Call for Special Issue “Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in STEM for a Sustainable Future”

Friends of REEN have asked us to let our network know about their Special Focus issue on sustainability, diversity, and STEM. 

Please see their call for submissions, which we have pasted below.


Dear colleague,

We are happy to announce the possibility to contribute to a Special Issue “Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in STEM for a Sustainable Future”, edited by Sustainability, an open access journal by MDPI.
There is evidence that many key performance indicators of academic and non-academic organizations related to the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields are strongly determined by the diversity of the workforce in these organisations.  This points to a need to ensure that increasing diversity becomes a key goal for both STEM educators and STEM industry. Evidence suggests that the number of women resigning from technological job positions remains unacceptably high. For example, in western countries, only 20% or less of graduating engineers are female, and often fewer than 10% are part of the engineering workforce.  To increase diversity, equality, and inclusion in STEM education, many different approaches can be implemented at different levels and to different target groups.
This Special Issue aims to address research mainly related to:

  • Theoretical insight into the reasons for this imbalance;
  • Empirical evidence, experimental approaches, and best practices of recruitment and retention in STEM education;
  • Ideas and policy to support gender balance careers in a STEM context.

You can find practical information at the link
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/special_issues/equality_diversity_inclusion_STEM
Author BenefitsOpen Access: free for readers, with article processing charges (APC) paid by authors or their institutions. Some benefits for articles rated best by the Editorial Board and the Editorial Office can be partially discounted.

Anita Tabacco, Politecnico di Torino (anita.tabacco@polito.it)
Gavin Duffy, Technological University Dublin (gavin.duffy@tudublin.ie)
Alicia García-Holgado, University of Salamanca (aliciagh@usal.es)
Rachel Riedner, The George Washington University (rach@gwu.edu)

Call for Australasia representative (1 position)

Download a PDF of the call below here.

Dear engineering education research colleagues, 

On behalf of the Research in Engineering Education Network (REEN) Governing Board, I would like to announce that we are seeking nominations to fill one board position that has recently opened, representing Australasia (1 position), (Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Island nations, Indonesia, the Philippines). This post is intended to fill an existing appointment term that runs until the end of 2022, at which time the individual may seek re-election. We are hoping to fill this position by the start of March 2021.

The Governing Board is responsible for implementing the mission and goals of REEN by providing strategic direction, continuity, and overall leadership. The main commitment is a monthly 1-hour meeting held online (typically on the first Wednesday of each month at 12 noon British Standard Time), and members are asked also to provide a bit of time between monthly meetings for project work such as: supporting the symposium (e.g., reviewing abstracts and papers), development of special focus journal issues, or serving on project committees. Specifically, this new appointee will be asked to serve as the liaison between the REEN Board and the organizational committee for the upcoming Research in Engineering Education Symposium (REES) to be held in (or virtually, from) Perth December 5-8, 2021.

Interested individuals should submit a candidate’s statement for an internal election to be held in February 2021. If you are interested in being a REEN governing board member from this region, please send the following information as a single .docx or .doc file to Shannon Chance (s.chance@ucl.ac.uk) – Chair of the REEN Governing Board, by Thursday, 18 February 2021:

  1. Motivation statement — 200 words about your involvement in Engineering Education Research (EER) and REEN, describing why you are interested in being on the REEN Governing board.
  2. CV — 200 words highlighting activity and accomplishments in EER, to illustrate what experience, expertise, and contributions you will bring.

Board members must be active in EER; it is preferred that applicants have previously participated in a REES conference and required that they intend to participate in upcoming symposia.

Applications will be evaluated based on the five criteria elaborated below. Note that applicants do not need to have experience in every area to apply!

Exposure and participation in EER 

  • Track record of conference papers and/or journal articles in EER outlets
  • Engagement in EER activities
  • Participation in past/future REES events
  • Peer recognition

Networking and collaboration

  • Networking/organizing to support engineering education research nationally (and ideally, internationally) – Promoting and growing the field
  • Experience organizing conferences, running journals, and/or building national engineering education societies
  • Building networks and supporting community at an institutional, national or regional level

Capacity building

  • Commitment to support others learning, fostering relationships, and mentoring others
  • Supervision of EER research work 

Experience / skills

  • Peer review, particular in engineering education journals and conferences
  • Conference organizing
  • Special issue organizing/editing
  • General organizational/board type of work –e.g. committees, governance

Motivation for wanting to join REEN

  • Does the motivation align with the REEN strategy / vision and the needs of the board?
  • Does the motivation bring out new ideas / initiatives that could be beneficial to add to current REEN activities?

Interviews will be held with shortlisted participants. Announcements of results will be made after the election process.

Please visit the REEN website to join our mailing list or LinkedIn Group and to obtain further information about REEN – https://www.reen.co/.

Best,

Shannon Chance, PhD

REEN Governing Board Chair

s.chance@ucl.ac.uk