eNews 2 March
eNews: VC's message about world events, Curriculum Redefined, Teams top tips, celebrations, industrial action, International Women's Day, IMC 2022 and more
Wellbeing and support
A message from the Vice-Chancellor about world events
Yesterday (Tuesday 1 March), the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Simone Buitendijk, wrote to all colleagues to express deep concern and sadness at recent developments in Ukraine, stressing we stand in sympathy with all those affected by the ongoing conflict and outlining our shared University values. When world events affect members of our community, we know how important it is to have the right support available. If you’re affected by these issues, there are many places at the University where you can find support as a staff member, whether you’re looking for practical help, advice or someone to talk to. Specific support for students is also available.
Curriculum Redefined
Register | Leeds Curriculum interactive workshop
Sign up for an interactive workshop to learn about the exciting progress we’ve made on establishing our curriculum themes and principles, as part of Curriculum Redefined – our innovative 10-year educational change programme. There will also be the opportunity to share your thoughts and ideas about what the Leeds Curriculum means to you. There are two identical workshops to choose from, taking place between 10am and 12 noon on Tuesday 15 March and from 2-4pm on Wednesday 16 March.
Digital developments
Teams Voice
Please validate your University phone details – if prompted via email – to ensure we have the correct information. Teams Voice is currently being rolled out across the University, giving you the flexibility to make and receive telephone calls from wherever you are through Microsoft Teams. Most colleagues can already make outgoing and internal calls this way, with some also able to receive external calls. We’re now reviewing the remaining phone numbers to ensure they can also access this service, where required. Please respond promptly if you receive a request as non-validated phone numbers may be discontinued.
Teams top tips
Silencing notifications during meetings
Find out how to prevent Teams notifications during meetings. Previously, Teams only allowed you to silence these by setting your status to ‘Do not disturb’, which stops all notifications. You can now turn off notifications just for when you’re in a meeting or a call.
Q&A app
Teams has launched a new app for more structured Q&A sessions during online meetings. Rather than just using the chat facility, the app now allows the meeting organiser to add Q&As at any stage during the conversation.
Review your ‘praise’ history
You can now review the praise sent to colleagues through Teams. A new feature of Viva Insights, you can access the praise you’ve sent and received during the past six months.
Celebrate
Final call | University of Leeds Teaching Awards 2022
Applications are open until 12 noon on Friday 4 March for the University of Leeds Teaching Awards 2022. The awards celebrate and recognise excellent practice in student education and are open to all colleagues involved in teaching or supporting the student learning experience at Leeds. Watch the recording of the recent awards briefing session to find out more.
Celebrate Our Staff
Read the latest edition of our regular feature celebrating the achievements of colleagues across the University, showcasing new appointments, awards and more. You can contact Internal Comms to make submissions for the next roll of honour. This is open to all colleagues.
Industrial action
Reporting deadlines
If you’ve taken part in the recent strike action, please remember you are required to formally report it as soon as possible, but no later than the deadlines below. This is particularly important given the close proximity of this action with the end of the 21/22 tax year.
- For UCU action from Monday 14 to Tuesday 22 February, report by 4pm on Friday 4 March
- For UCU and UNISON action from Monday 28 February to Wednesday 2 March, report by 4pm on Friday 11 March
Further information can be found in the Questions and answers for UCU action and Questions and answers for UNISON action
Information and resources
For Staff In depth – Industrial action
Students
Spring graduation celebrations – change of venue
Due to recent water damage to the ceiling and floor of the Great Hall, advice from structural engineers has resulted in its closure to facilitate repair. As a result, our spring graduation celebrations will now take place in our new Esther Simpson Building. Visit the graduation FAQs page for further information.
Research
Book | Research Culture Café
Book your place on the special topic Research Culture Café on Thursday 10 March. The event will focus on UK Research and Innovation’s new open access policy for publicly funded research. This café-style conversation is an opportunity for you to share your views on the policy and how we can implement it for maximum benefit at Leeds.
International Women’s Day
Sign up | Programme of events
View the full programme of University-wide events planned to celebrate International Women’s Day 2022 on Tuesday 8 March. This year’s campaign – #BreakTheBias – is focused on calling out bias, smashing stereotypes, breaking inequality and rejecting discrimination.
Esther Simpson Building official opening
To coincide with International Women’s Day 2022, the Esther Simpson Building will be officially opened on Tuesday 8 March together with the unveiling of a blue plaque. The building is named in honour of a Leeds alumna, who spent much of her life helping scholars flee totalitarian regimes, including some 1,500 academics from Nazi Germany. Esther Simpson was awarded an honorary doctorate in 1989 to recognise her incredible work.
Register | Motivational speaker
Sign up to hear from motivational speaker Claire Lomas MBE and a panel of University colleagues about breaking the gender bias. The free online event, organised by the School of Food Science and Nutrition, takes place from 1-2pm on Monday 7 March.
Join | Women at Leeds Network panel discussion
Join the virtual Women at Leeds Network event from 12 noon to 1pm on Tuesday 8 March for a panel session and discussion to hear about, or share, experiences of being an ‘international woman’ at the University.
Book | 50 Years of Activism: The Women’s Aid Federation of England Archive
Book your place at a webinar about the history of the Women’s Aid Archive, being held from 1-2pm on Wednesday 9 March. Covering 50 years of activism against domestic abuse, the archive is housed in Special Collections at the University. The project team will introduce this significant collection and explain how it’s also improving accessibility to the archive.
Watch | LinkedIn Learning video collection
LinkedIn Learning has highlighted a collection of videos inspired by International Women’s Day 2022 and this year’s theme of #BreakTheBias. You can watch the videos on LinkedIn Learning with your free University account.
Shining a light
Parkinson Building will be lit up in purple, green and white – the colours of the suffragette movement – on Tuesday 8 March to mark International Women’s Day 2022.
Events
Register | International Medieval Congress 2022
Registration is now open to attend the International Medieval Congress 2022, which returns to campus from Monday 4 to Thursday 7 July. Run by the Institute for Medieval Studies, this year’s event will see more than 2,000 scholars from around the world presenting their research on campus, alongside festivities, stalls and exhibitions that will be open to all. Virtual sessions are also available for those unable to travel to Leeds. Visit the IMC website for further information, including the full programme.
Book | Islam Awareness Week event
Registration is now open to attend an Islam Awareness Week event on campus. Organised by the Leeds Muslim Staff Network, in collaboration with the Business School, ‘Leeds and Me: Celebrating Muslim staff and student contributions at Leeds’ is being held at University House on Thursday 10 March. The free, in-person event will showcase Muslim staff and student contributions across the University through a series of presentations, followed by networking and light refreshments.
World Unite Festival 2022 programme
LUU’s annual celebration of global community returns from Monday 7 to Sunday 13 March. The week-long World Unite Festival 2022 programme offers events, activities and talks from the University and LUU that celebrate the diversity of culture represented by our staff and students.
Register | Be Curious LATES: Cotton – unpicking the stories woven into our clothes
Sign up for the first in a new series of Be Curious LATES. Taking place from 8-9pm on Wednesday 23 March, the event explores the complex history, production and consumption of cotton from the UK and Indian perspective. Discover the global importance of cotton, learn about its history and influence on fashion, and take an exclusive peek into the rich textile collections of Leeds Museums and Galleries. LATES events are free to attend and designed exclusively for adult audiences.
Webinar | What the Future Holds: Science in the 21st century
Sign up to hear from Professor Jim Al-Khalili, theoretical physicist, author and BAFTA-nominated broadcaster, as part of our Inspired by Bragg programme. Professor Al-Khalili will reveal some of the most exciting areas of current interdisciplinary research, together with the new technologies that will transform our lives and tackle the world’s biggest challenges. The free online event, taking place tomorrow (Thursday 3 March), will also explore how we may need to rethink the sort of science taught at schools.
Book | Free Friday lunchtime concert
Watch the next free Friday lunchtime concert of the Spring Season online or in person at Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall on Friday 4 March. Part of our International Concert Series, the event presents collaborative project ‘Same Moon in the Same World’, co-led by guitarist, Ant Law, and tenor saxophonist, Alex Hitchcock.
In case you missed it
Research Transformed – the podcast
Apply | Springboard Development Programme
Sign up | Lifelong Learning Centre newsletter
Help shape our research data storage service
Apply | Leadership development programmes
Feedback | Risk Management of Events Protocol
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