Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Conference 2024: The future is now: Building EDI practice for the changing world of HE

Overview

The AHE EDI Conference 2024 will provide space to rethink and refresh our approaches to equality, diversity and inclusion, share our successes, and contribute to a collective discussion about how we are shaping the future of EDI in higher education across the globe by thinking about what we are doing and need to embed in our practice now.

Constant change is a reality of higher education, and our approach to equality, diversity and inclusion needs to keep pace with this change. Evolving new practice to tackle emerging issues, continuing to create innovative solutions to perennial problems, anticipating developments that will affect the nature of our student and staff communities is our constant goal.

The challenges facing HE are varied and complex, and no single approach to tackling them will suit the diversity of institutions in the sector. Curiosity about the wide range of thinking and practice that might inform our approaches, openness to listening to others (other institutions, other countries, other sectors), an engagement with what we learn from marginalised voices and experiences, and collaboration with EDI practitioners from across HE are the tools that will equip us to craft EDI solutions that are relevant, effective and sustainable.

Find out more about Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Conference 2025

Here

Conference Outcomes

With a focus on exploring these questions, this conference offers:

An opportunity to think deeply and creatively about how we can build our learning on equity, diversity and inclusion to draw on the widest range of thinking and practice, including marginalised voices, new ways of learning, and learning from outside of higher education.
A chance to share what we are doing to disrupt traditional understanding of scholarship and scholars/expertise and experts, and to challenge structures and processes that limit career opportunities.
A platform to share new ideas that will stimulate our thinking about equity, diversity and inclusion – inviting people to share our insights, as well as learning from those who do likewise.

Conference themes

The conference will have the following sub-themes and contributors will be asked to identify which sub-theme their submission supports:

1. Responding to the changing nature of student and staff populations. Could include a focus on particular student/staff groups, trends in relation to international students, developments in staffing (employment practices, skills shortages etc.). Most importantly, how are those are most affected by inequity experiencing our inclusion efforts? We particularly welcome student voices, and those with marginalised identities doing research in their field.

2. Creative approaches to enduring challenges. An opportunity to explore the latest thinking/practice on tackling issues including awarding gaps; under-representation; unacceptable behaviour; gender and ethnicity pay gaps.

3. Learning from beyond HE. Examples of innovative EDI practice from outside the sector.

4. The EDI practitioner skillset. What are the attributes of an effective EDI practitioner? How are we/can we develop the knowledge, skills and understanding that are needed to lead EDI in HE either from a strategic or an operational perspective? As a core area for growth, what are the current models of and approaches to leadership development that will provide emergent leaders with the skillset to make progressive change. Potential submissions can also consider development for specific staff groups, and building particular skills (for example strategic approaches to Freedom of Speech issues).

5. Thinking forward. What are the emerging issues? Where is innovative practice breaking new ground? Where do we want to go from here and what do we need to do to make progress, or identify new priorities? How are we as EDI practitioners evolving?

About the conference

The conference will run across two days with an optional evening dinner and entertainment on the evening of the 6 March. Delegates can attend the full conference or choose the one day that resonates most with their work, experiences or requirements.

This is a conference that anyone serious about matters of Inclusivity, Equity and Diversity, should attend. It really is a box of delights with something for everyone to take away.

Dr Barbara Howard-Hunt
Senior Lecturer Inclusivity Hub, Birmingham City University

Delegate discount at the Hilton Liverpool City Centre

Delegates have the opportunity to access discounted rates at the Hilton Liverpool City Centre when booking via the link below.

Book now

Programmes

EDI Conference Programme - 6 March 2024

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EDI Conference Programme - 7 March 2024

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EDI Accessible Programme 2024

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EDI Conference 2024 Poster Programme

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Abstracts

EDI Conference Programme - Session abstracts

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EDI Conference 2024 Poster abstracts

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Day 1

Keynote speaker

Professor Marcia Wilson

London Metropolitan University

Professor Marcia Wilson is a multiple award-winning academic leader and researcher who has pioneered programmes to address inequalities to improve the staff and student experience in the education sector. Her work has been used by Universities UK (UUK) in their initiatives aimed at tackling racism and she was a member of the Advisory group focusing on producing guidance for Tackling Racial Harassment in HE. Marcia has been recognised as a national Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) lead in the ‘d&i Leaders Global Benchmarking Survey’ in 2021 and 2023.

Future Perspectives on Inclusive Curriculum in Higher Education

Chair

Dr Elliott Spaeth

Senior Consultant in Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)
,
Advance HE

Dr Elliott Spaeth is a visionary leader in the field of Inclusive Practice in Higher Education, with a particular focus on empowering staff to create psychologically safe environments for disabled and/or neurodivergent students.

Paddy Turner

Director
,
National Association of Disability Practitioners (NADP)

Paddy has been a Director of NADP since 2005 including serving two terms as Chair (2011-18) and is passionate about the benefits NADP has to offer members and, by extension, the students and staff they work with. He is currently chairing the NADP Accreditation Scheme Standing Committee which enables the Scheme to provide genuinely high status recognition of the highly skilled and professional work of our members.

Jill Childs

Principal Lecturer
,
Oxford Brookes University

Jill's work on anti-racism has won a number of national awards including, the silver Social Worker of the Year Award for University of the Year, Jill was the team leader for the Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence by Advance HE and the University Alliance Innovation Award, an HE Innovate award and the Oxford Brookes award for inclusivity.

Professor Ming Cheng

Professor of Higher Education
,
Sheffield Hallam University

Professor Ming Cheng has over 15 years international experience of working at British and Chinese universities. Her research interest covers curriculum internationalisation, international student experience, postgraduate learning and supervision, and quality evaluation.

Obimobi Onyeukwu-Onyenso

Student
,
University of Liverpool

Obimobi Onyeukwu-Onyenso (Mr.) graduated from Mount St. Mary’s College in 2021 where he was the Head-boy and was awarded the headmaster’s award. He is currently a final year biomedical science student at the University of Liverpool.

Day 2

Keynote conversation

Chair

Professor Zainab Khan

Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education and Student Experience
,
Royal Holloway, University of London

Professor Zainab Khan joined Royal Holloway University of London in July 2023 as Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education and Student Experience.

Márjory Da Costa-Abreu

Senior Lecturer in the Department of Computing
,
Sheffield Hallam University

Márjory Da Costa-Abreu is currently a Senior Lecturer in Ethical Artificial Intelligence at Sheffield Hallam University (UK).
Her main area of research focuses on creating models without using opaque boxes in several application areas such as health, forensics, higher education, hate speech/fake news and biometrics.
She has over 70 scientific papers and has supervised over 20 Research students.

Syra Shakir

Associate Professor in Learning and Teaching
,
Leeds Trinity University

Syra Shakir is an Associate Professor in Learning and Teaching at Leeds Trinity University, currently seconded into the Office for Institutional Equity and leading work on addressing the awarding gap and staff CPD.

Professor Damien Page

Deputy Vice-Chancellor
,
Buckinghamshire New University

Professor Damien Page is Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Buckinghamshire New University. He is an active researcher specialising in organisational behaviour in education settings. Prior to joining Buckinghamshire New University he held roles at University of Wolverhampton, Leeds Beckett University and the University of Greenwich.