Shirley Hill is Head of Disability Services at the University of Dundee. In this role, she is primarily responsible for managing the delivery of a range of confidential services for disabled students and staff. She is a Chartered Psychologist, an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, and has a Doctorate in Education. For her doctoral research, Shirley investigated the experience of disabled students on professional practice placements. She published the key outcomes of this research in the peer-reviewed journal Disability & Society. Prior to her role in Disability Services, Shirley worked as a research psychologist on various projects. These included research on dyslexia and literacy development, and peer-supported learning in higher education.

This was the inaugural The University of Dundee Annual Disability Awareness Lecture, in honour of Eddie Small. The late Mr Eddie Small was an active member of the Disabled Staff Network. Eddie was a historian, playwright, creative writing tutor and Public Engagement Officer in the School of Humanities. In this year's lecture John Horon shared his background as a disabled barrister, and the reasons why others should follow him by joining the legal profession.

Dr Catriona Stewart OBE, Scottish Women's Autism Network (SWAN) and Professor Fiona Kumari Campbell, University of Dundee

This workshop raised many questions and answers, such as: The Equalities Act stipulates the requirement for employers to make 'reasonable adjustments' for employees with protected characteristics. What if, for autistic people, no-one knows what those adjustments might be, including the autistic employee? What about the barriers to gaining employment in the first place for autistic people? And what if, issues of communication in the workplace are so profound, they marginalise and discriminate in ways that are 'invisible' to all except the autistic employee? What is the cost and who pays it?

Jacqueline Nicholson, Mental Health Policy Adviser, University of Aberdeen presented 'Why Disabled Staff Networks Matter', which drew on the National Association of Disabled Staff Networks (NADSN) Experience.

The awards for Engaged Early Career Researcher of the Year, Engaged Researcher of the Year and Public Engagement Project of the Year will be awarded, followed by drinks and a lunch reception.

Marketing is not just about helping brands to sell more phones, cars and fast fashion. A branch of marketing known as ‘social marketing’ grew out of the social and environmental awareness of the 1960s and 1970s, and has since developed into a vibrant research area. We have just witnessed the largest social marketing project ever: influencing citizens across the globe to use face masks, to observe social distancing and to get vaccinated in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

In this talk, Thomas Boysen Anker, introduces you to the fascinating world  of social marketing where communication methods, behavioural science and business thinking are being used to make the world a better, safer and healthier place to live in.

Computers, mobile phones, GPSs, surveillance cameras, and microchips are all memory devices that work around the clock. At the same time, there is a rise in illnesses affecting human memory, from dementia, to Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Drawing on a recent research project and a range of artistic works, this talk from Natasha sheds light on multi-locational and multi-body memory in an attempt to explain what digitalisation means for personal and cultural memory.

From student to the workplace, we develop our professional identities in a variety of ways including through self-reflection, and interactions with peers, society, teachers and professionals. The pronouns used when we describe ourselves can give many clues not only to how we ourselves identify professionally but how we want others to identify us.

Drawing on the research of several of my PhD students, I offer a glimpse into the fascinating world of the personal pronoun, seemingly insignificant, yet offering potentially powerful insights into identity and intension.