Blog from October, 2023

Good afternoon everyone!  Lots of important information this week and there's just one week left to nominate someone for a Making the Difference Award - click here to fill in the form!

Have a fantastic weekend 🌳

Annabel Jackson - PA / Admin to EGLT

NEW! DEG Letterhead Template 🖋️

I recognised the need for colleagues to have easy access to a departmental Letterhead Template document, ensuring consistency and professionalism.

Therefore we have created a brand new DEG Letterhead Template! This is for all staff to use/download and attach to emails when sending letters. 

Click here to make a copy of the brand new DEG Letterhead Template.

This update is documented on the department's 'General admin support and guidance' Wiki page in the 'Updates: October 2023' box.

Please bookmark the above page/document for your reference.

Athena Swan Culture Survey 

The Athena Swan Culture Survey has been extended and will now close on Friday 3rd November at 5pm. More details on the survey can be found on our website  The Athena Swan Culture Survey.

The survey will provide evidence of our progress in Gender Equality and support our uplift to a Silver Award. We need a strong response from the survey, so we can capture different views. Please complete the survey and encourage others to do so.

New provider for Virtual Desktop Service

IT Services have recently completed work to set up a new provider for the Virtual Desktop Service (VDS).  

Staff who need to access the VDS should now do so using the Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD). 

The VDS lets staff and students access certain apps which are usually only available on on-campus devices, switching to this new provider will allow us to offer a more stable service.

There are some differences between using AVD and our old provider Parallels, the main one being that when you log in to AVD it will display a list of apps rather than logging you into a full desktop. This means you only need to open the apps you want to use and can easily switch between the virtual desktop and your laptop or PC desktop. 

Guides on using AVD can be found at the link below:

• Virtual Desktop Service: Supported devices 

Please note that the existing service (Parallels) will be removed on 8 December.  If there is something missing from our new provider which prevents you from working on the VDS as required, please email itsupport@york.ac.uk. 

Launch of the NTFS and CATE awards 2024

The University has been invited to submit nominations for both the 2024 Individual National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) and the 2024 Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE) awards.  The schemes are run by AdvanceHE and celebrate excellent practice and outstanding achievement in learning and teaching in higher education.  Further information on both awards is available on the AdvanceHE website: NTFS and AdvanceHE website: CATE

Over the last few years we have had success in both award categories which is testimony to the excellence and innovation in teaching and learning across the Institution, and we are keen to continue to showcase in 2024.  Find out more  about our previous award winners.

The NTFS recognises, rewards and celebrates individuals who have made an outstanding impact on student outcomes and the teaching profession, and we are able to nominate up to three individual members of staff who teach and/or support learning. 

The CATE recognises and celebrates a team that has had a demonstrable impact on teaching and learning and enabled a change in practice for colleagues and/or students at an institutional or discipline level, and we are able to  nominate one team.

For further details on the process, timeline and submission of expressions of interest.

Expressions of Interest should be submitted by noon on Monday 11 December 2023.  

To support those interested in applying we are holding lunchtime workshops which will outline the internal process and the support that's available to candidates together with the University's nomination process and timelines.  

The workshop for NTFS is to be held on Wednesday 15th November, 12.30 - 14.00. Please sign up for the session via this form, and if you have any questions contact Dr Duncan Jackson, Head of Academic Quality and Development.

The workshop for CATE is to be held on Thursday 16th November 12.30 - 14.00. Please sign up for the session via this form and if you have any questions contact Cecilia Lowe, Assistant Director - Learning Enhancement.

QS Academic Reputation Survey

The University are making efforts to improve their Qs World University ranking. This league table is important, perhaps more than any other, for international student recruitment. Most international students apply to Top 100 universities and York needs to be among those (we are 167th). Qs rankings are based on surveys of academics around the world. Every academic in the university is now asked to provide at least one academic contact by 3 November. Contacts provided must be external academics, active in their field and preferably based overseas (an international nomination has almost 6x the value of a domestic nomination). To provide a contact please complete this short QS google form.

Faculty Data Science Lead - Now open for applications

Applications are invited for a Data Science Lead in the Faculty of Sciences. This post is open to academics at Senior Lecturer level and above with expertise in teaching and research in data science.

The successful candidate will work with the Faculty Associate Deans for 'Teaching, Learning and Students', 'Research' and 'Partnerships, Engagement and International' to lead on the development of initiatives aimed at growing our research and teaching strengths in data science. The successful candidate will have a proven ability to work across a range of stakeholders from within the Faculty,  wider University and industry, evidence of successful strategic leadership, and an up-to-date knowledge of developments in data science and the wider HE sector. The role is available at  0.2 FTE part-time role for a period of 1 year. The appointed candidates will be bought out from their departmental duties for the duration of the appointment.

The role commences at the earliest opportunity subject to the appointee's availability and reports to the Associate Dean for Learning, Teaching and Students (as line manager).

🏆 ONE WEEK left to submit your Making the Difference Award nominations! 🏆

The University recognises and values the hard work, commitment and achievements of all staff. The 'Making the Difference' awards are intended to provide recognition to any member of staff whose contribution on a one-off or short-term basis has been exceptional or outstanding and is worthy of particular note. The scheme provides staff, managers and colleagues with the opportunity to nominate an individual or a team for a recognition payment worth up to £250 per person (subject to normal pay deductions, e.g. PAYE). (The university also recognises and values outstanding contribution of a sustained nature. Staff should refer to details of the 'Rewarding Excellence' scheme for information about awards of that kind.)

If you would like to nominate someone for a Making the Difference Award, please click here to fill in the form. 

Deadline for nominations: Friday 3rd November 17:00

No Seminars next week - Consolidation Week 🎓

Please note that there is no DEG external seminar on Tuesday 31st October. The next seminar takes place on Tuesday 7th November. More information about this will appear next week.

-Dave Rippin

Tropical Ecosystems Network event: Identifying the Most Pressing Questions for NbS in the Tropics - Weds 13 December

Wed 13 December 2023, 1 - 4pm, D/L/036, Derwent College, Campus West

Join YESI for the 14th Tropical Ecosystem Network (TEN) meeting where we will kick-start a collaborative process to identify the most important practical or research-focused questions that, if answered, would have the greatest positive impact on ensuring successful Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in the tropics. 

More information on the TEN meeting. 

Ask the Author: 101 Curious Tales of East African Birds (open to all)

Wed 15 November 2023, 13:00 - 14:00 online

Join YESI for the first installment of our new "Ask the Author" series, where you'll have the opportunity to engage directly with authors discussing their recently published papers or books from the University of York.

In this event, Professor Colin Beale will be delving into his recently released work, "101 Curious Tales of East African Birds." This book is an exciting and educational read, enriched with striking photographs and concise narratives exploring the captivating world of East African birds. Offering an easily digestible introduction to tropical ornithology, each tale unveils unique insights and observations about avian life, ranging from unraveling the mysterious movements of flamingos to unraveling the mysteries of why duck feathers repel water. 

Register for Ask the Author.

IGDC Annual Lecture 2023 

 Towards Decoloniality and Justice

Speaker: Professor Uma Kothari 

Date and time: Tuesday 28 November 2023, 4pm to 5pm

Location: In-person only

Audience: Open to staff, students, the public

Click here for more information.

Our wonderful Director for Students, Samarthia Thankappan is back with her weekly audio messages for students. Click the links below to listen to Samarthia's messages:

• S1 Week 1 Message from DfS
• S1 Week 2 Message from DfS
• S1 Week 3 Message from DfS
• S1 Week 4 Message from DfS
• S1 Week 5 Message from DfS

Congratulations to Emilie Stokeld and her supervisors for publication of an article that forms one of her PhD chapters, in Journal of Cleaner Production: Stokeld E, Croft S, dos Reis TNP, Stringer LC, West C. 2023. Stakeholder perspectives on cross-border climate risks in the Brazil-Europe soy supply chain. Journal of Cleaner Production.

Sarah Bridle attended Defra strategy team away day to give a talk on food and climate change.

Chris Malley and Johan Kuylenstierna worked with an international team of partners to support Thailand's Pollution Control Department to develop an assessment of how Thailand could achieve its climate change and air quality goals simultaneously.

On 17 October, Ioan Fazey and Sam Buckton co-facilitated the third and final Three Horizons workshop with representatives from North Yorkshire Council and its stakeholders, to support the development of the Council's new food strategy. Rebecca Newman also participated.

Bryce Stewart presented a seminar on the future management of UK seas to the Whitby Naturalists Club at the Whitby Museum.

Well done everyone on your fantastic achievements 👏

Open Research Coding club event - Weds 1st Nov

The first Research Coding Club session of the semester is happening next Wednesday 1st November from 1pm to 4:30pm, in-person in PC Room AEW/004 and it's all about Making your MATLAB Code faster.

Do you write MATLAB code and wish it went a little faster? In this hands-on workshop, you will learn a range of techniques in how to make MATLAB go faster including modern MATLAB programming techniques, GPU and parallel computing. For more information, please visit the sign-up form.

Winter 2023 funding: Laura Bassi Scholarship

The Laura Bassi Scholarship was established in 2018 with the aim of providing editorial assistance to postgraduates and junior academics whose research focuses on neglected topics of study, broadly construed. The scholarships are open to every discipline and the next round of funding will be awarded in Winter 2023.

Application deadline: 30 November 2023
Results: 11 December 2023

All currently enrolled master’s and doctoral candidates are eligible to apply, as are academics in the first five years of full-time employment. Applicants are required to submit a completed application form along with their CV through the application portal by the relevant deadline. 

Great! Please add it to the Research, Teaching, Outreach and Good News Spreadsheet. Please use the most relevant tab for the activity/news and ensure that the description details are written out in full as you would like it to be presented. If your item does not fit the spreadsheet, please email it to environment-pa@york.ac.uk by 10:00 next Friday.

Thank you for your help in making the newsletter a great way to catch up on all of the Department's latest news and activities 🙂

Happy Fri-yay one and all The recording for the October Dept Staff Meeting is now available for those who missed it on Tuesday and there's just two week's left to submit your Making the Difference nominations!

Stay warm and dry folks ☂️

Chloe Mitchell - PA to HoD

Semester 2 Timetable - Draft and release dates (provisional) 

Timetabling have notified us that the draft timetable for Semester 2 is due to be released on 29th November 2023, and staff will have until 06th December 2023 to check the semester two draft. The final version is then down to be released to staff and students on 13th December 2023. Please note that the current dates are provisional and the Timetabling team are currently still dealing with an influx of queries relating to Semester 1 which is slowing down the S2 build.

1 bedroom flat on Scarcroft Road available over winter

I will be away for fieldwork this winter, most likely from mid-November for a few months (exact dates TBD). This leaves a bunch of plants abandoned in a rather lovely 1 bedroom flat (plus sofa bed) on Scarcroft Rd, i.e. near the hipster mecca of Bishy Road. It will be occupied by a colleague until December 15th, after which it will be available for shorter or longer-term stays.  I thought I'd probe with folks at E&G in case the timing aligns with someone visiting the university or in other ways finding themselves in need of temporary base. Let me know t if you want more info or have any leads or questions.

Hanna Pettersson - PDRA LCAB / DEG

Green for Health Research across Yorkshire and the North East - 6 Dec

6 December, 09:30 to 16:00, Priory Street Centre, York

This collaborative event is brought to you by Humber NHS Teaching Foundation Trust, Tees Esk and Wear Valley NHS Teaching Foundation Trust, the York Environmental Sustainability Institute (YESI), and the Institute for Mental Health Research (IMRY) at the University of York. It is designed to bring together individuals involved in or interested in clinical and academic research.

Yorkshire and the North East are renowned for their national parks, stunning coastlines, and areas of outstanding natural beauty. These regions offer tremendous diversity, from bustling urban centres to underserved communities, each with its own unique health challenges and disparities. Numerous studies have shown that connecting with nature and spending time outdoors can have a profound impact on health and well-being. Our event serves as a celebration of ongoing research initiatives that explore the connections between health and green/blue spaces. It also presents an exciting opportunity to foster future collaborations in this vital field.

To view the full agenda, list of speakers and to reserve your spot at the Green for Health Research event, please click this link.

Department Staff Monthly Meeting (Oct) - Links and Recording

Thank you all for joining our Dept Staff Monthly Meeting on Tuesday for October, and thank you to Anika and Bryce for their presentations. Below are highlights and useful links from this month's meeting:

Changes to Environment and Geography Leadership Team (EGLT)

• Piran White has now taken over from Nic Carslaw as Director of Research
• Karen Parkhill will take over from Samarthia Thankappan as Director for Students in Jan 2024
• Truzaar Dordi will take over from Bryce Stewart as Director for Engagements and Partnerships in Jan 2024

Agenda Items

• Bryce Stewart - Engagement and Partnerships Annual Report
• Anika Haque - Slides for REF 2028 Initial Briefing 

Meeting Recording

Click here to watch the full recording of the Dept Staff Monthly Meeting (Oct).

The next meeting will be held on Thurs 30 November, 11:05-12:00. If you have an item you would like to present, please email environment-pa@york.ac.uk.

🏆 Two weeks left to submit your Making the Difference Award nominations! 🏆

The University recognises and values the hard work, commitment and achievements of all staff. The 'Making the Difference' awards are intended to provide recognition to any member of staff whose contribution on a one-off or short-term basis has been exceptional or outstanding and is worthy of particular note. The scheme provides staff, managers and colleagues with the opportunity to nominate an individual or a team for a recognition payment worth up to £250 per person (subject to normal pay deductions, e.g. PAYE). (The university also recognises and values outstanding contribution of a sustained nature. Staff should refer to details of the 'Rewarding Excellence' scheme for information about awards of that kind.)

If you would like to nominate someone for a Making the Difference Award, please click here to fill in the form. 

Deadline for nominations: Friday 3rd November 17:00

Departmental seminars taking place next week 🎓

All are welcome to attend so please do join us and offer your support!

The Curious Mind: A Lord James Lecture - 26 Oct

Join Ruth Vassilas and Professor Robin Wooffitt for a double bill of talks on the anomalous and bizarre. From near death experiences to everyday telepathy, come along to the Ron Cook Hub at 18:30 on Thursday, 26th October where Ruth and Robin will be attempting to explain the seemingly unexplainable.

The talk is open to students, staff, and the public and all proceeds will go to Door 84. Tickets for The Curious Mind are available here.

Langwith College - University of York

Our wonderful Director for Students, Samarthia Thankappan is back with her weekly audio messages for students. Click the links below to listen to Samarthia's messages:

• S1 Week 1 Message from DfS
• S1 Week 2 Message from DfS
• S1 Week 3 Message from DfS
• S1 Week 4 Message from DfS

Andreas Heinemeyer was invited to speak to MSPs and a minister at the Scottish Parliament about the role of vegetation management in relation to fuel load and wildfire risks, specifically considering evidence of management impacts.

Sarah Bridle has recently:

• co-authored a paper in Sustainability, scoping potential routes to UK civil unrest via the food system. The paper was covered in national newspapers, The Times, iNews, The Mirror. It was also covered in Trade press, The Grocer and Food Manufacturer magazine. It was also covered in regional media.
• published an article for The Conversation.
• joined George Monbiot in conversation at Manchester Literature Festival, to discuss food and farming for the future.

Lindsay Stringer was a co-author on a paper accepted in Sustainable Cities and Society, based on collaborations from her Royal Society - China international exchanges project.

Josh Kirshner and Richard Friend now have a full reference and link for an article listed in a previous newsletter: Learning through interdisciplinary dialogue: Methodological approaches for bridging epistemological divides. The article is about the methodological processes, learning experiences and dialogues of academics involved in interdisciplinary research on implementing second-generation biofuel technologies in northeast Brazil. It stems from a British Academy-funded Knowledge Frontiers project, with a team spanning the social and natural sciences and including academics at Universities of York and São Paulo (Brazil).

Hanna Pettersson has had a paper published: Who must adapt to whom? Contested discourses on human–wolf coexistence and their impact on policy in Spain. People and Nature.

Darpan Das has co-authored a paper with partners in Iran titled 'Blood-lead level in humans and drug addiction: a comprehensive study in Iran', Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 

On 3 October, Ioan Fazey and Sam Buckton co-facilitated a second Three Horizons workshop with representatives from North Yorkshire Council and its stakeholders, to support the development of the Council's new food strategy. Rebecca Newman also participated.

Xun Zhou was the corresponding author of this paper: Non-crossing convex quantile regression. Economics Letters.

Jonathan Green and Chris West from SEI have contributed to a new publication in Nature where they used new techniques to map rubber-related deforestation, and found an area roughly the size of Switzerland has been lost in the past 30 years.

Adrian Gonzalez has been awarded a 0.2 FTE buyout to take on the role of Strategic Lead for Sustainability to support the development of the new Department of Architecture and Built Environment. This follows approval by the Project Board of the sustainability strategy ("Envisioning a sustainable Department of Architecture and the Built Environment") that he wrote over the summer. His role will be to deliver this strategy by working with the Founding Professor, Project Manager and other colleagues across the project and wider institution to ensure that it realises its sustainability ambition across the different workstreams (T&L, research, operations, marketing etc). The role will continue until September 2025 when the new Department launches.

Well done everyone on your fantastic achievements 👏

Open Research Faculty of Sciences Survey

The Open Research team (Library, Archives and Learning Services) are interested in assessing the current levels of understanding and engagement with open research practices across the University and would be grateful if all staff and PGRs could fill out this short survey on Open Research. 

This survey is being shared with all departments and schools within the Faculty of Sciences, and similar surveys are being shared with the other faculties to gain an understanding of differences regarding adoption of open research practices. Following the survey, we intend to develop workshops and training activities appropriately for each faculty / department.

Kirralise Hansford - PhD Student in Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging / Graduate Engagement Lead for Open Research (Faculty of Sciences)

Lindemann Trust Fellowships 2024-2026 Open for Applications

The Lindemann Trust, in partnership with the English-Speaking Union, offers up to three 2-year fellowships, each worth $130,000, for post-doctoral scientists to carry out research in the USA. 

The Lindemann Trust Fellowships are designed as an early post-doctoral opportunity, and are awarded to graduates of exceptional promise in both the pure and applied physical sciences who have shown capacity for producing original research. These Fellowships enable post-doctoral scientists to pursue research in the USA without financial difficulty, and without being obliged to take up paid employment.

The subject areas eligible are defined broadly to include all areas of the physical sciences and mathematics, as well as their interfaces with the life sciences. 

To be eligible to apply, candidates must meet the following criteria:

• Hold British, Irish or Commonwealth citizenship (or have UK settled status) AND be normally resident in the UK
• Either be in the final stages of their doctoral studies at a UK university, or have completed their doctorate at a UK university and have no more than three years of actual research experience since completion
• Career breaks and part-time working will be taken into consideration, e.g. time away due to personal reasons such as maternity, paternity, shared parental and adoptive leave or other caring responsibilities; ill-health or working in a non-research environment/role such as industry.

The deadline for applications is Monday 5th February 2024. Please visit the Lindemann Trust's website for more information and contact Research Support (environment-research@york.ac.uk) if you wish to make an application.

EPSRC Interim Executive Chair – Request for Reviewing Support

Prof Miles Padgett, Interim Executive Chair for EPSRC has reached out to seek support with EPSRC peer review activities. This would be a great opportunity for any colleagues in department who are keen to be more involved in the peer review process to self-nominate to join the EPSRC peer review college. Undertaking peer review activities provides an opportunity for exposure to a wider pool of applications which can prove beneficial when developing your own applications. Please see the letter received from Prof Miles Padgett for further information.

ICURe Engage - Opportunity for post-grad research students

The Midlands Innovation group of universities deliver the Innovate UK ICURe family of programmes, aimed at getting UK University research outputs into use in society. One of the main parts of the programme is developing research student’s capability to have impact in society. The group have recently developed ICURe Engage as a starter programme to the ICURe family. The goal of the Engage to give participants the tools to think who their research could benefit and how those benefits could be sustainably achieved. It is aimed at early-stage postgraduate research students ( 1st/2nd year Master/PhD) and helps them engage with the key stakeholders and broader communities associated with their research.

Training is provided and help is given to find and engage with these contacts and support them with mentors through the process. This is a part-time on-line programme that can be done concurrently with their studies, requiring a two-day bootcamp and 8 hours own study over 4 weeks. The application process is straightforward, and the group expect to able to accommodate the majority of those who apply. Click here for full details on the ICURe Engage Programme..

Yorkshire Paleo Group Meeting - 15th Nov

The next Yorkshire Palaeogroup (YPG) meeting will be hosted in the Northwest via the University of Salford and Simon Hutchinson. It will be a hybrid meeting (if there is enough interest in an in-person dimension to the event) or online only (via Teams) and held from 14:00 to 17:00 on 15th November 2023.  As usual, we aim to offer a friendly and open environment to discuss all things palaeo welcoming short presentations (10 or 20 minutes) by research postgraduates, academics, professionals, retirees and others. Please click this link and fill out the MS Form for the YPG event if you would like to offer something, want to come along or want the link to attend online. 

Contact Simon Hutchinson for further information / questions (s.m.hutchinson@salford.ac.uk) and here is the link to new YPG website.

Virtual Visit to the UoY by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) - 27 Nov

On the 27th November York will be hosting the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). The JSPS will be presenting their funding schemes and providing insight for prospective applicants. The JSPS fund a broad range of research and all colleagues are welcome to join.

The provisional agenda is as follows:

• 1315: Welcome (Matthias Ruth/Ambrose Field)
• 1325: Introductory remarks (JSPS Director)
• 1335: UoY academic perspective on working with JSPS (Andy Pratt/Takashi Yamagata)
• 1350: JSPS funding schemes
• 1415: Q&A
• 1430: Close

Please complete the Google form if you wish to attend the JSPS visit and a Zoom link will be shared with you.

Great! Please add it to the Research, Teaching, Outreach and Good News Spreadsheet. Please use the most relevant tab for the activity/news and ensure that the description details are written out in full as you would like it to be presented. If your item does not fit the spreadsheet, please email it to environment-pa@york.ac.uk by 10:00 next Friday.

Thank you for your help in making the newsletter a great way to catch up on all of the Department's latest news and activities 🙂

Good morning folks! Thank you to all those that have nominated a colleague/team for a Making The Difference award. It is great to read about all the hard work going on in the Department.

Have a fantastic weekend 🌳

Annabel Jackson - PA / Admin to EGLT

Crafty Lunch - Call for Volunteers 🧶

Crafty lunch was set up for DEG crafters to meet up on a Wednesday lunchtime in the Heartspace and share crafts, teach others and generally get to know one another. We've collaborated on a "show your stripes" project for the department which will be unveiled very soon. 

However, the crafty gathering has been on a very long break due to covid and some of our original volunteers leaving for pastures new. I'd love to start it up again but I need your help.

Are you interested in getting involved or want to find out more? If so, drop me an email and let's have a chat.

Jenny (jenny.pollard@york.ac.uk)

British Photography Awards, Photo of the Year - 'What's all the fuss about?' - Alumni nominated! 📷

Will Palmer, one of our Alumni students who is now a photographer, has been shortlisted in the British Photography Awards for his wonderful photo of Thor the Walrus in Scarborough! 

Voting is now open so click here for more information and to give him your vote 🌊

Thanks to Jenny Pollard for sending in 😊

Climate scientist / comedian films - 2 minute survey

You may have seen these short films pairing climate scientists with well-known comedians - an attempt to break through into the mainstream with the climate message. 

They are asking UK climate scientists to fill in a very quick survey designed simply to generate news content to help promote the films. If you can spare a minute, your input would be hugely appreciated. 

Click here to fill in the survey.

DEG World Mental Health Day Celebration 🧠

On Wednesday 11th October, as part of our annual activities in EDC, the Department celebrated World Mental Health Day 2023.

Thank you to all that joined us for our celebrations on Wednesday. 

For those that were unable to attend the Talk from Guest Speaker Dr Nick Rowe, please find here a link to the presentation 😊

🏆 Making the Difference Awards are back so it's time to get nominating! 🏆

The University recognises and values the hard work, commitment and achievements of all staff. The 'Making the Difference' awards are intended to provide recognition to any member of staff whose contribution on a one-off or short-term basis has been exceptional or outstanding and is worthy of particular note. The scheme provides staff, managers and colleagues with the opportunity to nominate an individual or a team for a recognition payment worth up to £250 per person (subject to normal pay deductions, e.g. PAYE). (The university also recognises and values outstanding contribution of a sustained nature. Staff should refer to details of the 'Rewarding Excellence' scheme for information about awards of that kind.)

For more information about MTD awards, including the criteria, all past nominations and winners, please visit our Making the Difference Wiki Page. Please note that nominees must have been in post for a minimum of 6 months to be eligible to win an award. 

If you would like to nominate someone for a Making the Difference Award, please click here to fill in the form. 

Deadline for nominations: Friday 3rd November 17:00

Seminars taking place next week 🎓

All are welcome to attend so please do join us and offer your support!

• Our wonderful Director for Students, Samarthia Thankappan is back with her weekly audio messages for students. Click the links below to listen to Samarthia's messages:
• S1 Week 1 Message from DfS
• S1 Week 2 Message from DfS
• S1 Week 3 Message from DfS

• ---

  Gideon Baffoe for published a paper in Cities. Details of the paper: Baffoe, G. (2023). Neoliberal urban development and the polarization of urban governance.

• ---

  Sarah West has co-authored a second publication relating to the Tupumue project - the paper was published in BMJ - Open Respiratory Research. Read a summary and access the full paper. Sarah was also interviewed for a POSTnote on indoor air quality. The parliamentary briefing highlighted the SAMHE and INGENIOUS projects.

• ---

  Rob Marchant has recently:
• Been interviewed by TV Monde about the Environmental and social impacts of a Total Oil pipeline passing through Uganda and Tanzania.
• Led a discussion session at the African Conference on Linear Infrastructure in memory of Tobias Nyumba.
• Been a coauthor on a paper published in the journal Land entitled One Hundred Priority Questions for the Development of Sustainable Food Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Along with Rebecca Newman, led a paper published in the journal Sustainability Science entitled Community-based scenario's framework for supporting water, energy and food security in Zanzibar.
• Been invited to give a keynote talk on the impact of climate change on mountain ecosystems and societies at the World Climate Research program congress.
• Co-led a workshop for the Adaptation @ Altitude program bringing some 30 participants from across the African continent to develop datasets, and adaptation pathways for Africa's mountains.
• Along with Ploy and Paramita Punwong, led a paper published in the journal Quaternary Science Advances entitled A multi-proxy reconstruction of the late Holocene vegetation dynamics in Krabi mangroves, Thailand Andaman Sea.

Well done everyone on your fantastic achievements 👏

Yorkshire Cancer Research 2024 Research Funding Fall

Yorkshire Cancer Research has opened its annual research funding call. Applications focused on the most commonly diagnosed cancers in Yorkshire, cancers causing the most deaths and life years lost in Yorkshire or projects across multiple cancer types will be prioritised and health inequalities is a new focus area for YCR as of this year and they are particularly interested in research projects involving targeted interventions in underserved groups in Yorkshire. Please be aware that Yorkshire Cancer Research does fund fundamental science or early stage drug/intervention development. The preliminary application deadline is 12 noon, 07 December 2023 and the full application deadline is 12 noon, 21 March 2024 (invitation only).

If you are interested and would like any additional support with your application, please contact Sharon Godwin (sharon.godwin@york.ac.uk).

Global Social eEnterprise - Collaboration Opportunities

Solar Ear is a global social enterprise with sales of over $15 million of their globally affordable hearing aids. They are considering making York Science Park their new UK base and, as part of their selection process, are interested to understand what collaborations (including and not limited to: placements, research, teaching) might be feasible with the University.

If you are interested in collaborating with them, please email enterprise-works@york.ac.uk - we will run an introductory meeting with Solar Ear, at a convenient time for all involved, to investigate these collaborations and to show them York would be an excellent home for their organisation.

Some initial potential areas of collaboration include digital hearing health programme, audio detection, community empowerment and supporting social wealth creation. Further information can be found here.

The York Researcher Festival

The York Research Festival will be taking place 6-10 November 2023. This is an opportunity to collectively celebrate the contribution that early career researchers (both postgraduate researchers and postdocs) make to research, culture and community at York. The Festival provides opportunities for researchers and staff who support research to come together across disciplines to share experiences, learn, network and develop new skills. The primary audience for the Festival is researchers (including postgraduate researchers) but all who are interested are warmly invited and welcome to attend. A wide range of events will be running, with contributions from across the University and beyond.

Please visit the York Research Festival webpage for full details.

Book using the York Researcher Festival Event Registration Form, and please direct any questions to bric@york.ac.uk.

Great! Please add it to the Research, Teaching, Outreach and Good News Spreadsheet. Please use the most relevant tab for the activity/news and ensure that the description details are written out in full as you would like it to be presented. If your item does not fit the spreadsheet, please email it to environment-pa@york.ac.uk by 10:00 next Friday.

Thank you for your help in making the newsletter a great way to catch up on all of the Department's latest news and activities 🙂

Good morning folks! Last chance to sign up for the World Mental Health Day Celebrations next Wednesday - more details can be found below 🙂

I hope Semester 1 is going well 💻

Annabel Jackson - PA / Admin to EGLT

New Core Values poster! 

⬅️ Keep an eye out for new Departmental 'Core Values' posters which can now be found dotted around the building 🙂

Click here to view the poster as a PDF and feel free to use this within teaching materials etc.

A reminder that all staff should be listing these Core Values within email signatures. In Gmail, go to Settings → General → Signature and copy and paste the following wording:

The core values of our Department are:

We are a friendly and helpful community

We make a positive difference

We strive for environmental sustainability

We are inclusive and celebrate diversity   

We are curious and always learning

Staff Digital Skills training - next Tuesday

Click here to sign up to Google Docs and Drive Training taking place on Tuesday 10 October at 10:00.

During this in-person session, we will look at using Google Docs and Drive effectively for collaborative working. We will cover using version history, sharing permissions, organising files, moving items and sharing links. There will be some practical exercises along with deciding how to choose between using My/Shared Drive for managing file ownership.

The Return of Staff Digital Skills “Bitesize” Sessions! • October - December (Various dates) • Online
Ready to enhance your digital skills? Low on time? Join the DISC team for their online digital upskilling sessions! Bite-sized, hour-long topics including Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Sites, mail merges, digital accessibility and more!

Click here to visit the mini-site for all details and book your place.

-Digital Inclusion, Skills and Creativity (DISC) Team

Open CPR sessions - 16th October

SJA First Aid Society are running free Restart a Heart Day sessions where any university student or staff can come and learn CPR (adults, children, infants) and to use an AED. 

Sessions are run on Monday the 16th October at 1pm, 2:30pm, 4pm, or 5:30 pm in SLB/001.

The session will last about 75 minutes. University students can book onto the sessions via our page on YUSU. University staff can email us at sjafirstaid@yusu.org to book onto sessions. All sessions are free! 

Free Writing Skills sessions

Mark Illis, Royal Literary Fund Fellow, is offering free writing skills sessions. Mark is based in Derwent College, within the English Department. 

He is at the university on Mondays and Tuesdays, and he can offer students one-to-one meetings to help them with their writing skills. This is a free and confidential service provided by the RLF, and it's available to students at any level and in any discipline within the university.

He is not interested in the substance of students’ essays, dissertations or theses, but as a professional writer he is able to help you with planning, structure, grammar, editing and general issues relating to clarity. 

Click here to see his flyer with more information about his work, including an email address for bookings. 

YESI Research Theme Lead roles

Recruitment Announcement: Co-Leads Needed for the YESI Research Theme on Environment and Health (x2)

The YESI Research Themes are a reflection of the critical environmental challenges facing humanity, while also leveraging York's academic strengths in sustainability research. Currently, the Research Theme leads are as follows:

• Environment and Health – Professor Pete Coventry
• Food, Water, and Waste - Professor James Chong and Dr. Liz Rylott
• Resilient Ecosystems – Professor Colin Beale and Dr. Julia Touza

We are in search of two Co-Leads for our 'Environment and Health' theme as the current position holder's three-year term is nearing its end. Successful candidates will become integral members of the YESI team, contributing to shaping the institute's strategic direction under the leadership of Professor Lindsay Stringer.

To qualify, you should be an internationally recognized researcher with expertise in the broader fields of environment and/or health, commensurate with your career stage. We are seeking inspirational, collaborative, interdisciplinary leaders who can effectively harness these research strengths. Applications are encouraged from all three faculties, and they are open to permanent University of York staff at various career stages, ranging from lecturer to professor, including permanent research fellows at Grade 7 or higher. The term for this role is three years.

Interested applicants are required to submit a CV and a statement (up to 2 pages) outlining how they meet the role description and presenting both short-term (initial 6 months) and long-term visions for the theme. Additional details about the theme lead role can be found here.

Next ViPs meeting

The next Yorkshire Palaeogroup (YPG) meeting will be hosted in the Northwest via the University of Salford and Simon Hutchinson.

It will be a hybrid meeting (if there is enough interest in an in-person dimension to the event) or online only (via Teams) and held from 14:00 to 17:00 on 15^th November 2023.  

As usual, we aim to offer a friendly and open environment to discuss all things palaeo welcoming short presentations (10 or 20 minutes) by research postgraduates, academics, professionals, retirees and others.

Please fill out this MS Form if you would like to offer something, want to come along or want the link to attend online. Further information / questions: s.m.hutchinson@salford.ac.uk

DEG World Mental Health Day Celebration 🧠

On Wednesday 11th October, as part of our annual activities in EDC, the Department will be celebrating World Mental Health Day 2023.

Details are as follows:

12 - 1pm: Lunch for the first 40 people who sign up! 🍴

1 - 2pm: Guest Speaker Dr Nick Rowe MBE (Professor in Arts and Mental Health) in ENV/005 Lecture Theatre 

2pm: Mindful Walk (lead by Rob Bennett) - meet in ENV/005 for a Brief to the Walk.
Our environment and the places we experience can have a profound and positive effect on our sense of wellbeing and mental health. This guided walk around the university campus will encourage you to take time to explore different places around the university and to reflect on how they may boost your sense of wellbeing. You will be encouraged to photograph places that appeal to you, and these will be used to celebrate the positive potential around us and to encourage others to explore and experience these special places.

Please sign up by filling out this short form by Friday 6th October.

We hope to see you there 😊

🏆 Making the Difference Awards are back so it's time to get nominating! 🏆

The University recognises and values the hard work, commitment and achievements of all staff. The 'Making the Difference' awards are intended to provide recognition to any member of staff whose contribution on a one-off or short-term basis has been exceptional or outstanding and is worthy of particular note. The scheme provides staff, managers and colleagues with the opportunity to nominate an individual or a team for a recognition payment worth up to £250 per person (subject to normal pay deductions, e.g. PAYE). (The university also recognises and values outstanding contribution of a sustained nature. Staff should refer to details of the 'Rewarding Excellence' scheme for information about awards of that kind.)

For more information about MTD awards, including the criteria, all past nominations and winners, please visit our Making the Difference Wiki Page. Please note that nominees must have been in post for a minimum of 6 months to be eligible to win an award. 

If you would like to nominate someone for a Making the Difference Award, please click here to fill in the form. 

Deadline for nominations: Friday 3rd November 17:00

Seminars taking place next week 🎓

All are welcome to attend so please do join us and offer your support!

DEG Seminar  Date / Time: Tuesday 10th October at 12:05 Location: Hybrid (ENV/005 and Zoom - click here to join) Speaker name: Thomas Smith Title: For Peat’s Sake”: Why are tropical peatlands burning, and what are the impacts? Blurb Dr Thomas Smith is Associate Professor in Environmental Geography at the Department of Geography & Environment at the London School of Economics. Tom is a geographer and environmental scientist, specialising in interdisciplinary approaches to understanding the role of biomass burning in the Earth system. Thomas will discuss wildfire driven haze pollution in Southeast Asia; a man-made environmental disaster. Naturally, the tropical rainforests of Malaysia and Indonesia are fairly drought-resistant, storing moisture in deep peaty soils. Yet, vast swathes of this unique ecosystem, home to Sumatran tigers and orang-utans, are being badly degraded by unsustainable illegal logging and conversion to plantations by the palm oil and paper industries. The loss of forests and the draining of soils by networks of canals drastically increases landscape susceptibility to fire. During long dry seasons, such as the exceptional dry season of 2015, fires burn and smoulder their way through the exposed peatlands that were once protected by forests. It is these fires that lead to dangerous air quality across the Southeast Asian region. The talk will explore some of Dr Smith’s research projects concerned with fire and post-fire emissions from fire-affected tropical peatlands and how his work has established links between pollution and intensified unsustainable agriculture in the region. The talk will also touch on new interdisciplinary research into the perception of the ‘haze’ problem in southeast Asia and how this may or may not compound the underlying causes of environmental change. Click here to watch the recording of last week's DEG Seminar entitled 'Climatic controls on surface meltwater ponding across Antarctica, 2006-2021' Passcode: 4fR1pR+@

Sustainability Education Conversations The Teaching and Scholarship Seminar series has a new name: Sustainability Education Conversations with a focus on best practice in the education and teaching of environment and sustainability and is a collaboration between ESAY's Community of Learning and Teaching Practice, DEG (Liz Hurrell) and York's science education group (Lynda Dunlop).  The first seminar will take place on 11th October (details below) and will include Professor Simon Kemp from the University of Southampton speaking about: "Education for Sustainable Development: engaging with staff, quality assurance, curricula and the student experience." Date / Time: Wednesday 11th October at 12:05 Location: Zoom - click here to join Speaker name: Prof Simon Kemp Title: Education for Sustainable Development: engaging with staff, quality assurance, curricula and the student experience. Blurb Professor Simon Kemp is an award-winning academic based at the University of Southampton, recognised for his student-focused work in ESD and employability through the Times Higher Education ‘Most Innovative Teacher of Year’, a National Teaching Fellowship, and the Green Gowns ‘Sustainability Professional of the Year’ awards amongst others. He is the University Lead in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) as part of the Southampton Sustainability Strategy where he is responsible for the embedding of sustainable development across the whole of the university curricula and student experience.

RGS / GeogEd Teaching & Learning events - Reminder

For colleagues new to teaching geography at university:

• New to teaching geography at university, Thursday 26 October, 10:30 – 4:30 (in person at the RGS-IBG, £25) – a one-day workshop for new geography lecturers, teaching-fellows, and other early career academics teaching in geography departments post-PhD. Book here: https://www.rgs.org/events/autumn-2023/new-to-teaching-geography-at-university/

For colleagues interested in work based learning / employability:

• Work-based learning and employability in geography and related programmes (TeaS) Wednesday 15 November, 1 – 2pm – A session co-delivered by Dr Helen King (Northumbria University) and Dr Rebecca Jones (Bangor University) and is focused on helping colleagues develop and deliver work-based learning and employability initiatives for students on geography and related programmes.

October careers fairs

Grad Jobs and Placements Fairs

Tuesday 10th October, 11am-3pm, Exhibition Centre, Campus West

Wednesday 11th October, 11am-3pm, Exhibition Centre, Campus West

More information can be found by clicking here.

-Careers and Placements

• Our wonderful Director for Students, Samarthia Thankappan is back with her weekly audio messages for students. Click the link below to listen to Samarthia's first message of the new Semester:
• S1 Week 1 Message from DfS
• S1 Week 2 Message from DfS

• ---

  Congratulations to Lindsay Stringer who is coauthor on a paper in Nature Sustainability that sets out a research agenda for work on the relationships between land degradation and migration. The full reference is: Hermans K, Müller D, Byrne D, Olsson L, Stringer LC. 2023 Land degradation and migration. Nature Sustainability.

  ---

• Giovanna Massei has recently:
• Been invited to co-author a chapter of the 3rd edition of the book “Rodent Pests: Ecology and Management”. Cahpter's working title “Emerging technologies for rodent management” to be published in 2025.
• Been invited to join the Advisory and Review Board for the Pathways Europe 2024: Human Dimensions of Wildlife Conference “Revisiting What is Wild for Coexisting”to be held in October 13-16, 2024, in Córdoba, Spain
• Been interviewed by a journalist for The Observer and The Daily Telegraph picked this up from The Observer.
• Signed a contract on “Pilot project for the administration of an oral contraceptive in wild boar”, led by the Institute of Animal Health Latium and Tuscany (Italy) and funded by the Italian Ministry of Health, with UoY (Giovanna Massei) as co-PI. Total value £250,000, UoY: £59,700.

• ---

  Josh Kirshner has participated in several events for the annual meeting of the UKRI GCRF project, 'Community Energy and the Sustainable Energy Transition (CESET) in Ethiopia, Malawi and Mozambique,' which is in its final year. These included the following:
• Served as discussant and chair in an international conference, “From market to social value: Reimagining the role of community energy in sustainability transitions,” hosted by Sheffield University. Speakers included academics from the Universities of Addis Abba and Makelle (Ethiopia), Mzuzu (Malawi), Cape Town (SA), Utrecht (Netherlands), and Strathclyde, Manchester and Oxford (UK), and project developers, utilities, cooperatives, gender inclusion activists and civil society orgs in southern/eastern Africa and the UK.
• Was an invited panellist for ‘Building international collaborations in low carbon energy’ at the ‘Building Resilient Energy Communities’ conference, hosted by the LCEDN (Low Carbon Energy for Development Network) and Loughborough University. The keynote speaker was Youba Sokona, a Malian expert in energy and climate politics in Africa and vice-chair of the IPCC since 2015.
• Facilitated sessions at a collaborative writing workshop in Grindleford, Peak district, with CESET UK and in-country partners.
• Accompanied partners on site visits to Allerton Waste Recovery Centre, Hockerton Energy Project and Westmill Wind Farm and Solar Park to explore UK community energy and related infrastructure.

• ---

  Dave Shaw presented on Indoor Air Quality and the INGENIOUS project at Bradford College as part of an Applied Creativity Lab designed to help young people develop critical thinking and idea development skills.

• ---

  Kate Arnold, along with collaborators from across the World Universities Network, led a workshop on 'Longer-term impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic: Ensuring support of doctoral and early career researchers' at the Vitae International Researcher Development Conference.

• ---

  Adrian Gonzalez, along with Georgia Ramsay (PGCE Curriculum Area Leader for Geography, UoY), recently published a peer-reviewed paper entitled "Collaborative approaches to sustainability education" in the Teaching Geography Journal (48:3). The paper describe how they looked at engaging trainee teachers with sustainability education and increasing their confidence in teaching about sustainability. Further work and research on this project is scheduled to commence this academic year.

• ---

  Liz Hurrell presented at the XXIX International Scientific Conference "Problems of continuous Geographic Education and Cartography' organised by the Department of Physical Geography and Cartography of V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. Liz presented on "Climate hypocrisy, sustainability and undergraduate field trips" with Adrian and Daryl as co-authors. The presentation was based on a book chapter that Liz, Adrian and Daryl will be submitting this month.

Well done everyone on your fantastic achievements 👏

UKRI Realising the Health Co-Benefits of Net Zero - info and ideas sharing session 11th October

UKRI is seeking to establish a set of transdisciplinary research hubs that will provide policy-relevant evidence and deliver high impact solutions-focused research and innovation, with the overarching goal of realising the health co-benefits of the UK’s transition to net zero, in order to protect and promote the physical and mental health of the UK population.

The hubs (up to £6m over 5 years) will be focused around the following challenge areas within the net zero and health space.

Ahead of this deadline, YESI and the RIDT are running an informal online session for York researchers on Wednesday 11th October, 2-3.30pm, which will provide a brief introduction to the call, before opening the discussion up to participants to share their ideas, and discuss with colleagues and members of the RIDT any emerging partner or support needs.

Please register your interest via the session's website - the zoom link will be circulated on the 10th October to those who have registered.

Funding Available for Small Research Projects on Inclusive Trade

The CITP is delighted to announce that it is now inviting applications to the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy Innovation Fund.

The CITP Innovation Fund is designed to support research projects that advance our understanding of inclusive trade policy, and could include theoretical work, methodological innovation and emerging empirical developments. Interdisciplinary research is encouraged.

The CITP wishes to support projects that:

• Are proposed and led by Early Career Researchers or in which the professional development of Early Career Researchers is a major part.

• Develop and sustain strong partnerships with partners in academia, the private, third and public sectors.

• Relate to and complement the existing core research programme and that fit the general guidance (see website).

The fund supports small research projects that cost between £10,000 to £40,000 fEC and of maximum 12 months.

We strongly encourage smaller applications of around £20,000 as we are very limited in the number of large applications that can be awarded.

The deadline for applications is 12 noon, Friday 3rd November, 2023.

The call and application form are available on the CITP website. If you have any questions please contact the team via: info@citp.ac.uk

2024 L’Oréal-UNESCO UK and Ireland For Women in Science Rising Talent Programme

L'Oréal-UNESCO UK has announced its annual £15,000 grant in partnership with the Royal Society to support women's research in STEM.

Eligible domains: Engineering, Life Sciences, Mathematics and Computer Science, Physical Sciences, Sustainable Development Webinar on the funding programme: please register here to join the 2nd webinar on the 17th of October at 16:30pm Grant value: £15,000 (up to 5 endowments per year)

Application's deadline: 25 October 2023 at 17:00 GMT

If you are interested and eligible, please reach out to Sharon Godwin (sharon.godwin@york.ac.uk) and me. The CFP team is already familiar with the programme and can assist you in submitting your application.

Horizon Europe Funding Opportunity Database

Research Innovation & Development Manager, Dr Robyn Cooper Inglis, has created a sheet to monitor upcoming Horizon calls. This has been embedded in the existing Environmental Funding Opportunity Database.

This database contains information pertaining to deadlines, topics and available funds. With the UK now having rejoined Horizon Europe, this resource will be particularly useful to staff.

Great! Please add it to the Research, Teaching, Outreach and Good News Spreadsheet. Please use the most relevant tab for the activity/news and ensure that the description details are written out in full as you would like it to be presented. If your item does not fit the spreadsheet, please email it to environment-pa@york.ac.uk by 10:00 next Friday.

Thank you for your help in making the newsletter a great way to catch up on all of the Department's latest news and activities 🙂