First CATALISI webinar: Gender and Inclusion in Higher Education

First CATALISI webinar: Gender and Inclusion in Higher Education

First webinar held on November 23, 2023

The Webinar on Gender and Inclusion in Higher Education aimed to achieve several key goals, including the dissemination of best practices and research findings in the realm of gender and inclusion within higher education. 

Additionally, the webinar sought to pinpoint actionable strategies to advance gender equality and promote inclusion within the higher education landscape. The success of the event can be attributed to the insightful contributions of two distinguished speakers who are experts in the field of Gender and Inclusion in Higher Education. Namely:

Sabina Pellizzoni a technologist at INFN (National Institute for Nuclear Physics), and she is the coordinator Gender Mentoring programme INFN: the first gender mentoring in an Italian research institution. Sabina is an INFN Team member for GENERA Network and she is external expert of the GETA Observatory CNR IRPPS: for updating and analysing data and monitoring gender balance issues.

Magdalena Zadkowska an Assistant professor in Sociology Institute at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Gdańsk, Principal Investigator, Academic Teacher, Expert, focused on women and men carriers in STEM, diversity management, intimate relations and gender studies. Cooperates in international research projects with Norway, USA, Canada, UK, Italy, Romania, Chile and France.

Their diverse backgrounds in physics and sociology brought a multifaceted perspective to the topic, enriching the discussions. Notably, the speakers presented best practices in advancing gender equality and fostering inclusion om higher education contexts, providing valuable insights for the audience. The engaged audience demonstrated a profound interest in the subject matter, creating a dynamic space for mutual learning. This collaborative environment facilitated the exchange of research results, personal insights, and backgrounds, ultimately strengthening cooperation among European universities and institutions.

Check out the Learning Hub for materials and recordings of all upcoming workshops!

In case you missed the first wbinar, you can watch the recording also here:

First CoP Workshop: A Leap Towards Transformative Research and Innovation

First CoP Workshop: A Leap Towards Transformative Research and Innovation

First CoP workshop held on November 7, 2023

The aim of the first CoP Mobilization and Mutual Learning (MML) workshop was to share key insights from previous EU-funded projects and successful experiences on institutional transformation in Research and Innovation that can be of inspiration to the Community of Practice. This also contributed to accelerating the transformation of universities in different areas of intervention.

After an insightful introduction on the CATALSI policy context by Stijn Delaure, from DG RTD, the four speakers illustrated their projects, stories and experiences followed by an engaging session of questions and answers. . The contribution of three H2020-funded project representatives (TIMES4SC, GRACE, Co-Change) was enormously beneficial to share with participants processes and challenges linked to institutional transformation implementation. The event was opened and closed by the coordinator of CATALISI, APRE.  

In the words of Laura Mentini, the workshop was proven to be successful in gathering a wide pool of experts and professionals in the field of institutional transformation of higher Education Institutions around the priorities of the European Research Agenda. 

The variety of participants attending the event, the engaging presentations and questions from the audience illustrates the profound interest on the topic as well as the urgent need to continue creating mutual learning spaces to share tools, advice and knowledge on how to promote and consolidate Research and Innovation transformations at university level as well as strengthening European Universities collaborations and alliances.
Laura Mentini
Project Manager, APRE

Our event speakers were:

Stijn Delaure, Policy Officer, ERA, Spreading Excellence, Research Careers DG for Research and Innovation – European Commission, Belgium; responsible for policy development in support of higher education sector, research management and research careers, in the context of the new European Research Area (ERA). 

Eugenia Vilarchao, Science Officer, Inclusive Science cluster, European Science Foundation; works on EC-funded projects with a primary focus on Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) such as SUPPORTER and TIME4CS, where her expertise centres on Gender Equality, Citizen Science, and Public Engagement. She also significantly contributes to integrating RRI principles into various research projects (RESIST, ENFIELD, MOBI-TWIN). In the frame of the GRACE-RRI project, she was part of the coordination team and lead the implementation of Institutional Changes on RRI within the ESF. 

Ciro Franco, Head of National Research Support Office and Coordinator of HRS4R Management Committee at Sapienza Università di Roma. The National Research Support Office promotes the participation of Sapienza researchers to research funding opportunities at national and regional level, including PNRR funds. He has a long experience as expert and vice-chair within evaluation panels for R&I projects in the context of Horizon funding programme. 

Mila Grahovac, Associate Professor, University of Novi Sad; an associate professor at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad. Although her main field of expertise is phytopathology and biological and other alternative tools for plant disease management, from 2018 she is actively involved in RRI, particularly in gender equality and public engagement in RPO. She is working on integrating GE and PE at institutional level at Faculty of Agriculture and she was leader of the RRIzing lab in the Horizon 2020 project Co-Change.  

Claudia Iasillo, Project Manager, APRE focusing on science and society relationship. She has been involved in several EU funded projects (e.g. RURITAGE, SISCODE, QUEST, FETFX, HOLiFOOD) and she is coordinating the H2020 project TIME4CS and the HE project BlueRev.   

Next action steps:  

The Community of Practice members will be involved in the CATALISI project activities and events at both national and European level, according to their geographical focus and expertise, to continue sharing their methods, tools and stories.  An online platform has been created to stimulate participants in common discussions. The second MML online event will be organized by APRE for the Community of Practice members, and further details will be shared soon. 

Learn more about joining the Community of Practice on our dedicated page and check out the Learning Hub for materials and recordings of all upcoming workshops!

In case you missed the first CoP, you can watch the recording also here: