Tom Flint

On this final full week before Christmas, and just in time for the end of #DisabilityHistoryMonth, why not read my interview with Armineh and Liz on how ableism presents itself in the HE sector, and how we've collectively and individually navigated it as disabled people.

Read more: researchculture.leeds.ac.uk/building-ant...

#DisabilityAwarenessMonth #ResearchCulture #Inclusion #Equity

This Disability Awareness Month we ask:
What if research spaces were truly designed for all?
How do we dismantle systems built for an “ideal” body & mind? @emilyennis.bsky.social explores these questions with @drasoorenian.bsky.social & Liz Dew from the Wellcome Anti-Ableist Research Culture project

Happy REF un-pause day to those of you who celebrate! After a wonderful last-minute scheduling change (a last-minute increase to one hour from 30 mins, and a change to proposed timelines -- you might say this was a theme of the announcement), we had the following things confirmed:

Work-related suicide: an international social justice perspective - Crime, Law and Social Change This paper explores what the study of work-related suicide can contribute to emerging discussions of a “criminology of work.” It does so by chronicling work-related suicide as an under-researched and ...

Our first publication is here! In collaboration with @wellcometrust.bsky.social, our project is a cross-national, multidisciplinary and qualitative study of work-related suicide in the UK, France and Canada. Read it here link.springer.com/article/10.1...

If you like insightful takes on the Hidden REF from others and immense vocal fry from me, why not listen to Sarah's most recent episode of the Hidden REF podcast?

Inclusive research culture starts with solidarity - and that means showing up for everyone.

📅 Nov 17 | Nov 24 | Dec 19

#TransLiberation #ResearchCulture #UniversityofLeeds

Act! For Trans Liberation Act! is a series of three trans-led events focussed on the struggle for trans liberation here in the UK, drawing on the experience and knowledge of activists, academics and politicians :) Join us, and...

This Nov & Dec, @universityofleeds.bsky.social hosts Act! - a 3-part trans-led series on the fight for trans liberation in the UK.

Each session brings lived experience, research insight & policy expertise to the stage.

🔗 www.eventbrite.com/cc/act-for-t...

FANTASTIC piece on research culture and what needs to change here:

📢 New Blog: “Why My Success Is Your Success” - A Personal Vision on Research Culture

🔗 Read the full piece: researchculture.leeds.ac.uk/why-my-succe...

📢 Register your interest in our Building Impact Momentum programme, helping you to develop concrete ideas for impact which can be applied to research projects or in grant applications.

⏰ Deadline: 9 November 2025
🗓️ Runs December 2025 to March 2026
➡️ Find out more: bit.ly/4ogFcn0

Emily is a tall, red haired person posing with their thumbs up. They are wearing a T shirt that reads Stride for Gaza.

Break from work posts to mention that I've just completed Stride for Gaza, walking 98km for MAP. Pre-arthritis, I'd have run it. But my sore knees are nothing compared to ongoing suffering and atrocities in Palestine. 🇵🇸You can still donate here: medicalaidforpalestinians.enthuse.com/pf/emily-ennis

“Positive action funds like REDI matter… but they are not substitutes for structural reform.”

💡 Soo has written a bold and timely reflection on our REDI Fund at Leeds, not just what we did, but why it matters now more than ever ‼️🔥

📰 Read the full piece here and join the conversation:

@soofougere.bsky.social Well Done for such a wonderfully reflective piece! 💡❤️

🗣️Speakers:

🗽Melanie Chambliss, Assistant Professor of History (Rochester)

💂‍♂️Bridget Bennett, Professor of American Literature and Culture (Leeds)

🗽Autumn Haag, Assistant Director, Rare Books, Special Collections and Preservation (Rochester)

💂‍♂️Kate Dossett, Professor of American History (Leeds)

🎉 Happy International Research Software Engineers Day! 🎉

Today we celebrate the incredible work of Research Software Engineers (RSEs) who empower researchers through expert coding support, collaboration, and training.

Photograph of shiny silver nuts and bolts

🔩 Are you a member of research staff or academic staff at the University of Leeds? Join the ‘Navigating your role and responsibilities as a Principal Investigator’ (PI) workshop to reflect on the real-world issues of a PI.

✅ Register now uolr3.leeds.ac.uk/temcatsearch...

@unileedsodpl.bsky.social

I found this an excellent way to end #HiddenREF2025 yesterday. While it's important we get diverse roles and outputs the recognition they deserve - i.e. through the REF - often the REF itself can feel anti-research culture. For me, REF is a competition, but research culture is about community.

In the final session of the day, Tim Newton, Dean of Research Culture at King's College London, reflects on the connection between research culture change and PCE:
"It's important to do what's right and good, and not necessarily what's pragmatic for REF."

You'll maybe hear us reflecting on the festival on video and podcast sound bites (don't worry, we'll *definitely* signpost these as they come out). But we've already got some ideas percolating on how to enhance research culture at Leeds with a focus on hidden roles and diverse outputs.

In a way that feels very on brand for the idea of the #HiddenREF, there have been 4 of us from Leeds at the festival over the last two days and we didn't know we'd each be here. But that won't stop us collaborating on and coordinating our next steps!

Holly Ranger from University of Sheffield standing in a lecture theatre with a slide behind her titled "beyond the research article".

Holly Ranger from University of Sheffield asking us whether "non-traditional" outputs is itself biased: non-traditional to whom???

Of course, using the phrase "non-traditional" accidentally centres the structures we're attempting to dismantle ("traditional").

Gareth Bish from Coherent Digital discussing how they are preserving materials at risk of being lost, including the data and resources being lost due to political censorship in the US and elsewhere (think, CDC content). coherentdigital.net

A true example of something simple and revolutionary.

a man with a tattoo on his arm is holding a stethoscope . Alt: a gif of Arnold Schwarzenegger applying camouflage paint to his arms and face.

but no less intrepid!

@nickshepp.bsky.social is here too...but the camera on his phone is broken, he's a bit tired, and far less organised than Emily (he did take some notes once at a lecture in 1995. But lost them.)

#HiddenREF #ResearchCulture #FieldNotesFromTheFront
@researchcultureuol.bsky.social

🪂 Our very own intrepid research culture wrangler and correspondent @emilyennis.bsky.social has parachuted into Hidden REF armed with nothing but a lanyard, a sharp eye for research culture, and a dangerously well-organised notebook.
Follow along for live sightings of academic value in the wild...

Dr Raysa Rocha standing in a lecture theatre in front of a slide titled "Neurodivergent workers and wellbeing".

Dr Raysa Rocha delivered a lightning talk on generating actionable insights to support neurodivergent workers and their wellbeing. We at Leeds are having conversations on how to support neurodivergent people in the research community, so this is exciting!

Day 2 of ##Hiddenref2025 and a reminder that people are as important as outputs.

We tried some thinking aloud with kpop, then traditional outputs. And now...non-traditional outputs from REF2021.