The Department of Medicine this month held a panel discussion on combining academic and family life, the first of it’s kind to take place at Imperial. The panel, chaired by Prof Jenny Higham – Vice Dean (Education and Institutional Affairs) along with the Provost Prof James Stirling and five other academics, all shared their experiences of combining academic and family life, followed by an open discussion on the topic.
The Provost highlighted issues relating to identifying and sharing good practice, engaging and developing the post doc community and establishing a competent career advice and coaching scheme.
This panel discussion forms part of the Athena SWAN initiative, which aims to recognise and celebrate good practice on recruiting, retaining, and promoting women in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine) careers and create a level playing field so all staff can flourish in progressing their careers.
Surgery and Cancer submitted their Bronze Athena SWAN application and action plan in April this year and will find out if they were successful later in the year. Currently the action plan is being put into practice, a new Lifestyles webpage will be launched and a Surgery & Cancer Departmental meeting will take place on Wednesday the 1st of October, so watch this space for more details.