Promoting gender equality and diversity

Key activities include a professional development course on inclusive leadership, an international workshop, and the creation of a project webpage for disseminating resources. This research will contribute to economic development, social welfare, and the sustainable recovery of Ukraine post-war.

A Foundation of Collaboration

The initiative builds on the strategic partnership between the University of Hull and MSU, leveraging the rich academic and cultural synergies between our two institutions. Dr Stella Gonzalez Arnal (UoH) and Dr Natalia Marakhovska (MSU) lead the charge, promoting gender equality, diversity, and inclusion in academia. Their goal is to kickstart a big change towards making academic spaces inclusive, where everyone gets a say and all talents are valued.

Inclusive Excellence

The project outlines a plan with professional development courses and an international workshop to foster dialogue, share best practices, and propel the narrative of women's leadership and intersectionality in academia onto the global stage. A highlight is the ‘Inclusive Leadership in Academia through Cultural Immersion’ course aimed at empowering MSU academics with the skills to cultivate a culturally responsive and inclusive teaching and leadership landscape.

Forthcoming events

Workshop (IAE) - Women's Leadership for Resilience and Transformation

Monday, 24 March 2025 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM GMT, Online event

By combining academic discourse and practical insights from NGOs, this international workshop creates a platform for exploring the complex issues of women's leadership and gender equality. It amplifies the voices of displaced women, celebrates their resilience and creativity, and inspires action towards a more inclusive and equitable world inside and outside academia.

Timetable

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Previous events

Launch event

The Fostering Women’s Leadership in Ukrainian Academia project launched on Wednesday 19 June 2024. The event, hosted by the Institute of Applied Ethics was titled: ‘Beyond Displacement/Exile: Building a Future for Women Leaders in Academia’. Read the agenda. 

The event offered the opportunity to discuss how universities can support displaced/exiled staff and students, and promote the leadership of women and diverse groups in academia. It shared good practices transferable to other higher education institutions and a non-academic context.

Watch Beyond Displacement Video - Part A

Watch Beyond Displacement Video - Part B

Inclusive Leadership Training Inspires Ukrainian Academics

A 30-hour professional online development course, “Inclusive Leadership in Academia through Cultural Immersion,” held from October 28th to November 8th, has successfully concluded, empowering 40 educators and inclusion workers from Ukrainian and overseas institutions.

The course, designed to cultivate leadership qualities and EDI awareness, prepared participants to create inclusive learning environments. By delving into concepts of gender, disability, age, cultural background, and other categories of difference, participants learned to design courses that cater to diverse student needs. The key training sessions focused on:

• Leadership and EDI in Academia
• Gender and Intersectionality
• Inclusive Course Design
• Inclusive Teaching Practices through Cultural Immersion
• Promoting and Measuring Student Success
• Redesigning a Module with an Intersectional Perspective

Participants from diverse academic backgrounds, ranging from humanities to STEM fields, and representing institutions such as Mariupol State University, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (Germany), Vasyl’ Stus Donetsk National University, Zaporizhzhia National University, Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture, Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University, Kryvyi Rih State Pedagogical University, Chernihiv Polytechnic National University, Poltava University of Economics and Trade, Uzhhorod National University, Ivan Honchar Museum National Centre of Folk Culture, attended the course.

Through interactive discussions and hands-on exercises, trainees explored innovative teaching methods, including those inspired by art and cultural immersion. They also shared their insights on course design and delivery and jointly developed inclusive teaching strategies and practices for their future courses. To recognise their dedication and active participation trainees were awarded certificates from the MSU Human Potential Development Centre.

This transformative experience has positioned participants as leaders in creating a more inclusive and equitable higher education landscape in Ukraine.

Research workshop at the University of Hull

The research workshop on trauma and post-war recovery with Mariupol State University, took place from 2-3 July 2024. This was hosted by the Global Engagement Office, University of Hull.

Academics from the University of Hull and Mariupol State University attended the event. They explored synergies for future collaboration on trauma and post-war recovery.

Dr Stella Gonzalez-Arnal delivered a presentation at the plenary meeting presentation on the 2^nd of July, entitled ‘Beyond Displacement/Exile: Building a Future for Women Leaders in Academia’

Conference in Greece

Dr. Stella Gonzalez Arnal and Dr Natalia Marakhovska delivered the paper 'Empowering Women Leaders in a Time of Crisis: Fostering Inclusion in Ukrainian Academia’ at the II International Conference. Political and Economic Self-Constitution: Migration, Inequalities and Discrimination. University of Corinth, Greece, 7-8 July 2024.

More information about this event.