The Physics Department will be making an application for an Athena Swan Gold Award in spring 2015.  The submission documents and outcome of this application will be available in due course.

• Draft application for Athena Swan Gold award

TBC

Maintaining Silver SWAN - Juno championship awards

• Participation in the Athena Index pilot (April 2011)
• Detailed analysis of statistics of exam performance of UG, by year and by degree qualification
• Guidelines for choosing fellowship candidates (for RS, CAF submissions)
• Review of outreach activities in schools
• Setting up of the Departmental Champions for coaching support across the department
• Review of nursery place placement procedures
• Participation in College Staff Survey
• Initiating an industry club to create a fund that will (amongst other things) provide a source for Student Hardship funds (ongoing)
• Review of mentoring/coaching schemes at College and Departmental level (ongoing)
• Review of the take up of career development activities available through the College wide Post Doc Development Centre (set up in 2009) and survey of the requirements of post docs in the department by the post doc committee (ongoing)
• Review of the implications for College Level Staff Review 2011 and actions for the JC SWAN action plan
• Creation of departmental level training packages on supervisor refresher training
• Initiating ECR (early career research) network (includes fellowship holders and lecturers on probation) (ongoing)

The Physics Juno Committee was set up in 2007 and the committee started work on improving the Department's practices and policies.

In 2009 the Department applied for, and was awarded, an Athena SWAN Silver award.

After receiving the Silver award, the Committee continued to oversee the Department's practices and made further improvements.

• Inclusive wording on all adverts for all jobs
• Engagement with other departments within College to support best practice and SWAN activities/submissions (ongoing)
• Engagement with other universities (Surrey, Warwick, UCL, Cambridge, Oxford) on their SWAN applications (ongoing)
• Participation in the Asset survey (national survey 2010)
• Departmental teaching awards extended to all staff (including technical and post docs)
• Detailed survey of UG motivation for studying physics and career aspirations
• Detailed analysis of admissions/recruitment procedures for UG (ongoing)
• 12 month buy-out from teaching for all RAs returning from Maternity leave (initiated by Physics, extended College-wide)
• Formalising the role of the post graduate students reps committee so that they are a more active forum for PG students
• Encouraging links between PG and Post docs and the setting up of a buddy scheme between them
• Initiating a regular meeting forum for technicians, and technical representation on the Juno committee
• Teaching load review
• Creation of departmental level training packages on health and safety

• Creation of the post doc committee
• Promoting work/life balance (web site on flexible work practice)
• Engaging with all staff groups (through lunches such as the women academic lunch, PG female lunch) – ongoing
• Winning Silver SWAN - Juno championship awards
• Growing the Juno committee to include RAs
• Guidelines for hiring of post doctoral staff

• Departmental Survey
• Transparency on the hiring process for academic staff
• Job description for heads of group

• Formation of the Juno committee
• Interviewed academic women in the department
• Annual collation of statistics of UG, PG, RA, and staff numbers by gender and report to HoGs