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The Women’s Staff Network holds regular informal networking and discussion groups to allow members to meet, share ideas and experiences.

February’s discussion will focus on making a change in your life. The pandemic has forced many of us to reflect on our lives and what is most important to us. Many newspapers have reported on 'the great resignation' with many employees considering career changes.

But change could also be a new hobby, a new relationship or a new challenge.

Join us to discuss a change you would like to make in your life or to hear from others about what they are considering.

This talk is being deliver by the Women in Higher Education Network (WHEN) and hosted by Professor Eef Hogervorst and Dr Emma Odonnell.

This talk focuses on menopause and the effects it has on cardiovascular health. Emma will touch on menopause and its symptoms and how exercise training can help moderate these symptoms. She will also briefly discuss the current consensus on the risks and benefits of hormone replacement therapy and the effect these hormones have on cardiovascular health.

The University of Cambridge Women’s Staff Network are a partner institution for WHEN as both Networks are dedicated to speeding up equity of opportunity for women in higher education. All WSN members can join WHEN for free on their website.

Professor Eef Hogervorst - Professor of Psychology - University of Loughborough Eef Hogervorst did her PhD in at the University of Maastricht on the modelling of age-related cognitive decline. She subsequently worked at the Universities of Oxford (1998-2005), Arkansas Medical Sciences USA and Cambridge as a neuropsychologist and epidemiologist to investigate risk factors for Alzheimer's disease and age-related cognitive decline.

Dr Emma O'Donnell - Lecturer, Exercise Physiology - University of Loughborough Emma graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Exercise Science from Brighton University before completing an MSc in Exercise Science at the University of Toronto, Canada. She then went on to complete her PhD in Exercise Science with a specialisation in cardiovascular physiology at the University of Toronto, Canada (2013). After completing her PhD, Emma undertook post-doctoral studies in the Clinical Cardiovascular Physiology Laboratory at the Toronto General Hospital, Canada. Emma’s research focuses on the cardiovascular health of women, with emphasis on the independent and combined effects of estrogen deficiency and exercise training in premenopausal and postmenopausal women. In January 2016, she returned to the UK to take the post of Lecturer of Exercise Physiology at the University of Loughborough. Emma is a member of The American Physiological Society and The British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences. The Zoom joining link will be provided on your booking confirmation email.

Mentoring provides a valuable relationship in which an individual supports a colleague, by sharing their professional knowledge and experiences and utilising key skills and personal attributes, to enable that colleague to achieve their goals.

This session will provide an overview to the self-match mentoring scheme and be followed by an informal WSN networking session. A great way to meet women from different areas of the University.

October’s networking discussion will focus on career progression and debate questions that were raised in a recent WHEN article. Is it every woman’s dream to move upwards, in pursuit of title, income, and status? Should success be measured in such a linear way?

Why is it seen as important to reach the heights of senior management to be considered a success story? How can you shape your current job role to improve your satisfaction? Join us to discuss these questions further and meet new colleagues.

November’s networking discussion will focus on work/life balance.

Having a good work/life balance is described as ‘finding peace and balance between the demands of work and those of personal fulfillment'. But is there really such a thing as work/life balance? What does work/life balance mean to you? Has your focus changed at different stages of your life? Has working during the pandemic changed your view on what’s important?

What advice and approach do you have on this topic? Join us to discuss these questions further and meet new colleagues.

The Women’s Staff Network would like to bring together members who would like to discuss and share their experiences of their menopause journey.

The group’s aim is to provide a supportive environment and informal discussion.

The Women’s Staff Network provide a regular, informal group to bring together members who would like to discuss and share their experiences of their menopause journey.

The group’s aim is to provide a supportive environment and relaxed discussion.

The Women’s Staff Network provide a regular, informal group to bring together members who would like to discuss and share their experiences of their menopause journey.

The group’s aim is to provide a supportive environment and relaxed discussion.

The Women’s Staff Network provide a regular, informal group to bring together members who would like to discuss and share their experiences of their menopause journey.

The group’s aim is to provide a supportive environment and relaxed discussion.

The Women’s Staff Network provide a regular, informal group to bring together members who would like to discuss and share their experiences of their menopause journey.

The group’s aim is to provide a supportive environment and relaxed discussion.

The Women’s Staff Network provide a regular, informal group to bring together members who would like to discuss and share their experiences of their menopause journey.

The group’s aim is to provide a supportive environment and relaxed discussion.

The Women’s Staff Network provide a regular, informal group to bring together members who would like to discuss and share their experiences of their menopause journey.

The group’s aim is to provide a supportive environment and relaxed discussion.

This talk by Dr Lucy Delap looks at the history of feminism from a global perspective, with particular attention to how women of the global South engaged with questions of women’s rights and freedoms in the past 200 years.

Based on her recently published, Feminisms: A Global History (Penguin 2020), the presentation explores connections and encounters between activists spanning struggles in Egypt, Nigeria, Spain, Britain, and Japan. The event is designed to allow plenty of time to discuss and debate the history and present day forms that feminist activism has taken, and all are invited to the conversation.

Lucy Delap teaches history at the University of Cambridge and is a Fellow of Murray Edwards College. She has published widely on the history of feminism, gender, labour, and religion, including the prize-winning The Feminist Avant-Garde: Transatlantic Encounters of the Early Twentieth Century, Knowing Their Place: Domestic Service in Twentieth Century Britain in 2011, and Feminisms: A Global History in 2020

This self-paced practical course covers the most commonly used features of Microsoft Word and is suited to complete beginners or those with limited experience of using a word processor.

This course is mainly aimed at students writing their thesis. It is a task-focused version of the Word: Mastering Advanced Features which is aimed at staff creating reports. Please do not book yourself on both courses. It is designed to give a overview of the advanced features of Microsoft Word that are most relevant to producing dissertations, theses and other long documents.

This course is to help you get to grips with word processing basics using Microsoft Word. It will be taught in a small group and no previous knowledge is assumed.

• This is the In Person Face to Face version of the Live Online classroom based instructor led course.

Please Note: To add this event to your calendar, on your booking confirmation page, click on Add to Calendar .

• See Related Courses below to take your skills further and also to see what other alternative options there are to this course.

This course is mainly aimed at undergraduate students writing their first thesis, but is also suitable for staff who need to write a long document. It is designed to give an insight and hands on practice into the more advanced features of Microsoft Word that are relevant to producing substantial reports.

• This is the In Person Face to Face version of the Live Online Word Dissertations, Theses and Long Documents course.

Please Note: It is important that when you book on this course, on your booking confirmation page, click on Add to Calendar to start the process to import the course appointment into your calendar.

• See Related Courses below to take your skills further

This course is mainly aimed at undergraduate students writing their first thesis, but is also suitable for staff who need to write a long document. It is designed to give an insight and hands on practice into the more advanced features of Microsoft Word that are relevant to producing substantial reports.

• This is the Live online version of the In Person Face to Face classroom based instructor led course.

Please note that the course is taught using Microsoft Teams and you must have Teams installed on your computer to participate. See System requirements below for more information

Please Note: It is important that when you book on this course, on your booking confirmation page, click on Add to Calendar to start the process to import the course appointment into your calendar. This contains the link to the MS Teams course meeting under Joining Instructions that you will use to join on the day of the course.

• See Related Courses below to take your skills further

This course is aimed at those who want to improve their skills when laying out Word documents. You will learn key topics that will enhance your work with the opportunity for hands on practice on the essential features of Microsoft Word relevant to producing well laid out reports.

• This is the In Person Face to Face version of the Live Online Word: Skills for Document Layout course.

Please Note: It is important that when you book on this course, on your booking confirmation page, click on Add to Calendar to start the process to import the course appointment into your calendar.

• See Related Courses below to take your skills further

This course is aimed at those who want to improve their skills when laying out Word documents. You will learn key topics that will enhance your work with the opportunity for hands on practice on the essential features of Microsoft Word relevant to producing well laid out reports.

• This is the Live online version of the In Person Face to Face classroom based instructor led course.

Please Note: It is important that when you book on this course, on your booking confirmation page, click on Add to Calendar to start the process to import the course appointment into your calendar. This contains the link to the MS Teams course meeting under Joining Instructions that you will use to join on the day of the course.

• See Related Courses below to take your skills further

This one-hour instructor-led course is for people who want to keep up to date with newer or the lesser-known features of Microsoft Word. It is a quick fire succession of topics at a fast pace and aimed at those who are comfortable using computers.

• This is the In Person Face to Face version of the Live Online course.

Please Note: It is important that when you book on this course, on your booking confirmation page, click on Add to Calendar to start the process to import the course appointment into your calendar.

• See Related Courses below to take your skills further

This one-hour instructor-led course is for people who want to keep up to date with newer or the lesser-known features of Microsoft Word. It is a quick fire succession of topics at a fast pace and aimed at those who are comfortable using computers.

• This is the Live online version of the In Person Face to Face classroom based instructor led Office 365: Word Top Tips - Bitesize Learning.

Please note that the course is taught using Microsoft Teams and you must have Teams installed on your computer to participate. See System requirements below for more information.

Please Note: It is important that when you book on this course, on your booking confirmation page, click on Add to Calendar to start the process to import the course appointment into your calendar. This contains the link to the MS Teams course meeting under Joining Instructions that you will use to join on the day of the course.

• See Related Courses below to take your skills further

Working Across Cultures: A Practical Introduction to Intercultural Communication

Have you considered how culture may be influencing your professional relationships and interactions? Do you know which factors to consider when dealing with other nationalities? Are you using to your advantage what you may have already noticed or experienced? The workplace today is truly international in composition and intercultural competency is an invaluable and positive addition to your skill set.

This half day session is an introduction to the field of intercultural communication with an emphasis on practical application and developing self-awareness. It is a fun, engaging, relevant topic that will enable you to work more confidently and effectively with any nationality. You will become familiar with key variations across national cultures, so that you can recognise if/when and why cross-cultural misunderstandings are occurring, as well how to be more flexible in your approach.

You can expect a mixture of trainer-led content, as well as interactive exercises in pairs and small groups

This workshop would be of benefit to someone who has taken a period of maternity, adoption, paternity/maternity support, or shared parental leave and returned to work. It could also be of interest to anyone who needs to re-evaluate their work/family balance and career direction.

The workshop covers concerns and fears about managing work and family commitments going forward, and how to do so without guilt. We will also cover why “good enough is good enough”, the importance of self-care and finding support from those around you.

Becoming a parent is a huge life event, it can be difficult and stressful. To support University staff we are offering two new workshops to support staff to navigate through this life change.

Open to those who are about to take, or have already returned from, a period of maternity, adoption or shared parental leave, the workshops will be held in small groups to encourage personal reflection and discussion with others.

They will be facilitated by a qualified coach and member of the EDI team who will help individuals navigate their personal change journeys during the transition to and from parental leave. Links and information on internal policies and resources will also be made available.

Please note these sessions will be run face to face, however if you would be interested in a virtual session please do indicate your interest and we will look at organising these at a later date.

The ways in which we work have changed considerably during the past 18 months, both in terms of our minds and our bodies. In this seminar, Dr. Michelle Robertson (Director for the Office Ergonomics Research Committee, Research Scientist at Harvard School of Public Health) will discuss some of the ways that we work and live with our everyday technology, and share thoughts and best practices on how to think about our health and wellbeing.

About the Trainer

Dr. Michelle Robertson is the Executive Director of the Office Ergonomics Research Committee, a lecturer at Northeastern University and the University of California, Berkeley Center of Occupational and Environmental Health, and a research faculty at the University of Connecticut, Psychological Sciences. She has dedicated more than 20 years of her career in systematically designing and evaluating organizational and training interventions that include participatory and macroergonomics approaches, work organisation factors, training system design, computer work environments, office ergonomics, and designing integrated wellness and ergonomics programs. She is a Fellow of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society and the International and Ergonomics Association.

These events are sponsored by HR, ourcambridge and UIS as part of the Digital Workplace and Cambridge Works Programmes.