Staff Newsletter 29 September 2023
- Annabel Jackson (Deactivated)
Good morning folks! The newsletter is back this week with lots of good news to catch up on and exciting details of our upcoming Mental Health Day celebrations in the Department 😊
Have a fantastic weekend when it reaches you 🍂
Annabel Jackson - PA / Admin to EGLT
Claim back the cost of your flu jab
Colleagues choosing to have a flu jab this year can be reimbursed via the expenses process.
In order to help protect members of the University and wider York community, UoY staff who are not eligible for a free flu vaccination will be reimbursed if they choose to have a flu jab.
More information can be found here.
First Bus significant changes from Sunday 24 September
First Bus, our nominated bus service provider, are altering routes, timetables, the free zone and bus numbers as of Sunday 24 September.
All information for staff and students is available on the travel and transport web page as well as the First Bus app.
Mentoring for teaching and scholarship career development - online session
On Wednesday 11th October (3 - 4.30pm) the RGS Geography and Education Research Group will be delivering an online session for colleagues who mentor others or who would like to participate in mentoring (as either a mentor or mentee) focussing on teaching and scholarship career development.
The session will: (i) provide advice and guidance from those with mentoring experience (from mentor and mentee perspectives), (ii) include on-the-spot mentoring to help participants reflect on their current needs and develop just one actionable point to kick start their progression, and(iii) review the needs of colleagues to help plan and progress an informal teaching and scholarship mentoring network within the TeaS community.
Please sign up using this link.
As part of this session we would like to provide attendees with reflections from those who have experienced academic mentoring as a mentee and / or mentor. If you would like to share your reflections, advice, guidance or tips, from the perspective of a mentee and / or mentor, please complete this brief form.
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. Please note that capacity is capped at 80.
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 😊
The first Seminars of the new Academic Year taking place next week 🎓
All are welcome to attend so please do join us and offer your support!
DEG Seminar - Tuesday 3rd October at 12:05 - Hybrid
Location: Hybrid (ENV/005 and Zoom - click here to join)
Speaker name: Pete Tuckett
Title: Climatic controls on surface meltwater ponding across Antarctica, 2006-2021
Blurb
Pete Tuckett has recently started as a postdoc at the University of York, working with Dave Rippin on a NERC funded project exploring the importance of ice-marginal lakes on the future of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Prior to this, he completed a Ph.D. at the University of Sheffield exploring surface meltwater on the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Here, he discusses some of his key findings. Melting at the surface of the Antarctic Ice Sheet can result in the formation of lakes and streams of surface meltwater. These surface meltwater features are important because they can influence rates of mass loss from the ice sheet via several mechanisms and feedbacks. Despite its known importance for predicting future contributions to sea-level rise, previous studies assessing Antarctic surface meltwater have been limited in spatial and temporal scope. Here, he has utilised cloud-computing to produce the first Antarctic-wide, monthly dataset of surface meltwater spanning 2006 to 2021. In this seminar, he will present the key findings from this work. He will discuss trends in meltwater extent over the past 15 years across different regions of Antarctica, and explore the climatic controls which influence the occurrence of meltwater ponding. Finally, he will consider what my findings may mean for the future of the Antarctic Ice Sheet.
Sustainability Seminar - Wednesday 4th October at 12:05 - Zoom
Location: Zoom - click here to join
Speaker name: Erin Wheeler
Title: Circular Economy - an Introduction
Blurb
The issue of what to do about waste is growing, and we need to think differently about what we use and how we use it. The circular economy could provide an answer. In this talk, Erin Wheeler, Circular Economy Officer for York and North Yorkshire LEP, will introduce the concept of circular economy, how it can work in business, and why it’s an important step towards creating a greener future.
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.
Teaching and Learning Update
(i) UTC have approved the revised MSc Sustainable Business programme (Sustainable Business, Environment and Society) and Dual Degree route. Latter required further conditions to be completed (progression rules; academic misconduct) with various bodies AQA, SCA) happy with the draft documentation. Maastricht has provided relevant input which is being integrated and we hope to resubmit to UTC by the end of the month. The approvals process for Maastricht commences in Semester 1.
(ii) T&L Funded fieldtrip project has been a success. We have been able to complete the following: (a) kickstart the establishment of an equipment pool to support students who cannot access relevant all weather kit. The fund was used to buy 4 x women's waterproof jacket; 4 x women's waterproof trousers; 3 x men's waterproof trousers; 3 x men's waterproof jackets; 3 x pairs of winter gloves; 4 x beanie hats (b) purchase a one-year ThingLink software license to help create online fieldtrip resources (maps, podcasts, videos) (c) purchase GoPros with audio equipment and tripods for documenting fieldtrips (d) co-created a set of Principles for EDI fieldtrips with students which will be used to frame the departmental fieldtrips.
(iii) Laura Chapman has modified the Skills Hub so that staff can share links to specific sections only, which will improve navigation. In terms of usage, in this first full year of the new hub, it's had just shy of 5,000 visits which is fantastic! Thanks to Laura and wider staff for their work on this which is bearing very positive results.
(iv) DEG saw one successful PGT Chevening scholar (Grace Aninyi) this year who will study on ESM. Congratulations to Grace on her success!
(v) The first T&L away day is scheduled for 30 October 2023 and will provide opportunities and updates and decolonising the curriculum and employability.
-Dr Adrian Gonzalez (Director of Learning and Teaching)
- 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:
Bryce Stewart was filmed and interviewed by AFP News (click here to watch the video) about the effects of Brexit on UK fisheries. The story was also featured on over 10 networks across Europe including France 24, RFI News & DayFR Italian !
Congratulations to Lindsay Stringer who published a "Voices" article in One Earth considering the Global Stocktake (an assessment as to how well we are doing at adapting to climate change, linked to the Paris Agreement). The full reference is: Stringer LC, Dhakal S, Milkoreit M, Mendoza C, Mukherji A, Shislov I, Fisher S, Simpson NP, Schleussner CF 2023. Ratcheting up effectiveness to improve the Global Stocktake process. One Earth 6(9) 1069-1073.
Giovanna Massei has had the following papers published:
BeathamS.E., Stephens P.A., Coats J., Phillips J. and Massei G., 2023. A camera trap method for estimating target densities of grey squirrels to inform wildlife management applications. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 11, p.1096321.
Croft S., Massei G. 2023. Modelling the management of an invasive species at landscape scale: are oral contraceptives the missing ingredient for success? Wildlife Research, in press.
Beatham S., Stephens P., Coats J., Phillips J., Massei G. (in press). A camera trap-based method for measuring the densities of grey squirrels. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution).
Massei G., Jacob J., Hinds L. 2023 Developing fertility control for rodents: a framework for researchers and practitioners. Integrative Zoology. doi: 10.1111/1749-4877.12727
Massei G., Boyles Griffin S. 2023 Stakeholder acceptance of wild equid fertility control mirrors global shifts in attitudes to wildlife management. Human–Wildlife Interactions 16(2):343–349.
Massei G. 2023. Fertility control for wildlife: a European perspective. Animals 13, 428.
Josh Kirshner and Richard Friend are co-authors on a new article that explores interdisciplinary research methods, dialogue, and efforts to bridge 'epistemological divides' across the natural and social sciences. The article is led by Eleanor Brown in York's Education Department, and includes others in York's Biology and Chemistry Depts., ESAY, and the School for Business and Society, along with colleagues from University of Sao Paulo, in Brazil. The full reference is: Brown, E., Kirshner, J., Dunlop, L., Friend, R., Brooks, S., Redeker, K., Zimmermann, A., Walton, P., Cairo, J. and Veneu, F. (2023). Learning through interdisciplinary dialogue: Methodological approaches for bridging epistemological divides.
Congratulations to Lindsay Stringer who gave an online talk at the 4th International Conference on Drylands, hosted by Bayero University Kano's Centre for Dryland Agriculture. Lindsay's talk was titled: How can dryland ecosystem restoration tackle multiple development challenges?
Congratulations to Xun Zhou who was the corresponding author of this paper: Malo, P., Eskelinen, J., Zhou, X., & Kuosmanen, T. Computing Synthetic Controls Using Bilevel Optimization. Computational Economics (2023).
Congratulations to James Westfield for his poster presentation at the RGS conference last month. His title was "Stakeholder perceptions of gorse (Ulex europaeus) and how this affects gorse management" presented in the session: 'Geographies of Economic Development & Environmental Risk'.
Congratulations to Lindsay Stringer who was a coauthor on a paper published in People and Nature, led by one of her former PhD students in Leeds: Ihemezie, E. J., Albaladejo-García, J. A., Stringer, L. C., & Dallimer, M. (2023). Integrating biocultural conservation and sociocultural valuation in the management of sacred forests: What values are important to the public? People and Nature, 00, 1–19.
Felicia Liu's short 'Voices' commentary piece was accepted to OneEarth on 'Fintech for Forests', outlining a research agenda for critically evaluating the economic, reputational, and environmental benefits rapidly growing range of fintech products that promises to deliver forest restoration, with coauthors Benjamin Thompson (Monash, Australia) and Jack Harris (Klagenfurt, Austria)
Sarah Bridle (along with co-leads from the AFN Network+) was mentioned in the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee's report on Food Security.
Nic Carslaw contributed to a POST note on indoor air quality.
Sohail Ahmad co-organised a session at the Royal Geographical Soceity annual conference earlier this month 'The effective economies of private renting in the Majority World' with Adriana Mihaela Soaita (University of Glasgow/University of Bucharest) where his co-authored paper is presented 'Spatial analysis of housing and urban amenities in the neighborhoods of Delhi and Dhaka'. He also chaired two sessions 'Urban Natures' and 'Urban Transformations'.
Liz Hurrell (along with collaborators from the Universities of Salford, Kharkiv, Suceava and West Bohemia) successfully delievered a Virtual Field Trips for Inclusive Field Skills training summer school. The aim of the summer school was to bring colleagues together to discuss best practice in virtual field trip developments and to support Ukrainian academics whose field teaching has been impacted by the war. During the trip we gathered materials to co-create a virtual field trip to share with participants. The summer school was hybrid with 38 on-site participants and 66 online participants. Liz has written a twitter thread which outlines the challenges faced by Ukrainian academics to deliver field teaching but also their reliance to continue teaching/science outreach at a time of war.
Well done everyone on your fantastic achievements 👏
Early Career Researcher Funding Opportunity
The ESRC Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre has launched a call for applications to its second annual ECR Development Fund. The Fund offers grants of up to £25,000 for 12-month projects led by Early Career Researchers. Deadline for applications is 15 January 2024. There's an information webinar for those interested in finding out more, on 5th October 2023 from 2pm-3pm on Zoom. Sign up for the webinar and read more about the fund here.
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars Program
The CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars competition is open until the end of October and provides funding to outstanding early career researchers across a broad range of research areas, as outlined in the description below. The programs have ambitious and innovative research agendas and provide the opportunity for interdisciplinary global collaboration.
The programs accepting applications are:
If staff are interested in applying they should contact the relevant the Research Support Team (environment-research@york.ac.uk). See full details here.
Upcoming Public Lecture Hosted by Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre
The Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre is pleased to invite colleagues to an upcoming public lecture delivered by Professor Ana Aliverti, visiting us from the University of Warwick. In this lecture Professor Aliverti will explore the contrasting and competing rationales, emotions and values that underpin the contemporary governance of marginalised groups.
This lecture is running from 1pm - 2.30pm on Wednesday 11th October in the Business Lounge of the Church Lane Building, University of York. It is open to staff, postgraduate students and the wider public; please share among your networks who may be interested. If you're not able to attend in person, you are welcome to join us via Zoom and joining instructions will be circulated prior to the event.
Professor Aliverti is Co-Director of the Criminal Justice Centre in the School of Law at Warwick University. Her research work looks at the intersections between criminal law and criminal justice, on the one hand, and border regimes, on the other, and explores the impact of such intertwining on the national criminal justice institutions and on those subject to the resulting set of controls.
If you are planning on attending, please register via Eventbrite to help manage numbers.
weADAPT and SEI Webinar - How to foster 'just adaptation'
The WeADAPT platform SEI Oxford are hosting a webinar intended to inform thinking about agendas for the Global Goal on Adaptation, the upcoming Adaptation Futures Conference and UN Climate Conference (COP28) in Dubai. Experts working at the frontier of climate change adaptation practice and research from around the world will address key issues at the forefront of the adaptation agenda.
The interactive webinar will be held on Wednesday, 27 September 2023, from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (BST). You can register through Eventbrite here.
Experts working at the frontier of climate change adaptation practice and research from around the world will address key issues at the forefront of the adaptation agenda.
They will address questions such as:
How can the world ensure that “just resilience” emerges at this time of escalating risk? What are the hallmarks of measures that can help the most vulnerable groups and ensure that their voices are heard? How can sharing and learning from adaptation successes and failures help support the change needed?
Participants include: Srilata Kammila, Head of Climate Change Adaptation, UN Development Programme Pirawan Wongnithisathaporn, Environment Programme Officer, Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) Dhesigen Naidoo, Head of Adaptation for the South African Presidential Climate Commission Luis Daniel Llambi Cartaya, Project coordinator, CONDESAN; Coordinator in the Andes, Adaptation at Altitude Programme Sukaina Bharwani, Senior Research Fellow at SEI and a Founder of SEI’s online adaptation platform and community, weADAPT .
These participants will provide insights from their experiences to help inform and enhance climate change adaptation efforts worldwide. There will be time for you to ask questions.
This is the first in an occasional series of online webinars that weADAPT and SEI Oxford intend to offer to address emerging issues concerning climate change adaptation.
Royal Society Career Development Fellowships
The Royal Society has launched a new Fellowships scheme for early career researchers (ECRs). The Career Development Fellowship is a 4-year postdoctoral research fellowship which aims to support the retention in STEM of researchers from underrepresented backgrounds. This first call, opening on 7 November and closing on 24 January, will be run as a pilot, with the potential to expand to a broader range of underrepresented communities in future calls.
Eligible researchers will:
Self-identify as being from a Black heritage including mixed Black background
Have a PhD or will have one by the time the funding starts
Have less than 24 months' postdoctoral experience.
There are no eligibility rules based on nationality, and applicants do not need to currently study or work in the UK.
What the scheme offers:
- £690k over 4 years, to cover the Fellow's salary, associated on-costs (80%), directly allocated costs (80%) and research expenses
- A high-quality programme of training, mentoring and engagement to support career development
- Flexibility to accommodate personal circumstances including part-time working
- (If required) Relocation and visa costs for the Fellow and their dependents - this is in addition to the £690k funding
Please contact the Research Support Team (environment-research@york.ac.uk) as early as possible to notify them if you intend on making an application.
Taryn Bell is holding 1:1 meetings with any staff or students interested in applying or supporting an applicant - simply book an appointment through Google Calendar.
Virtual Visit to the UoY by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)
On the 27th November (1315-1430) the university will be hosting the JSPS, where they will be presenting their funding schemes. The JSPS fund a broad range of research and all colleagues are welcome.
The 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
The zoom link can be found here.
Information Session: Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowships
The Leverhulme Trust will soon be opening the 2024 round of its Early Career Fellowships scheme. The scheme will open officially on 1 January, with a deadline of 22 February. However, many Departments have set deadlines for expressing interest in applying, and most of these deadlines are before Christmas.
There will be an online information session for researchers interested in applying to this scheme at York on 3 October, from 10:00-11:30. The session will take place on Zoom; register to receive the link to attend. At this session, applicants will find out how to apply, how to increase your chances of success, and we’ll hear from a current Leverhulme Fellow about their experiences.
This session is open to all, including researchers who are not currently working or studying at York, so please pass this message on to anyone who may be interested in applying.
If you have any questions, please email fellowships@york.ac.uk.
Funding Available for Vulnerability and Policing Research Project Within Social Sciences
The Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre has launched its second call for research proposals funded by the Faculty of Social Sciences. Small grants are available for social science-led, multidisciplinary projects lasting up to 12 months, including the hire of a post-doctoral researcher and associated research costs. Please note that Principal Investigators and at least one Co-Investigator must be based in the Faculty of Social Sciences.
The fund has been established by the Centre to foster cross-disciplinary research within and beyond the Faculty related to the theme of vulnerability, policing and social justice. PIs will be asked to ensure their project adheres to the values and principles established by the Centre to underpin its work.
The full call guidance and application form can be found in this linked document. Applications should be submitted via email to vulnerabilitypolicing@york.ac.uk before the deadline of 5pm (GMT) on Monday 13th November 2023. We are hosting an online information session on Wednesday 4th October from 10am.
If you would like to attend, please complete the short registration form.
NERC Strategic Capital Call 2023
NERC has released its Strategic Capital Call for 2023, with a funder deadline of 5th December. For full details of the opportunity please see the announcement of opportunity, which is now live. Please note, Research organisations can submit up to two applications as the lead organisation (PIs are limited to leading a single bid, and being a Co-I on one more). This means that an internal selection process may be required.
In order to ascertain whether an internal selection is required, if you are planning on applying for a York-led bid please contact Robyn.Inglis@york.ac.uk by 12:00 Monday 9th October. If more than two bids come forward, details of the selection process will be released shortly after the 9th.
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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 🙂