Commemorating Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) which falls on the third Thursday in May, the British Council in collaboration with Universitas Brawijaya (UB) held a workshop, Thursday (16/05/2024), in the Banquet Room on the Sixth Floor of the Rectorate Building. This activity was attended by representatives from 21 teams receiving the UK-Indonesia Going Global Partnerships grant which focuses on gender equality and disability inclusion.
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Prof. Dr. Ir. Imam Santoso, M.P in his speech said that it was an honor to collaborate with an organization that is very committed to encouraging inclusiveness and excellence in education globally.
“Today we commemorate Global Accessibility Awareness Day. We are reminded of our shared commitment to making education accessible and equitable for everyone. We hope that through this meeting we can share insights and practical strategies to instill the principles of gender equality and disability/social inclusion,” said Imam Santoso.
Meanwhile, British Council Indonesia Country Director, Mr. Summer Xia expressed her appreciation to UB for being one of the pioneer universities that develops an inclusive educational environment.
“We also congratulate the 21 teams receiving Going Global Partnerships grants from various universities who have gone through a very strict selection process. Let’s use this opportunity to learn from each other, build connections, pioneer innovative projects that can impact sustainable change in the world,” said Summer Xia.
The grant recipient team from UB, chaired by Henny Rosalinda, S.IP., M.A., Ph.D, said that UB collaborated with the University of Portsmouth to raise a research topic that examines the gender gap in the supply and demand sides of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in education and employment.
“So for women who are interested in studying STEM, whether they want to study in a STEM field, it is related to the supply side which provides STEM graduates. Meanwhile, the demand side is whether industry, universities, government are willing to accept women from STEM educational backgrounds. Because from the findings we see, many of them are STEM graduates and then work in administration,” explained Henny.
So Henny and the team want to encourage more women to want to study and work in STEM fields, and have the same opportunities as men.
In his research, Henny was assisted by Prof. Dr. Ir. Keppi Sukesi, M.S from UB Center for Gender Studies, and Satya Wacana Christian University. Through this research, he hopes to be able to create a formula, propose appropriate policies to encourage girls’ participation in studying and working in STEM fields. [Irene/ UB PR/ Trans. Iir]
