ɫƵ's Department of Computer Science and Information Systems, together with Lero, the Research Ireland Centre for Software based ɫƵ, have been recognised with an Athena SWAN Silver Award.
The award, an accreditation of the Athena SWAN Charter which is a framework aimed at promoting gender equality in higher education and research, holds extra significance as the Department of Computer Science and Information Systems (CSIS) is the first computer science department in the Republic of Ireland to receive an Athena SWAN Silver award.
Several projects and initiatives were carried out by CSIS and Lero across governance and structure, research, international engagement, outreach, career development and culture to achieve this prestigious status.
The Athena SWAN Self-Assessment Team was co-chaired by Dr Martina Prendergast, International Funding Manager at Lero and Dr Lilian Motti, Associate Professor in Interaction Design at CSIS, who led the preparation for the Silver Award application from the implementation and impact assessment of the Bronze Action Plan.
“The Athena SWAN Silver application is a report that compiles activities carried out by multiple people in CSIS and Lero. It highlights inclusive practices and attempts to address gender imbalances across teaching and learning, research and development, with impact not only internally, but also at institutional, national and international levels,” explained Dr Motti.
The Self-Assessment Team for the Athena SWAN Silver Award application consisted of ten men and nine women, including representatives from academic and research staff, professional, managerial and support staff, technical staff as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Dr Prendergast explained: “The self-assessment process took us 18 months, which allowed us time to reflect on barriers to achieving equality and to plan initiatives to ensure that our staff and students feel valued, welcomed, and supported in an inclusive environment during their time with us."
The team at CSIS and Lero was praised for the progress that has been achieved since they were recognised with a Bronze Award in 2022, and for their commitment to supporting gender equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) for all employees and students.
In recognition of the importance of EDI matters at CSIS and Lero, dedicated time has been allocated to academics, professional, managerial and support staff as part of their workload. Lero was commended for fostering female talent through recent appointments to their Advisory Board and Executive Committee.
Other initiatives included the introduction of new programmes for undergraduates, postgraduates and postdoctoral researchers that have been designed and marketed to assess and address gender disparities.
Wide-reaching outreach activities have been undertaken to improve the pipeline of women participation in computer science including school visits, summer camps and science week events, as well as CodePlus and TeenTurn for second-level female students, Junior Cycle curriculum support for teachers, and scholarship support for third-level female students.
A new EDI committee has been formed, chaired by Mr Gavin Wade, to ensure the Silver Action Plan is embedded in the research, teaching and learning, and outreach activities. Dr Tabea DeWille was appointed as Student Equality Officer and Dr Nikola Nikolov was appointed as Career Development Officer to support career progression.
Gavin explained: “Building upon our success with the Athena SWAN Silver Award, and the hard work of the Self-Assessment Team, we have created the departmental EDI Committee to address the improvements we've identified and consider broader EDI strategies into the future.”
The team have now implemented a new Action Plan for 2025-2030 with strategies to assess and address relevant matters such as intersectionality, fostering inclusive practices not only in terms of gender, but also acknowledging the impact of disabilities, socio-economic background and internationalisation.
“Some of our key priorities going forward include supporting work-life balance, capturing data across all equality grounds, and embedding EDI in different activities, leading to greater representation, awareness and impact,” Dr Prendergast added.