CEU hosts CIVICA training stewarding inclusion in the student body
24-08-2021
On November 25 and 26, Central European University (CEU) will host a CIVICA workshop at its Vienna campus for academic and administrative staff who are leading enhancement and facilitation of student inclusion on the campuses of universities that are part of the alliance.
The event titled “Inclusion in the Student Body” is the second in a series of three inclusion workshops taking place annually over three years organised by CIVICA’s Work Package 2 (WP2), which is focused on developing the European inter-university campus and establishing a foundation of common values and an inclusive identity.
The first workshop, held in 2020 at Sciences Po, focused on gender equality and inclusion. The 2022 workshop will focus on the inclusion of students with disabilities. Across the series, CIVICA’s inclusion workshops aim to address the work of universities in relation to gender balance and inclusion, minorities, cultural diversity as well as economically disadvantaged and differently abled students.
CEU’s organising team for the inclusion workshops includes Ana Belen Amil (Gender Equality Officer), Luca Varadi (Visiting Professor, Nationalism Studies), Shwetha Nair (HRSI Program Coordinator), Flora Laszlo (Director of Community Engagement) and Agnes Leyrer (Academic Cooperations Officer).
Leyrer, who is also the manager for CIVICA’s WP2, notes the November workshop will first facilitate a mapping of existing initiatives across member university sites in order to identify strengths and gaps where the alliance can work together to enhance inclusion. This includes aspects of recruitment and admissions, data collection, curricula as well as creating safe environments for a variety of populations.
The workshop participants will work toward drafting a CIVICA inclusion statement and creating a jointly accessible repository of information on CIVICA member projects, tools, activities and policies for inclusion. The group will also develop an action plan for improving inclusion at member universities as an outcome of the workshop.
“CEU was established to be a very inclusive university from the start. Our mission itself includes providing opportunities for an excellent and high-level university experience to students who otherwise may not have the opportunity to participate in such an education,” comments Leyrer. On behalf of the organising team, she adds that “Being part of the CEU community, it feels very natural for us to host the inclusion workshop.”
In addition to the November inclusion workshop and as part of the development of the European inter-university campus, WP2 will be launching a common internal platform this fall for accessing CIVICA’s joint courses, open lectures, exchanging information and connecting across universities.
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Written by Julie Potter (CEU)
Photo: CEU students on campus / Courtesy of CEU