University of St Andrews

Summer holiday child provision for University staff

Weekdays from Wed 23 Jul to Mon 10 Aug* (at zero cost).

In line with Government advice for easing lockdown in phase 3 on sport, culture and leisure activities Saints Sport are delighted to be able to offer a new Junior Saints Summer Camp open exclusively to children of University staff and students in the first instance.  *Please note that the dates for the camp are still to be confirmed based on the current guidelines being approved at the next Government announcement on Thursday 9th July.

Feedback: Draft Gender Based Violence Policy

As part of an evaluation on the draft Gender Based Violence (GBV) Policy, HR welcomes feedback from employees on the draft by 17 July 2020.

Black Lives Matter: St Andrews says sorry 

12 June 2020: A statement by Professor Sally Mapstone, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of St Andrews.

Event: Race in Higher Education workshop

Cancelled on 13 Mar 2020 due to national climate restrictions.

Dates/times: Monday 30 and Tuesday 31 March 2020, 10am-3:30pm

Venue: Lower Parliament Hall, 66 South Street, St Andrews, KY16 9QW.

This workshop will focus on the question of whether policy and practice of race/ethnicity in HE sector in the UK is about the least possible change without disrupting the existing status quo or is it about bringing about meaningful structural and cultural change/transformation. In bringing together leading academics and practitioners from the UK, the aim will be to discuss the challenges and opportunities that the race/ethnicity agenda brings to the HE sector and examine ways forward in terms of sharing good practice. 

Keynote Speakers:

• Dr Gurchathen Sanghera (St Andrews)
• Prof Vikki Boliver (Durham)
• Prof Rowena Arshad (Edinburgh)
• Prof Kalwant Bhopal (Birmingham)
• Prof Heidi Mirza (Emeritus UCL)
• Dr Omar Khan (Runnymede)
• Dr Jason Arday (Durham)
• Christopher Jones (P/G, Durham)

The event and refreshments are co-funded by the School of International Relations and the EDI Team to enable free attendance, however registration via the Eventbrite webpage is required:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-race-to-the-bottom-race-and-higher-education-a-workshop-tickets-90943439275?aff=ebdssbeac

Event: Caring for carers

Time and date: 10am-3pm, Tuesday 11 Feb 2020

Venue: C5 Seminar Room, Bute Building

Attendees: Staff, by CAPOD registration

Interactive course, Wellbeing for Carers, which will help carers to establish ways of staying well under the pressures of caring.  This course will provide carers with techniques to relieve emotional distress and manage stress; ideas for coping with change; and ways of supporting and communicating with your cared for person.  Participants commented that the opportunity to discuss and share ideas with others was extremely valuable. Comments on the course include: 

• “Learned useful coping skills, and not to be so hard on myself.”
• “It was such a relief to talk to other people who felt the same as me.”
• “It gave a lot of useful information and websites.”
• “This course helped me have conversations with other family members about their input and support.”

Event: LGBT+ Memory Project Exhibition

Time and date: 6.30pm-9pm, Monday 10 Feb 2020

Venue: Beacon Bar, Students' Union building

Attendees: All are welcome 

A photo display accompanied by 13 short stories of the queer experiences of staff and students across the University.

Event: Out Thinkers @ St Andrews

Time and date: 6.15pm-7.45pm, Tuesday 26 November 2019

Venue: Large Rehersal Room, Students' Union building

Attendees: All are welcome 

Out Thinkers @ St Andrews (in association with Pride in STEM) will showcase the talent of our LGBTIQ+ researchers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), providing a platform where people can talk about their exciting research while truly being themselves and celebrating that STEM is for everyone. 

The event is free, but please book a ticket in advance via: https://events.st-andrews.ac.uk/events/out-thinkers-st-andrews/ 

This event is open to everyone, no matter your sexual orientation or gender identity, and the aim is to make the talks accessible to both science and non-science audience members. 

Our incredible LGBTIQ+ researchers will be talking about: ‘Do chimpanzees understand how others see the world? How do children’s views on fairness vary across cultures? How are human-computer interfaces changing? What are quantum materials and why are they useful? Can we harness the power of sunlight to drive chemical reactions?’ The talks will be followed by a short Q and A session, where audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions and raise comments. A reception, with food and drink, will be held after the talks in the foyer on the ground floor of the building.

Menopause and the workplace: new directions in research

Wednesday 13 November 2019, 1pm to 2:30pm, Lecture Room 4, The Gateway

As part of the CREDI seminar series, the group will welcome Professor Joanna Brewis to present her work focussing on the importance of an intersectional, political economy approach to research on menopause.

The event is free but registration is required. Lunch will be provided.
To register, please email credi@st-andrews.ac.uk
Everyone is welcome.

National Coming Out Day: 11 October

All Staff are sincerely invited to complete their Diversity Monitoring data confidentially using HR Self Service voluntarily by:

• Signing into the Self Service webpage 
• Select 'Equal Opportunities'
• Select 'Check your details'
• Select 'edit these details' 
• Once completed please select 'Submit'.  

“Coming out to others can be a hugely liberating experience and many people say it feels like a huge weight has been lifted from them.” – LGBT Youth Scotland 

“Estimated Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual population across the UK is between 5%-7%. Employees who feel their employer has an inclusive culture feel able to be themselves at work. Staff who are able to be themselves are happier at work, and more productive.” – Stonewall Coming out as an adult information

Classics and Race: Research and Pedagogy 

• 10am–5pm, Monday 14 October 2019
• Lower College Hall, University of St Andrews 
• Open to all students and staff; no registration is required.
• "A workshop convened by the School of Classics to consider concepts of race in relation to the classical world, Greek and Roman. The aim of the workshop is both academic and pedagogical: to consider ideas of racial identity in ancient societies, and the role of race in shaping the discipline of ‘Classics’ that we as modern-day classicists have inherited. We hope to generate discussion on the way that we understand and present ‘Classics’ in relation to race in the present day, and how it (and we) should change and adapt in the future."
  • 10.00 – 10.15 Welcome (Rebecca Sweetman, Head of School, Classics) and introduction
  • 10.15 – 11.00 Classics for all? Challenges facing the discipline in the 21st century, Mai Musie (University of Oxford) 
  • 11.00 – 11.45 Otherness and Identity in the Near East, Tom Harrison (University of St Andrews) 
  • 11.45 -12.30 ‘Otherness’ in Jewish and Roman Identities in the First Century AD, Rebecca Hachamovich (University of St Andrews) 
  • 12.30 – 1.00 Recent Initiatives in Philosophy: the Minorities and Philosophy Project, Maria Jimena Claval Vasquez (School of Philosophy, St Andrews)
  • 1.00 – 2.00 Buffet lunch 
  • 2.00 – 2.45 Postcolonial Classics, Barbara Goff (University of Reading) 
  • 2.45 – 3.30 #ClassicsForAll: what studying Classics taught me about my relationship with western civilisation, Hardeep Dhindsa (University of Edinburgh) 
  • 3.30 – 4.00 Teaching Black Athena, Ralph Anderson (University of St Andrews) 
  • 4.00 – 5.00 Round table discussion

Staff Family-friendly policies/guidance feedback 

HR is currently reviewing the following family-friendly policies and guidance (hyperlinked), and would like to receive staff feedback, open until 24 May 2019.

• Draft Menopause Guidance
• Adoption Leave Policy
• Flexible Working Policy
• Maternity Leave Policy 
• Paternity Leave Policy
• Parental Leave Policy
• Shared Parental Leave Policy
• Special Leave Policy 

Creating Inclusive Classrooms The theory and practice of teaching underrepresented groups

• Minorities and Philosophy SASP in collaboration with the Diversity Reading List
• 19 Apr 2019, 11am-5pm, School III, the Quad.
• 11am Annie McCallion (Manchester) ‘Disassociated Disagreement: The impact of Extracted Speech on Undergraduate Philosophers’ 
• 12:15pm Ian Kidd (Nottingham) TBA 
• 1:15pm Lunch 
• 2:30pm Simon Fokt (Edinburgh) ‘Decolonising philosophy curricula with the Diversity Reading List’ 
• 3:45pm Open Discussion

REF 2021 Code of Practice: Staff Consultation (staff login required)

The University is currently seeking feedback from staff members on a draft version of the Institutional Code of Practice, prepared under the guidance of the Institutional REF 2021 Equality and Diversity (IRED) Review Group, and with input from the Research Excellence Board (REB), Academic Council, Heads of School, Directors of Research, Directors of Impact and trade union representatives.

Responses by 12pm 4 April 2019

BAME Summit 2019: Discussing issues of diversity and representation 

• 11 Mar 2019, 7-9pm, School VI, the Quad.
• Panellists: Anas Sarwar MSP, Dr Jasmine Gani (academic in the School of International Relations), Sukhi Bains (Head of E and D)
• Open to staff and students  

As part of an evaluation on the current ‘Policy for the Assessment of Students with Disabilities’ University of St Andrews staff and students are welcome to provide their feedback via the following online survey open from 4 Feb to 8 Feb 2019. Survey (and more information) weblink: 

• https://standrews.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/academic-adjustments-for-students-with-disabilities  

Dr Francesca Sobande, Black Women and the marketplace in the UK  

• 17 Dec 2018, 12-1pm, School 5, United College for the talk and discussion, after which they will move to the Hebdomadar’s Room for networking and further discussion over tea, coffee and vegan cake. 
• Please register via Eventbrite for catering purposes.   

Digital advancements and the rise of social media have expanded and changed the ways that black women in Britain are depicted in media, both online and offline. Dr Francesca Sobande (Edge Hill University, UK) will draw on her research on the media experiences of black women in Britain to facilitate a discussion on the intersections of racism, sexism and capitalism.   

How are the lives of black women in Britain influenced by online content and communication? How do their online experiences shape processes of cultural production? How are the intersections of racism, sexism and capitalism entangled with these issues? In this Early Career Women’s Network event, Dr Sobande will draw on her research related to the media experiences of black women in Britain to answer some of these questions.  

Dr Sobande is a Lecturer in Marketing and Advertising at Edge Hill, where her research focuses on issues concerning race, gender, media and the marketplace. She is the co-editor with Akwugo Emejulu of the forthcoming To Exist is to Resist: Black Feminism in Europe (Pluto Press, 2019). She is also the author of The Digital Lives of Black Women in Britain (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020). 

Prof Carron Shankland (University of Stirling): How did I get here? Being and becoming a professor

• When: Tue, 27 November 2018, 2-3pm
• Where: Cole 1.33a, School of Computer Science
• Series: School Seminar Series
• For: Staff/students

Please email admin-cs@st-andrews.ac.uk to register your attendance

Celebrating the History of St Andrews Feminism, 21 November, 2-4pm, Buchanan Lecture Theatre.

Talk by Dr Sarah Browne about the history of the Women's Liberation Movement in St Andrews, followed by a panel with original members of the Women's Liberation Movement in 1970s St Andrews. We will then convene for coffee/cake and further discussion. Children are welcome at this event. Let us know about dietary requirements by emailing us at ecwn@st-andrews.ac.uk. Please register at eventbrite.

Beyond belief: Discussing spirituality

14 November 2018, 12-2pm, Byre Studio: https://events.st-andrews.ac.uk/events/beyond-belief-discussing-spirituality/ 

As part of Interfaith week we invite you to join, or just listen to, the discussion on "Can anyone be without some beliefs about human nature and the meaning of human life?" 

This is a new initiative in collaboration with the Chaplaincy team and EDI. There will be regular opportunities for University staff to explore philosophies of life, value and spirituality. This is particularly, but not exclusively, aimed at individuals of non-Abrahamic faith groups or those of no specific faith. 

‘Mistaken for the coffee lady: a discussion into the lack of BAME academics in UK higher institutions'

2 November 2018, 1-4pm, University of St Andrews Arts Lecture Theatre: www.facebook.com/events/317664015487574/?active_tab=discussion  

The conference will include guest speakers:

• Dame Elizabeth Nneka Anionwu DBE CBE FRCN FQNI PhD, a British-born nurse, health expert, tutor, lecturer and Emeritus Professor of Nursing at University of West London of Irish and Nigerian descent.
• Dr Sanghera Gurchathen, a senior lecturer in International Relations here at St Andrews.
• Professor Ann Phoenix, a British psychologist and academic, whose research focuses on psychosocial issues related to identity and how social identities such as Race and Gender shape our psychology.

The conference topics will deliberate a number of topics including: 

• What can be done by UK higher institutions to increase successes in meeting the Race Equality Charter, and how can we use successes in other initiatives such as Athena Swan, to help shape this?
• What can be done to stop the exclusion and alienation of black academics and BAME students from academic networks crucial for advancement?
• What are the steps that the St Andrews University, as an academic institution, could take to incentivise academics from more diverse backgrounds, and what needs to be done to actualise such processes? 

National Coming Out Day: 11 October

All Staff are sincerely invited to complete their Diversity Monitoring data confidentially using HR Self Service voluntarily by:

• Signing into the Self Service webpage 
• Select 'Equal Opportunities'
• Select 'Check your details'
• Select 'edit these details' 
• Once completed please select 'Submit'.  

“Coming out to others can be a hugely liberating experience and many people say it feels like a huge weight has been lifted from them.” – LGBT Youth Scotland 

“Estimated Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual population across the UK is between 5%-7%. Employees who feel their employer has an inclusive culture feel able to be themselves at work. Staff who are able to be themselves are happier at work, and more productive.” – Stonewall Coming out as an adult information 

Draft British Sign Language (BSL) Plan 2018-2024 

Staff, Students, visitors and the BSL community are invited to comment on our Draft BSL Plan by the extended deadline of 19 October 2018.  

Queer Question Time - 7:15pm (panel at 8pm), 4 Oct 2018, Lower Parliament Hall

Join the Union Debating Society and the Saints LGBT+ for our annual joint panel. We have a number of speakers from the LGBT+ community who are coming together to discuss some of the current issues within the LGBT+ community and surrounding culture.

Guest speakers include Patrick Harvie MSP and Reverend Scott Rennie.

All of our events are open to anybody regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Should you have any questions about the event then contact either the St Andrews Union Debating Society or the Saints LGBT+. If you are worried about attending the event alone then message the Saints LGBT+ or send an email to SaintsLGBT@st-andrews.ac.uk and we will endeavour to find an event companion for you.

University of St Andrews Equate Scotland Student Champion 2018-2019

Bryony Hockin, a PhD student from the School of Chemistry, has been selected to be the 2018-19 Equate Scotland Student Champion for the University of St Andrews. Bryony will be leading on events and activities throughout the coming year for women studying STEM subjects at St Andrews to connect them with each other and with women STEM professionals, as well as working with the network of Champions throughout Scotland.

Network for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion seminar series: Prof. Barbara Risman  

• "From sex roles to gender as a social structure: Implications for organisational change"

• Date: Wed 30 May 2018, 12-1:30pm

• Venue: Lecture Room 4, School of Management, The Gateway 

• Please register your attendance by emailing Jasmin Hinds (jah30@st-andrews.ac.uk) by 24 May 2018. 

Intersectionality in HE - 9 May 2018, 1pm, School II, United College, University of St Andrews

Open to: All staff and students.

The third in a series of events on race and ethnicity in HE led by UCU St Andrews. Victoria Showunmi is a researcher and teacher at UCL Institute of Education. She has published widely on ethnicity, gender and class in education and leadership. In this talk she will address intersectionality, the simultaneous consideration of social-demographic identities, in higher education. 

Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Research Conference - 8 May 2018, 10am-4pm, Parliament Hall, University of St Andrews.

This event celebrates the first year of the University of St Andrews’ Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Research Fund, which provides pump-priming funding for research projects focussed on that theme. Speakers include those funded in the first round of the scheme, who will be reporting on their research to date and their future plans, along with specially invited presenters from St Andrews and further afield.

• Prof Iyiola Solanke, University of Leeds - Where are the black female professors in the UK?

• Session 1: Chair, Prof Ruth Woodfield

• Session 2: Chair, Prof Sharon Ashbrook

• Closing Keynote: Dr Gurchathen Sanghera

• Conclusion: Principal, Prof Sally Mapstone 

The Women Who Shaped St Andrews - 13 April 2018 7:15-8pm

Open to: All staff, students and the public. 

Venue: Museums and Collections University of St Andrews (MUSA), 7a The Scores, St Andrews 

Enjoy an exclusive screening of our short documentary, ‘The Women Who Shaped St Andrews’ and discover the legacies of the powerful female benefactors who influenced everything from natural history research to student accommodation. Ponder the reasons why stories of these women are often ‘hidden’ from view, and join us as we celebrate their contribution to the University we know today. View the Enduring Gifts exhibition before settling down to the documentary. 

St Andrews PRIDE - led by the University, Sat 7 April 2018 from 1pm 

Open to: All staff, students and the public. 

Fife's longest running PRIDE event is back and bigger than ever, with local and national business and charity partners, schools, community organisations and loads of student groups taking part. St Andrews PRIDE is a chance for the entire community to come together to show support for the LGBT+ community, supported by @univofstandrews @SaintsLGBT @standrewsunion #standrews #pride @LGBTYS @StonewallScot. The procession starts at 1pm from St Salvators Hall lawn and will be followed by a reception with live music, a bar and promotions from local business and charity partners from 2pm to 5pm in the Stage. Both are free and all are welcome.

Details: https://www.facebook.com/saintslgbt

Inspiring Women - Wed 7 March 2018, The Old Course Hotel, Old Station Road, St Andrews, KY16 9SP.

Times: 

• 5:30pm – Networking + Sandwiches, hot and cold drinks
• 6pm – Speakers + Q and A
• 7pm [Approx] – Networking, sandwiches and drinks

8 March 2018 is International Women's Day. On the eve of this annual celebration of the contribution women have and continue to make to our world, St Andrews Business Club is honoured to have inspiring women who have achieved much to date in their careers and lives share their stories, lessons learned and advice to other women. 

Speakers: Prof Sally Mapstone, Principal (keynote), and Nicola Dames, Founder, Vanilla Blush 

Centre for Minorities Research (CMR) - launch event led by the Principal

1-4pm 16 Feb 2018, Parliament Hall. Keynote speech by Prof Philomena Essed, Antioch University, known for her outstanding work on 'everyday racism' and gender studies. Members of the CMR board will engage in a panel discussion.

Stress-busting and Relaxation Express Event 

Tue 13 Feb 2018, 12-1pm, Arts Building, Seminar Room 9.

Staff are invited to attend the Early Career Women Network (ECWN) stress-busting and relaxation express event. This session, which encompasses hints and tips, breathing techniques and visualisation/relaxation followed by an informal chat, will be led by Melanie Atkins.  A selection of fruit will be available.

International Women In Science Day

12 Feb 2018, 5:30-8:30pm, Club 601 (in the Students' Union building) free event for staff/students and public.

The day in which we can celebrate, admire, and try to understand the forces of nature which have triumphed in adversity. Scientists such as Jane Goodall and Marie Curie are well known, however, countless other female scientists have had major impact on the world go unnoticed by most other than the select few. In honour of this day the Biology Society, in conjunction with SUMS, Physoc and Chemistry are hosting a talk-panel with female scientists from Biology, Physics, Maths and Chemistry, and a presentation by our guest speaker Prof Clare Peddie, Head of the School of Biology.

'Working at the crossroads between evidence and practice to achieve gender equality' 

Mon 12 Feb 2018, 1-2:30pm, The Boardroom, University of St Andrews, The Gateway building, North Haugh, St Andrews, KY16 9RJ

Led by Dr Nikola Balvin, Knowledge Management Specialist, UNICEF Office of Research

‘Academic Women Here! On being a female academic at the University of St Andrews’ - launch event led by the Principal

11am-12pm Mon 5 Feb 2018, School of Chemistry Common Room (Purdie Building, North Haugh)

New diversity staff networks

To support University staff we will be launching 4 new networks - please complete the following online interest forms before 31 Jan 2018:

• Staff BAME Network
• Staff Carers Network
• Staff Disability Network
• Staff Parents Network

LGBT Charter awarded to the University on 15 Dec 2017 by LGBT Youth Scotland‌

Early Career Women (EWC) Network 

Weds 13 Dec 2017 11am-1pm, Medical Sciences Building (Seminar Room 1)

This will be a casual affair with coffee, tea and cakes (vegan and gluten-free will be provided, plus milk alternative for coffee). Our idea was that it would be nice to have a bit of time to get to know each other while eating cake. We hope you agree!

Transgender Day of Remembrance

Marks the culmination of Saints LGBT+ TRANSFEST, our second annual festival of gender identity. We will assemble in St Salvator's Quad for 6pm and there will be a torchlit procession down to the pier, where representatives from Saints LGBT+ and the Students' Association will read poems, prayers and benedictions, along with a list of those who have died in the last year due to violence against transpeople. This is a chance to show that the St Andrews community stands in solidarity with transgender people. Ceremonial dress is encouraged.

Impossible and inevitable: Caribbean culture/queer belonging and the literary

Thur 16 Nov 2017, 5:15-7pm, Lawson Lecture Room, Kennedy Hall

• Presenter: School of English
• Open to all staff, students and public

What does it mean to talk about the Caribbean as a 'queer place'? In one sense this proposition is clearly a provocation, a brushing against the grain of the Caribbean’s dominant cultural framing as a homophobic region, even ‘the’ homophobic region. In another sense, it is the logical conclusion to a line of reasoning that has persistently and persuasively positioned the Caribbean as a place that undoes the usefulness of thinking about identities in terms of origins, singular ancestries, guaranteed lineages and culturally discreet groupings. It is this fundamental contradiction in terms of framing the relationship between Caribbeanness and the idea of a sexual continuum that has animated the thinking of Professor Alison Donnell in relation to a number of literary works that represent the queerness of Caribbeaness from VS Naipaul to Shani Mootoo, and from Andrew Salkey to Junot Diaz. Professor Donnell of the University of East Anglia will present some of her findings in this English Language Seminar.

Gender Fluidity in the Ancient World: research and pedagogy

Weds, 15 Nov 2017, 11am-5pm, Arts Building Lecture Theatre, University of St Andrews.

A workshop convened by the School of Classics to consider concepts of gender fluidity in relation to the classical world, Greek and Roman. The aim of the workshop is both academic and pedagogical: to consider how the concept of gender fluidity can allow us to shed new light on ancient society, and how the changing makeup of the student body in universities – students now tend to enter university with a broad and nuanced understanding of gender identities – can or should influence the topics we teach and the ways in which we teach them.

Programme:

Professor Dame Linda Partridge: Ageing Healthily

Friday 10 Nov 2017, 1-2pm. Venue: Byre Theatre Auditorium, University of St Andrews.

The School of Biology recognises the United Nations International Day of Women and Girls in Science with a public lecture introduced by Principal Professor Sally Mapstone and presented by Professor Dame Linda Partridge, leading scientist in the field of ageing and ageing-related diseases. Her lecture, 'Ageing Healthily', discusses some of the recent discoveries made on preventing ageing in humans without side effects, from repurposing existing drugs to understanding environment and dietary restrictions.

Interconnect Student Networking Evening for Women in STEM

• Date: Friday 10 Nov 2017
• Location: School of Chemistry, Purdie Building, University of St Andrews.
• Details: Informal networking supporting female students studying in STEM subjects, for staff and students
• Contact: Facebook Interconnect St Andrews
• 17.20 - Welcome Reception (Common Room)
• 17.30 - 19.15 Talks (Lecture Theatre B)
• 17.35-18.05 Susie Mitchell, Programme Director at Glasgow Science Centre, Glasgow
• 18.05-18.20 Heather Lambert, Business Development at Fluorochem Ltd, Manchester
• 18.20-18.30 COMFORT BREAK
• 18.30-18.45 Rita Tojeiro, Research Fellow at Physics and Astronomy, St Andrews
• 18.45-19.00 Tanja van Mourik, Reader at Chemistry, St Andrews
• 19.00-19.15 Ruth Letham, Lecturer at Computer Science, St Andrews

Scotland Women In Technology Awards (Oct 2017)

Gender Equality Champion Winner: Sjoukje Inge Sophie Ijlstra, University of St Andrews 

Sjouke has experienced first hand the gender discrimination that can occur in the technology sector. But took that experience and channelled it into supporting other women to learn coding and digital expertise. She is an ambassador not just in Scotland but in two other countries and is involved in a number of women into technology initiatives in her university and beyond.  

Casting Race on Stage and Screen - free ticketed event, The Byre, University of St Andrews, 7pm, 4 Oct 2017. 

With Dr Julia Prest exploring casting in relation to race and ethnicity, the opportunities and challenges through interviews with actor Satya Bhabha and Mezzo Soprano Andrea Baker, who sings a short a cappella excerpt from Sing Sistah Sing!

Queer Question Time:

7:30pm 28 Sep 2017, Parliament Hall, University of St Andrews - panel speakers: 

• Calum Irving (Director of See Me, Scotland’s programme to end mental health discrimination since Jun 2016)
• Dr Elisabetta Girelli, Senior Lecturer in Film Studies, University of St Andrews
• Commander Douggie Ward MBE, joined the Royal Navy in 1997, Logistics officer, qualified submariner and Barrister
• Juno Roche, writer and campaigner - publications range from Refinery29, Diva, the Tate Magazine, ES Magazine, Photoworks
• Dr Matthew Sothern, Director of Teaching, School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews

Shared Care Scotland: Welcome respite to carers at University of St Andrews (7 Aug 2017)

The University is helping to acknowledge the unsung heroes who provide care for their loved ones 24 hours a day by participating in a national scheme providing free holiday accommodation for carers. Several families have enjoyed short breaks within the University’s accommodation service as part of the Respitality scheme: Respite and Hospitality, a project that works to provide short breaks to full-time unpaid carers, run by Shared Care Scotland. Free overnight stays have been gifted in residences (David Russell Apartments, McIntosh Hall, University Hall and the Agnes Blackadder Hall) to carers during the academic summer break. 

From Syria to St Andrews (20 Jun 2017)

Haian Dhukan left Syria in 2012 to study his PhD in International Relations at the University. Since then the ISIS takeover of Palmyra forced his family to flee – eventually reaching Southern Turkey with a caravan of refugees. Today Haian graduated with his PhD following a thesis entitled: Syrian Regime and Arab Tribes: Informal Alliances and Conflict Patterns in Contemporary Syria. He was joined by his son, who was born in the UK while Haian was studying.

Haian said: “My St Andrews experience has been amazing. When I came to do my PhD I didn’t expect that I would be graduating with my son here at the same time as well.  

A wheelchair user since childhood due to a physical disability, Haian has also used his time in St Andrews to highlight access issues faced by disabled people. He set up The St Andrews Access Group (SAAG), which has worked with the University’s equality and diversity officer to create a webpage called ‘Reporting accessibility difficulties across Fife’. Haian commented: “The University has made good progress in making many of their buildings accessible".