School community to understand why these issues are challenging;
Develop independent recommendations about improving staff and student experiences.
Practically, over the next couple of months, Advance HE will be conducting 8 focus groups – 2 for professional services staff, 2 for academic staff, 2 for research staff, and 2 for research students – as well as in-depth interviews with key senior staff members. All work is completely independent from the School leadership, with robust and proper privacy and ethics considerations in place.
Our School has kindly invested in this work to improve our culture. When you are invited to join a focus group, please grab the chance, even if – especially if – you typically don’t respond to surveys. It is a great opportunity to improve our effectiveness to work together as a productive and happy community. Let’s seize it!
The following is posted on behalf of an anonymous member of the School community.
Considering it affects all our colleagues with ovaries (and their families too), I wanted to share a few pointers about peri-menopause.
I was ignorant. Very ignorant.
I thought menopause happens around age 60. In fact, the average is 51.
But most women will suffer symptoms from age 41-45, many already at 38-40.
I thought the symptoms would be the popular “hot flushes”. But those arrive years later (or not at all), the first symptoms could be pain in your joints, shortness of breath, dry eyes or dozens of others (some of us thought we had long covid…)
I thought doctors would prescribe hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) for it, in many cases.
However, many doctors have no training in it, there is a shortage of HRT, and some will tell you that “most women will pass through menopause without medical help”.
That’s accurate; not because medical support is not important, but because HRT was not prescribed much in the past…
You may have to ask around to find a doctor who can inform you about HRT.
If you and your doctor decide for it, it’s free with the NHS.
I thought menopause was just a few weeks of hot flushes, and then ageing continues as usual.
Instead, perimenopause can last from a year to 12 years (about 4 or 5 years seems to be common).
While the symptoms are bad enough, the worst might come after ten or twenty years, particularly if hormonal replacement therapy is not used.
It can set the stage for osteoporosis (and hence bone fractures), bladder infections, incontinence and even a higher risk of some diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
It can be particularly stressful for people with a history of mental health problems, possibly contributing to a peak in suicides in women around 50-54.
But at the same time, hormonal replacement therapy is associated with an increase in breast cancer and stroke risk, depending on family history. The hammer and the anvil. Welcome to middle age.
As usual, read the statistics carefully and rely on medical sources (NHS, EU EMA, reviews from The Lancet) and medical professionals, but well-written books can provide a useful introduction.
I would recommend reading at least one book by a doctor having ovaries and peri or post-menopausal.
I thought that if the symptoms were so bad, surely friends would have told me about it, but it’s not a jolly topic to discuss. And there is a lot of stigma. Ask around politely, and people may be kind enough to share.
Also, women from your mother’s generation may not have been informed enough to connect the dots with all the symptoms that appear sometimes years after their periods stop.
I thought one could wait to see if the symptoms go away, and if not, use hormonal replacement therapy, but there is a window of opportunity in peri-menopause to start it, so do inform yourself in advance.
Hope you will find this information useful now or in the future. Please note that any medical treatment (or herbal extracts containing human-analogue hormones) incurs risks that you will have to evaluate in consultation with your medical practitioners.
Three months ago we opened for discussion a draft of our School Values, a proposed list developed by a group of about 25 people. There have been many contributions and views, often very thoughtful. It’s great to see that a large part of our School community is involved and actively helps to ground our shared values!
Two main themes coming out of this discussion were that the previous list was not specific to Informatics, too generic. We have curated suggestions and have now adopted the following as our School values, which are more specific to our work and are easier to base decisions and actions on. This is the end result of careful contributions of around 100 people.
Civility We treat everyone considerately, care for each other, and seek to influence society responsibly.
Collaboration We share responsibilities across our community, work together to achieve our goals, and help each other effect positive change.
Curiosity We seek diverse evidence and opinions, and welcome things that challenge our views as an opportunity to learn.
Integrity We make decisions as rationally and transparently as we can.
Humility We acknowledge that our understanding of the world and each other is always incomplete, and revise continually.
Many more aspects that we do value highly may not be highlighted enough, but we have to prioritise. As our common culture evolves naturally, so will the underlying Values. Therefore this record will be revised in years to come, but for now the School is adopting these as its core principles.
Our next goal is to ensure that actions and decisions, especially tricky ones, can be led back to these Values. At all levels of our organisation. So whenever you next wonder “How can I best help this colleague?”, “How should I collaborate with that company?”, “What shall I prioritise when training students?”, “How can I communicate about working with this new system?”, or “What direction is best for my research group to go in?”, you can remember we have shared values you can fall back on to guide you.
People like to be surrounded by things they like. Having a workspace that you like makes you happier [1], more productive [2], and even behave more ethically [3]. Nobody wants to work in a soulless environment. Therefore the School of Informatics fully supports you personalising your office. You are welcome to hang posters or decorate the way that brings you most joy.
However, as we all share the building, there are some limits to customising. First, consider your colleagues. In particular, if you share an office, talk to your officemates before changing anything – see for example the PGR office etiquette charter.
Any material you display should be considered public, and therefore cannot contain offensive material. See for example the code of student conduct.
If you display something, it’s your responsibility. When it gets out of date it is up to you to update or remove it. Don’t let your plants become sad.
Our buildings are wonderfully open and transparent. You may prefer a higher degree of privacy, but do keep in mind lines of sight, and what others may prefer.
Second, for the health and safety of yourself and others:
Try not to block out light sources, and consider whether an item causes glare.
Clear up clutter, so you have enough space to move and ventilation works as it should.
Anything that gets plugged in needs to be PAT tested. Similarly, anything with a rechargeable battery needs to be monitored.
Minimise the fire hazard of papers, books, and posters.
Keep your feet on the ground. If you must reach, ask a taller person or use a step stool or ladder instead of climbing chairs or desks.
Third, corridors need to be kept open and free of combustible material. That means you can request whiteboards or pinboards outside your office – but do consider noise nuisance – again, ask Facilities. But that also means posters or other decorations should be in fire retardant cases.
We have an annual spring clean that helps us all keep our work spaces fresh. Enjoy yours!
Our university is a very large organisation. With over 15,000 staff and nearly 50,000 students, it consists of many parts. The same holds for our School. It is not always easy to find the kind of help you are looking for. Whether it’s harassment, bullying, or mental health, here are all available support options in one neat list.
It’s ok to ask for help – these people are there for you!
BCSWomen organises the annual Lovelace Colloquium: a day featuring talks, a careers panel, employer stands and a student poster contest. This year, three students from the University of Edinburgh made the trip to Sheffield, and Qiuye Zhang in fact won first place with her poster “Can Artificial Neural Networks Learn like Brains?” in the second year contest! Here is how she experienced the event:
I am excited to share my experiences and insights from the Lovelace Colloquium, where I had the opportunity to present my poster on computational neuroscience and computational psychiatry. It was my first time discussing these two fascinating fields publicly, and I was thrilled to see some attendees express interest in computational psychiatry.
Initially, my abstract didn’t mention computational psychiatry, but after being inspired by Peggy and her course on computational cognitive neuroscience, I decided to include it in my poster. The interest and discussions surrounding my presentation exceeded my expectations. We delved into topics beyond the scope of my poster, such as Hopfield networks, Bayesian models, and reinforcement learning models. The judges of the contest were very encouraging about my current research. Their kind words and support reinforced my passion for the subject and motivated me to continue my work in this field.
The event also allowed me to meet many amazing people who provided warm hugs and support when I felt nervous before my presentation. In addition to my poster experience, the keynote speeches were enlightening. They touched on the biases faced by females, gender-neutral individuals, and disabled people, as well as the use of technology to detect violence.
Going forward, I plan to be more mindful of potential biases in my research, particularly concerning people with psychiatric diseases. I will consider whether they receive adequate support and explore how to facilitate their lives when cognitive control is a challenge.
Overall, the Lovelace Colloquium was an enriching experience that allowed me to share my passion for computational neuroscience and psychiatry, learn from others, and connect with amazing people. I’m grateful for the opportunity and look forward to applying my newfound insights in my future work.
Qiuye Zhang’s poster “Can artificial neural networks learn like brains?”
Values, with a capital V, are core principles that we, as a School, stand for. They are part of our School strategic plan, and are specific to our community. You may think this is a pointless exercise in bureaucracy.
Why would we have to write these things down? There are three reasons why I think it really is valuable to explicitly record them.
Culture is a nebulous thing. Most of us recognise a rotten work environment when we’re in one. But it is much more difficult to pin down how to bring about a pleasant culture, and how to keep it up. Having a common core to tie together fragmented policies helps and sets expectations. Agreeing on, and being reminded of, our shared values lets us all make better decisions about how to behave, staff and students alike.
Having values explicit makes it easier for others to appreciate our School culture. In the last rounds of academic recruitment, many candidates commented on how welcoming and collegial they found the School. The same goes for professional services, where staff move around Schools within the University more often, but they come to Informatics because it’s a nice place to work. And the same goes for prospective students deciding whether they want to spend some of their formative years with us. We want to attract the best and nicest people to work with, and having explicit values for applicants to see when they do their homework before applying helps with that.
Having a common frame of reference makes it easier stand up to actions that do not live up to our standards. When something happens that you’re not sure was necessarily the best thing, it can be hard to actively say something about it yourself if you’re unsure how others feel. That’s sometimes called the bystander effect. But if we have agreed on our values, you do know to some extent how others feel, making it easier to see what we think is ok and what is not, and so help each other improve and become more effective as a community.
Now, this culture belongs to all of us, not just the 25 or so people who drafted the below list. All of us should agree on it, and revise this living document over time. So we’re going to ask all of you for your input. There is room for improvement on the draft list below. For example, some items cover similar sentiments and might be fused. Or maybe you plain don’t agree with some. Please look at the draft values and other’s thoughts, and contribute your comments.
Respect: We value openness and high standards of fairness, always being principled, considerate, and respectful to each other.
Inclusion: We are diverse, inclusive and accessible to all, and celebrate our deep-rooted and distinctive internationalism.
Collaboration: We have a strong sense of community, work together to achieve our goals, and help to get the best out of each other.
Excellence: We aim to achieve excellence in all that we do: teaching, research, societal responsibility.
Curiosity: We are open-minded lifelong learners who value freedom of expression.
Bravery: We are willing to question norms we take for granted, and call out injustices.
Humility: We appreciate that we may never fully understand, but educate ourselves to be as competent as we can be.
Research shows, time and again, that people are more productive when they feel valued and secure. As our Head of School likes to say, “happy chickens lay more eggs”. We don’t all have to be best buddies. In fact we can have passionate disagreements and robust discussions, about academic content, about how to improve working processes, or about teaching approaches. And that’s a good thing. But we do have to be able to work together. Agreeing on shared values explicitly is good hygiene for interpersonal work relationships.
Do you feel these represent (y)our values? Would you change, add, remove, fuse, or reorder any?
People make the School of Informatics. Whether academic, professional services, or student, without people teaching and research would halt. And people are at their best when they feel they belong in the School’s culture. At the root of an inclusive culture lies fairness, which brings out the best in people. Fairness matters, as any child knows instinctively. Because this is so obvious, it can be hard to explain. Social and economic research gives two main practical reasons why we care:
First, great ideas can come from anywhere. Working with people from different backgrounds and ways of thinking makes us better. Whether it is scientific debate, improving administrative processes, or tutorial discussions, variety of experience and perspective brings more creative solutions.
Second, people are very sensitive to inequality and unfairness. We can detect it instantly. Unfairness increases conflict and tension. When we experience too much of it we tune out, either by physically leaving or by mentally stopping productivity, sometimes involuntarily. Nobody likes conflict. On the upside, a fair culture is not just one in which people genuinely want to work and study. It also nourishes a good reputation and attracts more good things.
So, for everybody to contribute their skills, talents, and ideas, to the benefit of all, fairness matters. Challenging conventions, questioning existing ways of thinking, and sometimes robust debate, only work well when people feel confident that their views will be heard fairly. Not being constrained by what other people think boosts creativity.
Time and again research shows that in most successful teams people trust and respect each other, which allows them to take risks and be vulnerable. Increasing fairness is good for everybody. People who feel fairly treated enjoy themselves more, are more likely to help colleagues, and are more willing to persist in difficult times. Here is a very utilitarian take from Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman:
Workers are people. Raising the minimum wage makes jobs better; it doesn’t seem to make them scarcer. How is that possible? Workers are not, in fact, commodities. A bushel of soybeans doesn’t care how much you paid for it; but decently paid workers tend to do a better job.
To be fair, you don’t have to go all the way to egalitarianism, where everybody shares efforts and results equally. Some people are naturally better at some things than others, and that diversity should be used to the advantage of the whole community. We want to work with the best colleagues, even if they cannot take credit completely for their talent and effort. But the possibility and support to improve yourself should be open to everyone. People are more prepared to accept unfair outcomes if they feel that the process that led to them was fair. But we balk at unfair process even when it leads to fair outcomes.
Fairness is linked to responsibility and accountability, especially when it comes to diversity. Most of us tend to prefer the familiar. Leaning into differences between us is easier said than done. But research supports the idea that diversity in our backgrounds and beliefs translates into diversity in our ways of thinking.
Fairness matters. Diversity has practical benefits. So be fair, overcome unfamiliarity, and help your fellow people get the best out of themselves to the benefit of yourself and our entire School.
Our School is a community of people from many different backgrounds, which makes it an inspiring place to learn and work. Members are respected for who they are, and the culture they come from doesn’t matter. So, in a sense, it is weird to spotlight some groups over others. Rather than make a big deal, let’s keep being kind and supporting each other no matter what their background. It’s the small things that matter.
Nevertheless, it is Black History Month! Let’s celebrate the diversity we have, which plays a vital role in our School, including the many other cultural influences in the UK. This is an opportunity to pause and reflect on the priviledges we enjoy as students and staff in the School of Informatics. To see that this is not automatic, you may want to learn more about various people’s experiences or take action. Additionally, the University is holding various events you could attend.
