As part of Exoclimes we are delivering two sessions on mental health in research careers for interested delegates. The first will be aimed at members of a team not yet responsible for people management, and the second for those managings teams.
These sessions provide a space to share experience of mental health and discuss ways in which we might embed interventions designed to foster good mental health support in our research institutions.
The sessions will be facilitated by Dr Katie Nicoll Baines, EDI Manager for the Future Leaders Fellows Development Network and EDI Lead for the Nightline Association. She is experienced in designing and delivering training around peer support for mental health in higher education as well as developing training for different equalities challenges in HEIs.
It is vital to note that these will be safe spaces, moderated by Katie, and absolute confidentiality is required. Anonymised elements will only be shared with explicit consent.
These sessions will be held in the quiet space in the Peter Chalk Centre, which outside of the Exoclimes Support sessions will be available for anyone to use.
More broadly, information from these sessions will help develop recommendations made to research leaders around how to support mental health in their teams, through the work of the Future Leaders Fellows Development Network (resources which will be freely available to all).
There is only space for 25 delegates in each session allocated through links sent to you as part of the post-registration email. We recognise this means not all conference attendees will have the opportunity to participate.
Therefore, everyone (whether signed up the sessions or not) is invited to feed into the discussion via an anonymous form the link to which will be provided in the post-registration email. The form submissions will be managed by Katie, not any of the Exoclimes/ExoSLAM organising teams.
Alongside these sessions, delegates who do not attend are invited to accompany a few members of the organising committee on a walk around campus. Alternatively, this can be used as free time.