Research Culture Takeover Week 2025
At the beginning of June, we held our first Research Culture Takeover Week filled with activities to get people together, talk about research culture, and learn about equitable and inclusive practices. This came at a very challenging time for colleagues across the university affected by sector-wide financial pressures and a drive to further cut costs. We’d therefore like to start off by thanking everyone who was able to make time during a very difficult week to join us.
Friday 30 May 2025: Moving Beyond Boundaries: Interdisciplinary Perspectives
The first event was a conference featuring researchers from all four colleges at the University of Leicester speaking on the importance of ‘equity’ to their research. The artist Grace Elizabeth created live sketchnotes of the proceedings (pictured), drawing out key themes from the papers.
In our keynote, Professor Ross Parry (School of Museum Studies) spoke about his and his colleagues’ work with the Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAM) sector, embedding technologies to create a more inclusive experience for all as well as the importance of EDI (equity, diversity, and inclusion) to the work of the Institute for Digital Culture.
Dr Margaret Byron (School of Geography, Geology and the Environment) spoke about the need to recognise complexity and diversity within communities, avoiding false homogenisations. Dr Nora Musyoka (School of Business) spoke about her work leading the Black Student Experience Programme at the University and the need to move beyond silos. Dr Huiping Xian (School of Business) spoke about her important work on agency and women’s experiences of flexible working arrangements.
Dr Riya Patel (Department of Population Health Sciences) gave a paper on the work of the Centre for Ethnic Heath Research and the importance of researching with not on communities. Dr Joy Spiliopoulos (Department of Population Health Sciences) presented on enhancing cultures of safety in health and social care and how, though people do speak up, they aren’t always heard. Members of the I-REACCH team also spoke on the importance of equity in creating more inclusive research cultures.
Monday 2 June 2025: We deserve more than just a ‘seat at the table’, we deserve to feel safe sitting there!
Professor Lisa-Dionne Morris (University of Leeds and founder of the Black Female Academics’ Network) delivered an inspiring lecture on the gap between having Black researchers present in positions of influence and them feeling safe there. LDM’s lecture was an important reminder of the importance of creating an inclusive research culture which goes beyond individual policies or programmes: ‘Culture eats strategy for lunch’.
After the lecture, LDM spoke to one of our Mirror Team members, Kike Ladipo, about inclusion in research environments.
Tuesday 3 June 2025: Global Perspectives on Research Culture
In this online panel discussion, six Alumni Fellows of the Leicester Institute for Advanced Studies—Professor Edris Alam (Rabdan Academy, UAE), Dr Amollo Ambole (University of Nairobi, Kenya), Dr Dhiren Borisa (Jindal Global Law School, India), Dr Mellissa Ifill (University of Guyana, Guyana), Dr Janielle Matthews (University of the West Indies, Barbados), and Dr Hafsa Toor (University of Leicester, UK)—spoke about their experiences of different national research cultures. There were striking similarities in researchers’ experiences, not least time and funding constraints, but also an important recognition of the value of community-driven and socially-responsible research.
Thursday 5 June 2025: EDI Summer School
Our day-long EDI Summer School, organised by Chandini Subramanyam, brought together experts in intersectionality (Dr Cleo White), cultural humility (Dr Zoebia Islam), and race equality (Humaa Noori and Dr James Dawkins) to deliver a series of workshops in the morning. During the afternoon, the artist Vishal Joshi led a creative arts workshop, encouraging participants to re-think how they communicate their research.
Friday 6 June 2025: Career development workshop for researchers of colour
The week ended with a workshop, facilitated by Sarah Lee, for researchers of colour. The workshop provided a protected space for colleagues who identify as Black or a person of colour to share their experiences, hopes, and plans for the future.
We began the week with a call by LDM to create a research culture in which people, and especially people of colour, feel safe sitting at the table. We are planning more events in the future to bring about that culture change and hope you can be a part of it. If you have ideas for what we should do, please get in touch with the I-REACCH project team.
Research Culture Takeover Week 2026
We’re already making plans for Research Culture Week 2026—from 20-24 April 2026. This will include a conference on race, inclusion and research culture, and much more. So save the date and watch this space!
