New appointments in the School of Medicine
Appointment of Director Inclusion, Wellbeing Officer and Student Disability Coordinator at the School of Medicine
Following a recent recruitment exercise amongst existing staff, The School of Medicine has appointed Dr John Winpenny as Director of Inclusion, Caroline Forbes, as Wellbeing Officer and Linda Kirkcaldy as Student Disability Coordinator.
The role of Director of Inclusion is to ensure that the School is an outstanding place to work and to lead activities that foster a work and study environment that promotes equality of opportunity, enhances diversity and ensures inclusivity for staff and students across all protected characteristics. John Winpenny joined the School last year as Senior Lecturer (Education focused) in Physiology and teaches across the ScotGEM and BSc courses. In his previous post at the University of East Anglia, John was course director for the MB BS with a Gateway year (2009-2020) and led several curricular and inclusion changes to this programme during that time. He stated: “I’m passionate about widening access to medicine – an important part of the inclusion portfolio… and I hope to be able to develop the School’s strategy for some of these through the School’s Inclusion Committee”. John is busy updating the Schools EDI webpages and is also involved in the School’s upcoming Athena SWAN application. His goal is that all staff and students should feel and know that they can develop their potential within the School that they work and study.
The overarching goal of the Wellbeing Officer is to improve and maintain positive culture and staff wellbeing in general. Caroline Forbes, who is currently PG T Coordinator and Assessment Administrator at the School has worked for over 15 years in the further and higher education sectors. She finds it an exciting sector to work in, stating: “As HE is a constantly changing environment it keeps the work varied and provides interesting development opportunities… I enjoy being able to support the education and wellbeing of students.” Caroline will be working with groups designed to improve and maintain a positive culture and staff wellbeing, including working with the School’s Continuous Improvement Group, which Caroline is also a member of, as well as wider networks in the University. Caroline added: “I feel my role as the School Wellbeing Officer is an opportunity to help my colleagues and our postgraduate students to access any support they may need. I will signpost the range of available resources, services and activities across the University and hope to coordinate local participation in the wider University initiatives. As part of the wellbeing network, I look forward to sharing best practice, providing feedback on the current service provision, and discussing ideas that may help to address any needs of the School. However, to do this effectively, I need to hear from you. Please do not hesitate to get in touch, whether that is via email or catching up over a cuppa! [email protected]”
Linda Kirkcaldy, Teaching Administrator who will already be known to our students, is looking forward to taking on the Student Disability Coordinator appointment: “I am delighted to take on this important role working closely with Student Services Disability Team and colleagues, to support the student community within the School. Having worked in the School since 2008, I enjoy the interaction with students and look forward to being able to support them on their journey through their studies.” The Student Disability Coordinator’s role is to ensure that reasonable adjustments are put in place for students with disabilities in the School and to guarantee the university meets the legal duties detailed in Equality Act 2010.
