Diversity in Research Podcast

Research management has grown globally over recent years, with universities, funders, and policymakers recognising the profession's importance in ensuring effective research delivery, particularly as research becomes increasingly international in focus.A new book, The Emerald Handbook of Research Management and Administration Around the World, reflects this growth by taking a global approach to understanding the growth, differences, similarities and challenges in research management. For this episode, we speak to two of the book's editors (Simon Kerridge and Melinda Fisher) about the book, its idea, and what they hope people will get from it. We also interviewed two of the chapter authors from Columbia (Andrea Navas Calixo) and Malaysia (Shaliza Ibrahim and Tan Hsiao Wei), where we explored research management in their respective countries.The book is available as an Open Access publication and can be found here: https://www.emerald.com/insight/publication/doi/10.1108/9781803827018 If you want to check out the specific chapters that were discussed in this episode, these can be found here:- Malaysia: https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80382-701-820231047- Columbia: https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80382-701-820231042 We were also lucky to have the opportunity to write a chapter about diversity and internationalisation and how we believe it is now a core competency in global research management. You can find our chapter here: https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80382-701-820231033 Thanks for listening. Please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research, please visit www.diversiunity.com.

Along with much of the European research community, we're slowly warming up for what FP10 - the next European research framework programme - will look like. Our primary concern, not surprisingly, is what role diversity and internationalisation play. A main consideration, of course, is what is politically feasible, and without naming names - well, we are - some European countries have more conservative views on diversity than we do. So, we decided to look at history and invited historian Kamil Karczweski on the podcast. He has researched LGBTQ+ rights in Poland in the interwar period, and his research showed us that the story is more complicated than you might think. He explains that at the time, Poland was in some ways very progressive by decriminalising homosexuality, one of the first countries in Europe to do so.  We talk about homonationalism, what it means and what it might suggest for diversity and internationalisation as FP10 is developed. We also discuss some of the political differences within LGTBQ+ movements - and then we speculate what all of this means when shaping, negotiating and voting on the next European research framework programme. Kamil's research beautifully links personal stories to tell a political story of the past and today. We had him tell us a few details of his work on the podcast. Links to the articles can be found below.  You can find Kamil here:University profileTwitterThe three articles mentioned in the episode can be found here:“Call Me by My Name:” A “Strange and Incomprehensible” Passion in the Polish Kresy of the 1920sTransnational Flows of Knowledge and the Legalisation of Homosexuality in Interwar Poland“For a Pole, It all was a Great Abomination”: Grassroots Homonationalism and State Homophobia à la Polonaise—A History Lesson from a Place Between East and WestThanks for listening. Please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research, please visit www.diversiunity.com.

UK politics are never boring - not even when it comes to research policy (which - let’s face it - can appear quite sedate for non-research-geeks).In this episode, we explore the recent spat after UKRI announced that in the next REF - Research Culture would count for 25% of an institution's score which was closely followed by a tender to develop indicators to help them measure culture. That didn’t go down well with a lot of universities, and on top of all that, UKRI dissolved their EDI committee based on governmental critique. That didn’t go down well with the research community. But we liked the idea - so we decided to do an episode on why indicators in research culture are a good idea - and particularly why we should have indicators on EDI topics - and what they could look like. Unsurprisingly, we think universities should be held accountable in this field.We also go into some of the concerns about indicators - and address the questions and comments we had on LinkedIn for this episode.Finally, we argue that this is not just a UK thing. The term “research culture” is travelling to other countries, so we should all be aware of the possibilities and challenges - and have indicators on the topic. In our conversation, we reference:Two blogposts by Lizzie Gadd, Stephen Curry and James Wilsdon:https://www.researchprofessional.com/0/rr/news/political-science-blog/2023/6/A-clap-for-the-Frap.htmlhttps://www.researchprofessional.com/0/rr/news/political-science-blog/2023/10/Plans-for-REF-2028-should-be-debated--not-throttled.htmlArticles by Research Professional (Paywall):https://www.researchprofessional.com/0/rr/news/uk/research-councils/2023/6/REF-2028-changes-send--strong-message--on-equality.htmlhttps://www.researchprofessional.com/0/rr/news/uk/research-councils/2023/10/Concerns-grow-in-universities-over-REF-research-culture-metrics.htmlArticle by Erin Cech:https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/sciadv.abo1558The INORMS More Than Our Ranks initiative:https://figshare.com/articles/poster/_b_NWB2023_More_Than_Our_Rank_a_preliminary_analysis_of_signatories_narratives_b_/24278587Thanks for listening. Please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research, please visit www.diversiunity.com.

We begin this episode by welcoming the new EU Commissioner (expected at least) Iliona Ivanovo, by saying “Hey gurl”! as only two gay guys can do it. We finish season 6 with a look back at the first half of 2023 and looking at wins and fails from our point of view. We look at some of the workshops we have run, research policy and other things going on in diversity and internationalisation in research and research management. And then we look at what’s to come in the rest of the year - for us - and particularly our expectations regarding the new ERA strategy, the next REF and the early discussions of FP10.  Because a lot is going on that will set the scene for the coming years - in some instances for many years, and that’s, of course, interesting in a field like diversity that is undergoing rapid change right now.This episode is edited by Arthur Deligne.Thanks for listening. Please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research, please visit www.diversiunity.com.

We had the pleasure of participating in the EARMA Annual Conference in Prague. We hosted our own panel, Jakob was part of a discussion table - and we listened to presentations, looked at the posters and had lots of discussions and fun.In this episode, we follow up on the conference by reflecting on the role of diversity and internationalisation at the conference generally and in specific sessions. We also have a chat about the two issues that cut through the conference: The RM Roadmap project and The Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment. We enjoyed the conference, and we would like to thank the people who came to our sessions, the presenters we listened to and all the people we talked to. Thank you to EARMA for letting us record at the conference.This episode was edited by Arthur Deligne. Thanks for listening. Please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research, please visit www.diversiunity.com.

In this episode we talk to Clemens Striebing about the book that he co-edited called "Diversity and Discrimination in Research Organizations" (link below). We talked about the difference between discimination and diversity, and why that matters, because often we actually talk about anti-discrimination initiatives when we talk about diversity, and that is making the discussion unclear. We also talk about leadership and management, and how New Public Management has impacted how research organisations work with diversity. The books has chapters on internationalisation and countries around the world, so we had a good chat about internationalisation and it's role and finally the role of research managers and administrators in this work.This is an important work and as always we thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. Clemens and the other writers of this book are doing important work for moving the conversation and the practical work on discrimination and diversity. We can only recommend you give the book a read - once you have finished listening to the podcast episode of course. You can find the book here: https://books.emeraldinsight.com/book/detail/diversity-and-discrimination-in-research-organizations/?k=9781801179591You can follow Clemens on Twitter : https://twitter.com/CStriebingThis episode was edited by Arthur Deligne.Thanks for listening. Please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research, please visit www.diversiunity.com.

We don't want to admit it, but it's been a few years since we were research advisors. Not that we're old - not at all, but it's been a while since we worked with funding databases to identify research funding for researchers. So imagine us getting an introduction to Streamlyne's software FundFit. We found it really interesting and wanted a chat about what it can and can't do, and the potential in FundFit and other software solutions. Luckily, Streamlyne's CEO Randy Özden was happy to join us on the podcast for a chat. And we learn a lot from his insights and his reflections on the future of software in the field.And while we still think that the core skills are person skills when it comes to diversity and internationalisation, we recognise that software solutions will increasingly be part of the toolbox in the future.We had fund and learnt a lot, and it's definitely a topic that we will follow-up on in the future. We hope you enjoy the conversation.This episode is edited by Arthur Deligne. For more information about Streamlyne do check out their links below:Website: http://streamlyne.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/streamlyne-incTwitter: https://twitter.com/Streamlyne_inc Thanks for listening. Please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research, please visit www.diversiunity.com.

It’s absolutely bonkers we don’t talk more about Nigerian research policy! Have you ever said that to yourself or your colleagues? No! Well, you should. Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy and the country with the largest population on the continent as well. And in 2050 it will have the 3rd largest population in the world. So an important country that will only grow in importance. We were slightly embarrassed that we knew next to nothing about the country’s research policy and used the country’s presidential elections as an occasion to learn more, so we had a chat with Dr Mustapha Popoola Ayo, who’s quite the expert on the topic. And we talked research policy broadly, infrastructure, funding and international collaboration. It is an inspirational and informative chat. This is not our last episode exploring research policies in countries we don’t necessarily talk about in that context. There will be more to follow.This episode was produced and edited by Arthur Deligne.You can read more about Mustapha’s new project at: www.s2nigeria.comYou can find him on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mustapha-ayo-phd-01599061/Or on Twitter as:  @greeners_s2bThanks for listening. Please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research, please visit www.diversiunity.com.

Admittedly we sometimes live in a bubble where all things diversity and internationalisation are incredibly interesting and incredibly important. And they are. But how about the research managers and administrators who support researchers in writing grant proposals? We needed a snap back to reality, and who better to help us with that than Niels Tudor-Vinther. Niels was work with European research funding in different ways for a number of years, several of them as a proposal writer. Now he’s the host of “The Grant”, a podcast dedicated to European research funding. So not only can he talk about his own experience – he has talked to research managers from all over Europe about this topic. But how do they talk about diversity and internationalisation? Do they talk about it at all? And their thoughts on Gender Equality Plans?We have both worked pre-award previously in our careers, so we could certainly see ourselves in some of the points. We had fun and had some good discussions – and look forward to chat with Niels again in the future.You can find Niels and The Grant here:Connect with Niels at LinkedInLearn more about The Grant at the website: https://www.thegrant.eu/This episode was edited and produced by Arthur Deligne. Thanks for listening. Please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research, please visit www.diversiunity.com.

We're back with the first episode of season six (can you believe it!).We kick off with a conversation with Julius Wesche about science communication and particularly social media. For science communication to work you need attention - but not all researchers with a minority background like the attention as it can draw focus on their personal characteristics etc. and steer the communication in a negative direction. How do we balance that?That was the core issue of our conversation that took us far and wide. Julius is a researcher at Norwegian University of Science and Technology and runs the consultancy "Science Communication Accelarator" and the podcast of the same name. Julius managed to turn the roles and asked us questions - like in all good conversations. We all learned something and we agree, that science communication is a necessity - we just have to figure out which channels to use, and have a support system to catch us if shit hits the fan. You can see more about Julius here:His research profile: https://www.ntnu.edu/employees/julius.wescheRead more about Science Communication Accelerator: https://scicomx.com/Listen to his podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/2uO8pxtd1vL7zHBIa7NVpk?si=410eef8f29214b22&nd=1or at: https://t.co/EB5gIAO25R You can follow Julius and his company here:Twitter: https://twitter.com/JuliusWesche Twitter: https://twitter.com/scicomxMediaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliuswesche/Thanks for listening. Please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research, please visit www.diversiunity.com.

When we learned earlier this year about Kevin Guyan's book "Queer Data: Using Gender, Sex and Sexuality Data for Action" we knew we had to have him on the podcast. We talk about what queer data is and what the queering of data is. The latter probably being less familiar to the listeners.  And we talk about the pros and cons of queer data. Why it can actually be problematic for the queer community to have more data collected about them. We talk queer competencies and the central question: Who should be in the room?Finally we talk about ethics, responsible research and the challenges of open science. This is obviously a topic that is close to us personally. Still, we truly think that researchers, research managers, EDI consultants and other people involved in open science and science policy can learn much from this conversation. We hope you enjoy the conversation.You can learn more about Kevin here:Twitter: @kevin_guyanWebsite: www.kevinguyan.comLinks to the texts Kevin mentioned during our interview: Jen Jack Giesking. Size Matters to Lesbians, Too: Queer Feminist Interventions into the Scale of Big DataSara Ahmed. On Being Included: Racism and Diversity in Institutional LifeSara Ahmed. ‘You end up doing the document rather than doing the doing’: Diversity, race equality and the politics of documentation Some non-paywalled links to some of Kevin's writing that speak to some of the themes highlighted: The limits of numerical diversity (The Skinny, August 22)The need to look at data’s harmful history (The Conversation, February 22)Technology and the downsides of being counted (WIRED, December 21)Thanks for listening. Please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research, please visit www.diversiunity.com. Thanks for listening. Please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research, please visit www.diversiunity.com.

In this episode, we take the opportunity to examine the recent European Commission report "Approaches to inclusive gender equality in research and innovation". In a change of approach, instead of inviting the authors to talk to us, we did our own analysis of the report and chatted about what universities can do after reading the report. We liked the direction of travel outlined in the report and explored why this remains such an important area in higher education research. Because one thing is certain after reading this report: DG Research wants diversity to be more than gender, so universities should prepare. Luckily our podcast will guide you through the key points and get you ready for the changes ahead. You can find the report here:https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/006a43e7-3eda-11ed-92ed-01aa75ed71a1/language-enThanks for listening. Please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research, please visit www.diversiunity.com. Thanks for listening. Please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research, please visit www.diversiunity.com.

In the episode, we talk to Stephane Berghmans, Director of Research and Innovation at the European University Association. Stephane was in the room as the "Agreement on Reform of Research Assessment" was written, and we expect him to play a key role in the implementation as well.  We talked about how the agreement came about, why it is important - and of course, what happened to diversity in the principles. We didn't agree with Stephane on all things, but big principles are at stake here, so that's only natural - quite the contrary, it made it a great debate on the future of research assessment, the importance and challenges of institutional autonomy, and of course how research managers and administrators can play a role in the implementation.   We trust this will have a major impact in the coming years, so we were happy to get to talk about it from the outset, and this is surely one of the topics we'll follow closely - and we will continue to insist that diversity plays an important role in the implementation.   You can learn more about Stephane Berghmans and the agreement here: Visit EUA's Website, where you can also find the agreement: https://bit.ly/EUAWebsite​​​ Follow @euatweets on Twitter: https://bit.ly/EUATwitter​​​ Follow EUA on Linkedin: https://bit.ly/EUALinkedin​​​Like EUA on Facebook: https://bit.ly/EUAFacebook​​​ Thanks for listening. Please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod . If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research, please visit www.diversiunity.com. Thanks for listening. Please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research, please visit www.diversiunity.com.

Science diplomacy is a great concept, and one of the things that inspired us to move into this work. Actually Jakob thought about writing a PhD on the topic for a while. But one thing is talking about the concept - another to put it into action in a time of war as we see now with the war in Ukraine. So we invited professor Rasmus Gjedssø Bertelsen from the Arctic University in Norway (UiT) for a chat about why the science community cut all ties to Russia if we are so focused on the possibilities of science diplomacy, why we don't see the potential of science diplomacy in Afghanistan, what to think of the "stick to science campaign" and how research managers can work with science diplomacy in their daily work.Rasmus Gjedssø is work package leader in the H2020 project InsSciDE where he runs a thread on "Power with Science Diplomacy". He is also a working group leader in the EU SD Alliance.Rasmus had a lot on his heart and we had a great conversation about the broad implications of science diplomacy that we can all use in a world that isn't getting easier to navigate.  W also managed to compare universities to characters in Jane Austen novels in our final discussions - and it's always a good episode when we get to talk Jane Austen.  You can learn more about Rasmus and the projects here:On Rasmus; www.arcticgeolab.co You can follow Rasmus on LinkedI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rasmusgb/You can follow Rasmus on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/RasmusGB Or on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/RasmusGBertelsenThe InsSciDE case studies are in open access on www.zenodo.org/communities/insscideYou can read more about the EU Science Diplomacy Alliance at: www.science-diplomacy.euYou can follow the EU Science Diplomacy at Twitter at: @SciDipAllianceOr follow the hashtags: #SciDip and #ScienceDiplomacyThanks for listening. Please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research, please visit www.diversiunity.com. Thanks for listening. Please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research, please visit www.diversiunity.com.

In this episode, we talk to Uzma Sulaiman, associate director of Community Jameel, an independent, global organisation.  The opportunity to chat with Community Jameel grabbed our attention as we rarely get to talk to a research funder from the Global South, specifically one targeting societal challenges in the Global South with Global South academic leads. We had a great conversation about their work and the importance of the Global South being a key player on the funding side of international research collaborations. We, of course, also talked about the challenges of diversity and international collaborations, where there can be some very clear differences in different parts of the globe.Discussions like these are important to us all to shift the perspective from a traditional Global North perspective and ensure we build effective research collaborations based on equality. The funding landscape is slowly shifting globally, and we should all pay attention. You can find Community Jameel here: Website: https://www.communityjameel.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/communityjameel LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/communityjameel/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/communityjameel/?hl=en You can find Uzma Sulaiman here:Twitter: https://twitter.com/Uzma_SulaimanLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/uzma-sulaiman-3083122b/?originalSubdomain=uk Thanks for listening. Please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research, please visit www.diversiunity.com. Thanks for listening. Please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research, please visit www.diversiunity.com.

There is no doubt that there are many immediate consequences for women in the US when it comes to the overturn of Roe vs Wade. It almost doesn't bare thinking. But we all should, and Katie Rose Guest Pryal caught our attention with an article in The Chronicle called: "Abortion is a Higher-Ed Issue " (link below). Katie is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina School of Law, an author and a public speaker. One of the topics she speaks and writes about is mental health and aspects of mental disability. In her article, she highlighted some of the many mental health consequences the Dobbs decision could have on mental health. It led to a broad conversation that really enlighted us on negative aspects of reproductive health for women generally, legal consequences for all just by talking about a potential abortion and the culture of mistrust the decision can lead to.The consequences are many and dire, and we urge you all to pay attention to the many things that are going on and support the fight for reproductive rights generally, but also listen to Katie's advice on what to do at the end of the episode. This is as always a topic we will follow closely.  You can find Katie here: Website: katieroseguestpryal.com Article in The Chronicle: Abortion is a Higher-Ed IssueTwitter: https://twitter.com/krgpryalLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krgpryal/Thanks for listening. Please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research please visit www.diversiunity.com. Thanks for listening. Please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research, please visit www.diversiunity.com.

We saw the leak, but still. It couldn't happen. But it did.In June the US Supreme Court overturned Roe vs Wade, the verdict that in 1973 ensured women's right to abortion on a federal level in the US.In a controversial concurring opinion Justice Thomas basically promised to overturn the right to gay marriage, gay sex and contraception as well if the right cases were presented. So we decided to invite Phillip Ayoub on the podcast to learn more about the consequences for the  staff with a minority back ground in academia and whether we should be worried globally. Phillip is an incoming professor of political science at University College London. Before that he was an associate professor of diplomacy and world affairs at Occidental College, Los Angeles.  In his book "When States Come Out" (link below) he wrote about the fight for gay rights in Europe. So he was just the person to ask: What went wrong? But also to ask where to look for inspiration. You can learn more about Phillip at his website: https://www.phillipayoub.com/On Twitter as: @Phillip_AyoubAnd on linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phillip-ayoub-7b462991/ You can find his book here:  https://www.amazon.com/When-States-Come-Out-Contentious/dp/1107535891/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1457368119&sr=1-1And if you're not reade for the full book, you can read an article  Phillip wrote earlier this year on LGBTI exclusions in political science:   https://bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journals/ejpg/5/2/article-p154.xml Thanks for listening. Do please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research please visit www.diversiunity.com. Thanks for listening. Please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research, please visit www.diversiunity.com.

In this episode, we talk to Erika Valenti from Emerald Publishing and Ashley Richard from the University of Manitoba about the Emerald-led initiatives "First voices First" and "The Power of Diverse Voices". They focus on giving voice to indigenous people on their own terms and expanding the notion of what we consider research, with a focus on North America.Ashley also tells us about her work for her community and female entrepreneurship, and you really get a sense of how important this work is, and how doing this work is not only making academia more inclusive but we're lifting an entire community.  Talk about societal impact! They are both in it for the long game and we have a great chat about the initiatives and their perspectives. We also cover the ethics of this kind of work and by the end, they both give advice on how we can proceed with this work in a constructive and respectful way.This is one of those talks that show us how working with diversity can have a tremendous impact and how a global initiative can affect a local community if we all do it right.  If you like this episode we recommend you go back to season two and give our episode with Tyson Yunkaporta a listen.  To find out more about the projects see: First Voices First  Indigenous Voices Ashley and her team's report on Indigenous women entrepreneurshipErika's Twitter is @valenti5_erika Ashley's Twitter is @asderi_ And more of Ashley's work can be found here: @wekh_pcfe Book mentions:Erika mentioned this book: Safe Spaces, Brave Spaces. Ashley mentioned two books:21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian ActIndigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Métis, & Inuit Issues in Canada Thanks for listening. Do please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research please visit www.diversiunity.com. Thanks for listening. Please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research, please visit www.diversiunity.com.

In this chat we talk to Daniel Spichtinger from Austria on the topic of open science, why the EU Commission felt a need to develop a strategy for international research collaboration,  what happened to "open to the world, how to understand " and what is "open strategic autonomy". We discuss the role of science diplomacy in an increasingly complex international world, and of course how minorities should navigate all this when talking about "values".                                                                                                                                                                                         Since the podcast was recorded the EU has published a toolkit on how to mitigate foreign interference in research and innovation - this really is a fast-moving space! You can see the toolkit here:  https://ec.europa.eu/info/news/commission-publishes-toolkit-help-mitigate-foreign-interference-research-and-innovation-2022-jan-18_enYou can contact Daniel on Twitter (@danielsp) or via LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/dspichtinger/We are taking a short break from podcasts as we do some planning and preparation for the year ahead but we will be back. Make sure you rate and review the podcast and follow us on Twitter @divrespod. If you'd like to know more about the work we do check out our website: www.diversinunity.com Thanks for listening. Please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research, please visit www.diversiunity.com.

Northumbria University is currently working through the process to achieve the Race Equality Charter (https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/equality-charters/race-equality-charter). We talk to Professor Tom Lawson, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and historian about the approach Northumbria is taking, why achieving the charter is important to them and how it fits into the bigger diversity and inclusion picture.We have a really interesting conversation about listening and why that is key to making changes and improvements while recognising that the journey isn't complete when the charter is achieved. The work done as part of the process is more important than the charter itself.Changing cultures in Higher Education, making them more inclusive and giving everyone equal opportunity is incredibly important to make sure that research is effective and international research collaborations thrive.Do follow us on Twitter: @divrespodFor more information on the work we do please visit: www.diversiunity.comThanks for listening. Please share, rate, review and follow us on Twitter @Divrespod .If you're interested in our work with diversity and internationalisation in research, please visit www.diversiunity.com.