Conference Improving European Universities

Improving European Universities.
International Conference on Gender (In)equality in Academia
Rzeszów, 21-22 November 2024 

 

The University of Rzeszów (UR) and the Academic Network for Security and Equality (Polish: Akademicka Sieć Bezpieczeństwa i Równości, ASBiR) – association of ombuds and other persons working to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion in Polish academia – are pleased to invite you to attend Improving European Universities. International Conference on Gender Inequality in Academia.  

The University of Rzeszów is just finalising the implementation of its first gender equality plan (GEP) devised for the years 2022-2024 and preparing to commence the new one prepared for years 2025-2027. We treat this moment as an opportunity to meet with representatives from other universities and HEI institutions to talk about our experiences with creating and implementing GEPs. Equality plans are changing European universities from within and contribute to creating a more welcoming, inclusive, and friendly environment for those who study and work in academia. Preparing them and implementing them is a complex challenge. We hope our conference will allow us to discuss various issues and problems that we share in common while attempting to create the best possible quality plans for our communities. We would like to discuss both: the general approach to the equality and security policies in the European universities and some more particular issues connected with the GEP implementation. 

There are two ways to participate in the conference. Firstly, you are invited to listen to our keynote speakers and guests, as well as engage in conversations and take part in workshops. This will be an opportunity to learn, get inspired, and find out what other universities are doing in this area. Secondly, you are also invited to propose your presentation (c. 20 minutes) to share and discuss your experiences with others. 

 

The conference will seek to address:  

General issues related to building more inclusive and equal universities: 

  • work-life balance in academic milieu, 
  • gender-based violence, sexual harassment and ways of preventing and counteracting them, 
  • intersectionality and inclusiveness of equality plans according to European Commission expectations, 
  • ways of promoting equality to the whole academic community 
  • collaboration of academic authorities, ombudspersons, and other statutory bodies in promoting equality policies. 

Particular issues related to GEP creation and implementation: 

  • audit, research, data collection, diagnosis and consultations while preparing a GEP, 
  • training programs,  
  • integration of the equality dimension into research and teaching content, 
  • monitoring, reporting and evaluation of GEP implementation. 

 

Organisers:
The University of Rzeszów (UR) and the Academic Network for Security and Equality (Akademicka Sieć Bezpieczeństwa i Równości, ASBiR) 

 

Programme
Day 1: plenary sessions, keynote speakers and special guests
Day 2: parallel sessions and workshops
A detailed programme will be published in October 2024 

 

Registration

To register please fill up the registration form.
https://forms.office.com/e/NXzPFN6iUa
By registering you agree to the information included in the GDPR form: GDPR

 

Languages
The language of the conference is English. One session in Polish is planned for the second day of the conference. 

 

Important dates 

Early bird submissions: 

  • 8 September 2024: date of submissions via the conference form for those who would like to pay their fee till the early bird deadline 
  • 13 September: announcement of the list of accepted abstracts (early bird)  
  • 22 September 2024: deadline for payment of the conference fee (early bird) 

Regular submissions: 

  • 22 September 2024: final date of submissions via the conference form 
  • 27 September: announcement of the list of accepted abstracts (regular) 
  • 6 October 2024: deadline for payment of the conference fee (regular) 

NB: the organizers will inform you whether the application has been accepted as soon as possible after receiving the application. 

14 October 2024: publication of the final programme of the conference 

21-22 November 2024: Conference 

 

Cost

Early bird (payment till 22 September): 70 euro or 300 PLN
Regular (payment till 6 October): 100 euro or 430 PLN
The fee includes lunch and supper on the first day, lunch on the second day, coffee breaks on the first and second day, and conference materials. The fee doesn’t include accommodation.  

 

Conference fee payment
Only by bank transfer. 

PLN: 25 1240 6960 1562 0000 0240 0177 

EUR: 43 1240 6292 1978 0011 0187 0752 

IBAN: PL 

KOD BIC: PKOPPLPW 

Recipient: Uniwersytet Rzeszowski, Aleja Rejtana 16c, 35-959 Rzeszów, Poland 

Transfer information: Conference Improving European Universities, First and last name of participant 

The invoices will be issued only for the person or institution marked as a sender in a bank transfer.  

 

Publications

The conference organisers have established cooperation with Studies in Politics and Society (Polityka i Społeczeństwo) and are working to establish cooperation with another scientific journal to publish selected papers. Participation in the conference doesn’t guarantee publication – papers will be published only after positive decisions of the editors and positive reviews.

 

Patrons and partners: 

TBA 

 

Organising Committee
Anna Cybulko, co-chair,  University of Warsaw, President of ASBiR
Jan Gałkowski, co-chair, Academic Ombudsperson of University of Rzeszow
Magdalena Pokrzywa
Sławomir Bździuch
Renata Ortyl, secretary of the Organising Committee 

 

Contact:
Jan Gałkowski: ombuds@ur.edu.pl, +48 737 665 606
Renata Ortyl: biuro.rownosci@ur.edu.pl

 

Venue
The conference is organised as an in-person event.
It will take place in Rzeszów, at the University of Rzeszów main campus (Campus Rejtana): al. Tadeusza Rejtana 16C.

 

Accommodation 
List of hotels closest to the conference venue. Organisers are suggesting booking accommodation well in advance. 

 

Hotel Hilton Garden Inn
distance: 400m
Al. Majora Wacława Kopisto 1
tel. +48 17 770 00 00
https://www.hiltonhotels.com/pl_PL/polska/hilton-garden-inn-rzeszow/

 

Hotel Prezydencki
distance: 500m
Podwisłocze 48 (wjazd od Al. mjr. Wacława Kopisto)
Tel. +48 17 860 65 00
https://hoteleprezydenckie.pl/

 

Grein Hotel
distance: 800 m
Aleja Tadeusza Rejtana 1
tel. 17 850 38 88
https://www.greinhotel.pl/

 

Hotel Fryderyk
distance: 1,4 km
Fryderyka Szopena 33
tel. +48 17 857 10 32
https://fryderykhotel.pl/