Other Activities
January 2018
Women Should Be Both Seen & Heard - Seminar 7
"Mentoring – How to establish a successful relationship”
Friday, January 26, 2018, 1pm, Paccar Theatre, Science Gallery, Trinity College Dublin
Mentoring is an essential part of a career in research. We are asked to teach those who wish to learn in our fields. And young researchers look for guidance to cultivate their early careers. We joined Dr. Patricia Eadie of the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland for a stimulating conversation on this topic. She shared her vast experience of mentoring and gave tips for both mentors and mentees.
A graduate of UCC in 1981, Patricia specialised in Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery doing her training in Ireland, UK, USA and Australia. Her areas of special interest are hand surgery, both traumatic and elective, cosmetic surgery and in particular cosmetic breast surgery. With a strong interest and experience in examinations and assessment, she sits on the Board of the JCIE (Joint Committee on Intercollegiate Examinations) and more recently on the newly established JSCFE. (Joint Surgical Colleges Fellowships Examinations) and continues as an Examiner Assessor for JCIE. She has spent time on voluntary missions to Vietnam, Albania, Ghana and Jordan, lecturing and training local surgeons.
December 2017
Colleagues from across the College presented a series of lectures and film screenings examining the place of women in international film. Each screening was preceded by a short lecture.
Watch this space for details of the next Women in Film Series.
Women Should Be Both Seen & Heard - Seminar 6
"Gender and Sexuality through the Screen: Exploring the Role of Gender and Sexuality with Gaming and Potential Applications"
In what way can we address these issues and problematise current realities? Guest speaker Ciaran Devlin, a PhD Candidate in Sociology working on the Gaming for Peace (GAP) project, has taken on the task of exploring and understanding the current reality of gender and sexuality within peacekeeping practices in European contexts, specifically within participating militaries, as well as exploring potential means of solving these issues, in this case through the use of digital games. In his talk, he will be exploring the ways in which gender and sexuality are present within games and gaming, how is gender made visible, how are sexualities made visible? How and do these representations share broader similarities within the context of armed forces, and in what way can digital games help us to understand and inform the everyday experiences of people within armed forces?
September 2017
Women Should Be Both Seen & Heard - Seminar 5:
"How to Build a More Sustainable City "
Thursday 8th September, 1-2pm, Paccar Theatre, Science Gallery, TCD
Guest speaker for this seminar Laurie Winkless, explored the mechanics behind the metropolis in her book, Science and the City, by taking readers on a whistle-stop tour of urban landscapes across the globe. She discussed the key things we need to consider to build better and more sustainable cities for all. From low-carbon power to smart flood defences, Laurie argues that science and engineering offer many of the solutions to the problems facing our cities... but only if we're willing to invest in them and to change some of our behaviour.
Alongside this, Laurie talked about the challenges of communicating complex topics to the general public, and her own experience as a woman in STEM.
Laurie Winkless is a physicist and writer, currently based in Wellington NZ. Following a degree at Trinity College Dublin, a placement at NASA's Kennedy Space Centre, and a masters in Space Science at UCL, Laurie worked at the UK's National Physical Laboratory, specialising in materials. Thermoelectric energy harvesting – where heat is captured and converted into electricity – was her bag, and remains a favourite topic of conversation. Laurie has been communicating science to the public for more than a decade, working with schools and universities, the Royal Society, Forbes, and the Naked Scientists, amongst others. She's given TEDx talks, hung out with astronauts and Nobel Laureates, and appeared in The Times magazine as a leading light in STEM. Science and the Cityis her first book, and she is currently working on her second, called Sticky.
August 2017
Women Should Be Both Seen & Heard- Seminar 4
"Are Women for Women in Politics?"
Tuesday 8 August
Our guest speaker for this seminar was Larissa Peixoto Gomes, PhD candidate in Political Science at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Having studied gender and politics her entire academic career, her research now focuses on answering exactly these questions and understanding the gendered dynamics of parliamentary life. Her research has explored political systems in Brazil, the UK, and Sweden.
Are female politicians more likely to represent women's interests once elected to power? That is our expectation, that our representatives will be like us and represent our interests. But, if that is so, why is there still so much gender inequality, even in societies with the largest percentages of female representatives? Why do we see gender parity cabinets arising from governments led by white men? How does one promote gender parity, and how does one promote women to support each other once in power?
Is it sustainable to aim for an equal representation of both genders in government, as well as ensuring that this equality does not bring with it further divide? With such extensive global political flux, nothing is certain and many discussions are arising surrounding the current state of affairs. The newly elected Taoiseach of Ireland, Leo Varadkar has made a promise to elect a gender balanced 50/50 cabinet. So far, he has not kept that promise. Will he hold up his promise, and what could the potential outcomes be?
July 2017
Women Should Be Both Seen & Heard - Seminar 3
"Your Best Media Self: preparing to talk about your research in media"
Tuesday 4 July 1-2pm, Global Room, Watts Building, TCD
Our speaker for this seminar was Angela Mezzetti, a Dublin born journalist, documentary producer and broadcaster with a passion to see more women represented at senior decision making levels in all kinds of organisations. A former RTE Newscaster, Angie set up the Ocarina production company to make independent productions as well as documentaries for both radio and television, and produced the documentary All Changed for Trinity Centre for Gender Equality and Leadership (formerly WiSER), about some of the first women academics in Trinity College Dublin. She also hosts a weekly podcast called Women in Leadership. Angie shared her advice for researchers preparing for media presence.
Women Should Be Both Seen & Heard - Seminar 2
"Get the word out! How to educate the public about your research: Key steps to prepare for your target audience".
Dr Susan Kathleen Fetics, Marie Skłowdowska Curie Actions Fellow at the School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity College Dublin, delivered a fascinating presentation on public engagement and gave excellent suggestions based on her own experience.
“Athena SWAN: Driving Gender Equality in Irish Universities”
Talk & Networking Lunch, Tuesday 6th June 2017
Guest Speaker Professor Rob de Bruin, University College London
Professor Rob de Bruin is a member of the MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology at UCL, which achieved the university’s first departmental Athena SWAN Gold award for gender equality in 2016.
Professor de Bruin, who co-led his department’s effort on Athena SWAN for the past eight years, spoke about this work and implementing their vision of #simplygoodpractice: “Where something is not fair or can be even better, we work to change it“
Athena SWAN Awards recognise commitment to advance gender equality (for all genders) in higher education and research, in all Faculties and amongst all staff (academic, professional and support). The Awards are of increasing importance to all Schools and Units in Trinity College since the HEA announced plans in 2016 to tie possession of an award to funding eligibility, with research-funding agencies due to follow suit.
The discussion was particularly informative for Academic, professional and support and technical staff in any Schools who are considering pursuing Awards in the coming months and years.
April 2017
Women Should Be Both Seen & Heard - Seminar I
Following on from our Women in Research event for International Women's Week 2017, we have launched a series of seminars on communicating your research and expertise. The first in a series of 'brown-bag' lunchtime seminars for women in academia took place on Wednesday 3rd May 2017 at the Bank of Ireland Workbench Space, Hamilton Building, with Professor Aoife McLysaght, Head of the Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College giving an insight to the benefits that public engagement has brought to her career.
March 2017
International Women's Week: Women in Research Panel Discussion
A Women in Research panel discussion was held to celebrate International Women's Week, with audience contributions and questions. The discussion focused on the experiences of women in academia and research, including topics such as: impostor syndrome, visibility of female experts in the public, parenting while working on research contracts (maternity leave, child care, etc.).
Panellists included:
- Professor Eileen Drew, Director of Trinity Centre for Gender Equality and Leadership and National Senior Expert for the European Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) and the European Gender Equality Institute (EIGE)
- Dr Roja Fazaeli, Lecturer in Islamic Civilisations, author of Islamic Feminisms: Rights and Interpretations Across Generations in Iran, and mother
- Dr Frédérique Vallières, Assistant Professor in Psychology and Director of the International Doctorate in Global Health
- Dr Gaia Narciso, Associate Professor with the Department of Economics and mother of two.
- Grace McDermott and Catherine Connolly, founders of the blog Women Are Boring: Fascinating Research by Interesting Women and Ph.D. candidates at Dublin City University
- Holly Foley, Ph.D. candidate in the School of Sociology, mother, former Trinity Access Programme student, and coordinator of the Rising Tide Project.
Read Professor Jane Grimson's letter to the Irish Times15/11/2016
Women in Science and Academia
"Sir, – I read with interest the article by Aine McMahon on women in science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem), in which she quoted the views of Regina Moran, representing the corporate world, and Christine Loscher, representing academia (“Successful career in STEM field now more achievable for women”, November 10th)."
Read the full text here: http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/women-in-science-and-academia-1.2867693