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2017-06-26

News and Activities

ILCS Languages Policy workshop

Building Collaborations between Academics and Policymakers

We are delighted to advertise the latest workshop in the Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies’ Thinking Strategically Seminar Series

Event date: 18 October 2023, 1:00PM – 4:30PM
The workshop will be held in person and online.

Speakers include: Members of the Cross-Whitehall Languages Group; Heike Bartel (Nottingham) online; Andrea Hammel (Aberystwyth); Will Lamb (Edinburgh) online; Jonathan Patterson (Oxford); Fabienne Viala (Warwick). 

Programme
13:00   Welcome: Wendy Ayres-Bennett (ILCS, London), Charles Burdett (ILCS, London), Member of the Cross-Whitehall Languages Group
13:15   Short presentations by speakers, followed by Q&A
15:10   Tea/coffee break
15:30   Group discussions
15:50   Final panel bringing together suggestions for concrete outcomes
16:30   Session end

The aim of this workshop is to explore how we can better promote and facilitate collaboration in relation to language-sensitive policy making and demonstrate the value of research on languages across a range of government areas. Fresh opportunities for collaboration between academics and policymakers on language policy are afforded by the creation of a new academic engagement subcommittee of the Cross-Whitehall Language Group, which has as a strategic goal the provision of an up-to-date, evidence-based case for change and cohering assessment and of key information to support HMG policy decisions. 

The difficulties of collaboration to date are well known. On the one hand, there is a wealth of academic research and expertise on languages which could help inform and shape policymaking. A 2018 Institute for Government report on ‘How government can work with academia’ noted that  “Most policy officials feel they do not have time to engage with academics. When they do, they often struggle to find relevant research.” Transfer of research findings on language(s) is working reasonably well in the case of the DfE, but less well, or not at all, in the case of other ministries and departments. On the other hand, academics are producing research without a clear idea of how, or indeed whether, it might be useful for government. The need to show ‘impact’ has increased the imperative on academics to engage with government and other stakeholders. Consequently, many researchers are producing research in the hope it will be useful without prior engagement with policymakers. One of the key issues is uncertainty about channels of communication, and there is a need for transparency on both sides. Another is the absence of reference to languages in the government’s areas of research interests (ARIs), although some of the high-level concepts mentioned such as ‘community cohesion’, ‘understanding soft power between others’ and ‘reducing inequalities’ clearly have language dimensions to them. More details about how the ARIs relate to languages could, on the one hand, help researchers to design – or better co-create – research projects in the light of government priorities and, on the other hand, enable policymakers to receive the research-informed evidence which would be invaluable to them.

The workshop will include presentations from members of the Cross-Whitehall Languages Group about the research needs of their different departments as well as by researchers in languages who are at different stages in their engagement with government. There will also be interventions about the work of the UK Parliament Knowledge Exchange Unit, UPEN (the Universities Policy Engagement Network), and other relevant bodies.

All are welcome to attend this free event which will be held online and in person. There are limited spaces to attend in person so do ensure you register promptly to be assured of a place. If you are then unable to attend in person please contact us to cancel your place so that it can be offered to another.

The zoom joining link will be sent out two days before the event to those who registered to attend online. 

Please register by visiting the ILCS website

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Small Grant Project Report: Teaching Medieval French

Teaching Medieval French: Sustainable Approaches for the Next Generation 

Dates: 27-29 April 2023

Organisers: Emma Campbell and Liam Lewis

This three-day event for U.K.-based university teachers, researchers, and early career academics came out of two online ‘state-of-the-discipline’ workshops for Medieval French Studies organised in 2022. Responding to a need identified at those workshops, this in-person event at the University of Warwick enabled participants to develop new, sustainable, interdisciplinary approaches to teaching medieval French materials to undergraduates across a range of HE institutions. 

The interconnected aims of this event were: (1) to introduce participants to strategies that they could take forward in their teaching practice, (2) to provide space and time for attendees to workshop ideas they could integrate directly into their present or future teaching, and (3) to discuss the sharing and development of pedagogical resources cross-institutionally. To that end, invited speakers with expertise in areas that intersect with studies of medieval French–particularly performance studies, visual culture, and material culture–led workshops aimed at providing participants with a set of tools for their own practice. Participants worked on existing course materials or on new ideas in ‘developing ideas’ sessions incorporated into the workshops. There was a final session dedicated to discussing practical strategies for sharing resources and sources of potential funding.


The outcomes of the event can be summarised as follows:

  • New teaching resources and approaches. Participants left the workshops with new materials and methodologies for teaching medieval French literature culture immediately usable in their own institutional contexts. 
  • Strategies for collaborative working and resource sharing. The workshops enabled colleagues to explore practical strategies for sharing resources and expertise across institutions. The final session built on this by discussing the development of resources and possible platforms for cross-institutional collaboration. 
  • Future funding bids. We anticipate future funding bids to facilitate collaborations with community partners. Additional funding plans to support cross-institutional sharing of resources are under discussion.
  • Professional development. Participants of all career stages were able to learn new skills and integrate those into teaching plans. 
  • Community engagement. The workshops included a session co-led by Grapevine charity. There was also a public performance of a medieval text at Coventry’s Guildhall, a public after-show discussion, and a storytelling workshop accessible to the public. 

We are grateful to UCML for generously supporting this event.

Emma Campbell

Liam Lewis

25 May 2023

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Small Grant Project Report: Meeting in the Middle

‘Meeting in the Middle: Bringing Together UCML’s ECA Community’ project report:

Thanks to the funding provided by the UCML Small Grants Award for the project ‘Meeting in the Middle: Bringing Together UCML’s ECA Community’, the Early Career Academics Special Interest Group (ECA SIG) were able to convene at the UCML (now UCFL) Summer Plenary, held Friday 14th July 2023, at the Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies (School of Advanced Study, University of London). Representatives attended from all over the UK to discuss the topics presented by the Executive Committee members, and set a new agenda for the upcoming year. Our group presence at the UCML Plenary event provided a valuable way to network and discuss the current problems faced within Higher Education. Our main topics of discussion included the recognition of AI in university courses, examinations, and group activities; the importance of creating stronger links between Secondary schools and Universities, with mention made of the possible creation of mentorship programmes; the main targets for REF2028; and the recognition and improvement of future work conditions of early career academics. 

The ECA SIG is a thriving branch of UCML, with a record 23 representatives across modern-language teaching and research. Much of this growth has taken place in the past two years, during and following the pandemic, and can be attributed to a critical need to counter the ill-effects of isolated working, in often precarious employment environments. Early career academics attended our virtual coffee mornings, online seminars, and symposiums to foster a much-needed sense of community. During the Summer Plenary Event, members were able to generate new professional networks, socialise in-person, and obtain support from those facing similar challenges in a hostile job market. We were able to more widely promote our Code of Best Practice for Early Career Academic Employment, motion key issues affecting our languages community, and consolidate relationships with other UCML SIGs.

The UCML Small Grant scheme enabled our SIG representatives to be more visible to the Executive Committee members and clearly demonstrate our ideas, concerns, and contributions, which further reinforce the wider work of UCML.

Overall, ‘Meeting in the Middle: Bringing Together UCML’s ECA Community’ helped our ECA SIG network foster crucial interdisciplinary links that have been restricted during the pandemic. It also allowed us to identify knowledge areas that would benefit our language community in future. The project was essential in bringing members together and offering inclusivity and academic diversity to the Summer Plenary.

Dr Olivia Glaze, Ms Noémie Jollet and Dr Catherine McAteer

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