A conference at RCSI will today hear from a range of national and international speakers on inclusive leadership in higher education. Hosted by Advance HE, the conference will focus the ways in which inclusive leadership can affect people, physical space, curriculum and the overall success of an organisation.

The conference will be opened by Professor Hannah McGee, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, RCSI, and will include Professor Philip Nolan, President Maynooth University and Gender Equality Taskforce, David Ruebain, Interim Director of Equality Integration, Advance HE, Dr Judy Harris, Assistant Director Membership, Advance HE and Dr Avril Hutch, Head of Equality and Diversity, RCSI.

Topics which will be discussed include the opportunity and challenges of accelerating progress to gender equality in the university sector, tracking women’s careers in higher education and how to change sector bodies.

Speaking ahead of the conference, Professor Cathal Kelly, CEO/Registrar, RCSI commented: “RCSI is proud to be part of the network of Irish third level institutions working together to make gender equality a reality. We are delighted to host today’s conference and look forward to sharing ideas, approaches and successes in our higher educational practice, which can only lead to improved outcomes for all attending institutions. At RCSI, we are committed to promoting gender equality among staff and students for the advancement of the College’s mission to educate, nurture and discover for the benefit of human health.”

RCSI is ranked among the top 250 (top 2%) of universities worldwide in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (2018) and its research is ranked first in Ireland for citations. It is an international not-for-profit health sciences institution, with its headquarters in Dublin, focused on education and research to drive improvements in human health worldwide. RCSI is a signatory of the Athena SWAN Charter.

Advance HE came into being in March 2018, following the merger of the Equality Challenge Unit, the Higher Education Academy and the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education.

Their purpose is to advance the professional practice of higher education to improve outcomes for the benefit of students, staff and society. Advance HE has been created to be 'of and for the sector' and is jointly owned by GuildHE and Universities UK.

A full list of speakers and their speaking times can be found in the conference programme here.