Dear Colleagues, most of you will now have read the open letter from a group of PhD students and post-docs that I received last December.
I’ve attached it here for those who haven’t:
In my immediate response I said “I take the views of the post-docs and students, and their suggestions, very seriously. A number of these suggestions can be implemented within the Blizard Institute and I will report progress on this early in the new year.”
What has happened so far:
1. I have shared the extent of the problem with Blizard Centre Leads and the Institute Manager.2. I have met with the Head of HR, the Head of Student Complaints, and others to discuss how the QMUL system can be improved.3. A working group to discuss and implement the suggestions from the open letter is going to meet regularly over the next few months. Please let me know if you would like to be a post-doc or PhD student representative on this group. 4. There will be mandatory in person training for all Blizard staff and PhD students from Ana Flores. We will learn how to report and curtail unacceptable behaviour as bystanders, and how to support survivors of assaults.
Please register for one of these sessions, even if you need to rearrange another commitment, attendance will be monitored.
As ever I encourage you to report any unacceptable behaviour to your manager or Centre Lead, to one of the EDI reps (Jacq Rappaport, Louisa James, and Tania Maffucci) or directly to me. All reports will be treated confidentially, and no action will be taken without your agreement. Other useful links are below.
Prof Mary Collins