The Women in Space Leadership Programme (WiSLP)
Funder
Department of Science & Technology, UKIERI, British Council
Value to Coventry University
£114,000.00
Project team
- Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor, Professor of the Sociology of Islam, Centre for Peace and Security
- Elena Gaura, Professor, Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) (Academic Engagement), Senior Research Management Group
- James Brusey, Professor of Computer Science, Research Centre for Computational Science and Mathematical Modelling
- Michael Hardy, Professor, Research Centre for Peace and Security
- Alison Halford, Assistant Professor, Research Centre for Computational Science and Mathematical Modelling
- Rami Ayoubi, Associate Professor, Centre for Global Learning
- Vaughan Shilton (PhD), International Research Programme Manager, Research Services
- Kusha Anand, Research Assistant, Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations
Duration
1 September 2024 – 31 March 2025
Project overview
UKIERI is a bi-lateral legacy programme supported by the Government of India and the UK and managed by the British Council. Since its inception in 2006, UKIERI has played a pivotal role in shaping transnational education in both countries, bringing about systemic, institutional, and individual-level changes. In this phase, the programme focuses on developing pathways for women leaders in space sciences and allied areas.
UKIERI Strand 2, supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) with Coventry University (UK) as the delivery partner, aims to strengthen gender-inclusive practices and policies in space sciences research. It seeks to enable female scientists to reflect on their challenges and discover pathways to leadership positions.
The Women in Space Leadership Programme (WiSLP) emerges from UKIERI Phase 4’s strategic focus on women’s leadership in science and research. WiSLP is designed in consultation with experts from India to influence policy and foster change at institutional and individual levels through knowledge exchange and secondary research.
Project objectives
- Strengthen institutions’ policies and practices in space sciences and allied areas to foster inclusivity.
- Address social and professional challenges faced by women scientists and provide pathways for leadership.
- Use leadership theory from social science and STEM to help female scientists enhance self-awareness, align leadership styles with core values, and achieve leadership positions.
- Collaborate with academics, policy makers, and leaders to ensure the programme resonates with Indian contexts and challenges.
- Develop a leadership framework and strategic briefings to influence higher education policy and institutional practices.
Impact statement
Contribution to Women’s Leadership in Space Sciences:
- Establish a framework for women’s leadership development in space sciences, integrating intersectionality and culturally sensitive approaches.
- Facilitate interdisciplinary problem-solving by fostering equitable leadership opportunities and workplace cultures.
External Societal Impact:
- Promote gender equity in STEM by addressing barriers to women’s leadership.
- Enable cultural shifts towards inclusivity and collaboration within the scientific community.
- Inspire future generations of women scientists through role models and shared experiences.
Outputs
- Conduct up to 250 workshops for Early Career Researchers (ECRs), incorporating networking, consciousness-raising, and peer-to-peer mentoring mechanisms.
- Develop train-the-trainers workshops and online materials to ensure long-term impact beyond the project’s duration.
- Present recommendations to higher education policymakers, leaders, and managers to foster systemic change.
- Capture diverse personal narratives of success and challenges in women’s academic leadership, contributing to institutional and policy best practices.
- Collaborate with change-makers to design the leadership framework, ensuring alignment with Indian academic and policy contexts.
