Booklet Btgc-2014-Booklet.Pdf
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2 Contents Welcome.................................................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction to the Conference........................................................................................................ 8 Programme............................................................................................................................................... 10 Scientific and Organising Committee............................................................................................ 16 Organizing Committee for Sub-Conference of World Women Presidents’ Forum......... 23 Keynote Speakers................................................................................................................................... 26 Chairs and Speakers.............................................................................................................................. 32 Participants............................................................................................................................................... 50 About ITU.................................................................................................................................................. 70 Istanbul ..................................................................................................................................................... 72 Gallery of the Beyond the Glass Ceiling Conference 2012...................................................... 74 Maps and Hotel Information ............................................................................................................. 79 3 Welcome 4 BEYOND THE GLASS CEILING: WOMEN RECTORS ACROSS EUROPE ROLE OF LEADERSHIP IN STRUCTURAL CHANGES Dear Rectors, Vice Rectors and Academicians, We are happy to invite and host you at our university during the 4th European Women Rectors Conference, of which the first was held at ITU in 2008. We believe that there is a particular significance in meeting under an exclusive roof, which has trained Turkey’s first female engineer and first female certified engineer. ITU, an example to other techni- cal universities in the world with its ratio of female academics, furthermore attaches importance to the traditional- izing of this conference. As in all fields, along with their vision, discretion, knowledge and talent, women also make a difference in the work that they carry out in the academic world. Such as this conference, I believe that international knowledge networking carries importance in terms of women taking part in a much more active role in university administration, thus, increasing the number of rector and vice rectors in our country and in the world. My wish is for a successful conference, as so in previous years, where academic and administrative experiences and issues will be ad- dressed, concluding in stimulating remarks. Respectfully yours, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Karaca Rector 5 Dear Colleagues, It has been a great pleasure for us to organise the 4th European Women Rectors Conference at Istanbul Technical University and, with our Scientific Committee members, who have made remarkable contributions to the development of the vision and mission of this movement from the beginning, to establish the “European Women Rectors Platform”. Since 2008, a handful of woman leaders in academia have been trying to create awareness about the importance of leadership in higher education and research for women academics at the European level in order to tap the unfulfilled potential of that half of society. Although there have been remarkable developments in the representa- tion of women in science at the European level in recent years, SHE Figures show that women still stand less chance of reaching senior levels in higher education and research institutions, and also of holding positions of influence through membership in scientific boards. Optimism is appropriate when we look at the latest developments in the European Commission’s commitments. According to Communica- tion on the ERA 2012, gender is one of 5 priorities. Member states are invited to: create a legal and policy environment and provide incen- tives, engage in partnerships with funding agencies, research organisations and universities to foster cultural and institutional change on gender, ensure that at least 40% of the under-represented sex participate in committees involved in recruitment/career progression and in establishing and evaluating research programmes. In Horizon 2020, Art. 15, it is stated that “Structural change for ensuring equal opportuni- ties and promoting women’s careers and promoting integration of gender dimensions in research and innovation content should be given importance. Gender equality in research and innovation is the commitment of Horizon 2020 by achieving gender balance in research teams, gender balance in decision making and integrating gender analysis in decision making. Therefore it is obvious that structural change aimed at achieving gender equality is a major topic on the agenda of universities and that is why we have chosen to focus on this theme. We are making substantial changes in our higher education and research institutions with the aim of achieving gender equality across the world, but as a careful observer of academia notes: “Universities, with all their brainpower, are much more resistant to change than many other institutions. Universities are great at studying and recommending change for others, but when it comes to themselves, that is another matter. So what makes the difference between an institution that can change and one that cannot? Leadership. But what kind of leader- ship?” (Fullan, M. & Scott, G., 2009). As leaders of our universities we are expected to make these structural changes in our universities and provide equal opportunities to women and men academics in order not to lose talented people. Structural as well as cultural barriers of the university appear to be major factors explaining the reproduction of traditional structures and patterns which support male domination. Holistic approaches are needed for making structural changes in research institutions and universities to provide equal opportunities for women and men. It’s extremely important to combine top down and bottom up strategies to realise the changes. There are external and internal forces that foster organisational change in our institutions. Among the external forces are the marketplace, government laws and regulations, technology, labour markets and economic changes, while among internal forces are administrative processes and people issues. According to Lunenburg, types of resistance to organisational change can be listed as follows: uncertainty, concern over personal loss, group resistance, dependence, trust in administration, lack of awareness, and weakness in the proposed change (Lunenburg, F.C., 2010). We are faced with many kinds of resistance in our institutions when we try to bring about change. What is resis- tance? Resistance is defined by Lombardo and Mergeart as follows: “A phenomenon that emerges during processes of change that is aimed at maintaining the status quo and opposing change. (Lombardo and Mergeart, 2013). O’Toole (1995) reported that resistance to change is an effort to protect established social relations perceived to be threatened. It was pointed out that resistance occurs because it threatens the status quo or increases the fear of and anxiety about real or imagined consequences (Spector 1989). Change threatens personal security and confidence in ability to perform. Moreover, change may also be resisted because it threatens the way people make sense of the world, calling into question their values and rationality and prompting some form of self-justification or defensive reasoning (Bryant, 2006). Strate- gies to overcome resistance towards change are listed as follows: education and communication, fostering open communication, participa- tion and involvement, facilitation and support, negotiation and agreement, manipulation and co-optation, implicit and explicit coercion. There is no “one-size fits all” approach here. Every organisation has to design its own change process by giving different priorities to differ- ent strategies based on its structure, resources, capabilities and institutional culture. As leaders of our institutions along with our leadership teams, we have to learn from good practices and set our own strategies for making structural changes to achieve gender equality in our institutions. In this change process it is very important to understand the relationship between the forces of change and the resistance that we observe in our institutions. As mentioned in the report by Dr D. Avramov (2011) we have to be innovative, effective and efficient in pursuing a holistic approach and implementing an integrated toolbox for addressing the multi-layered dimensions of this change process. We have to create awareness and put in place effective communication tools to make 6 the stakeholders own the idea of change, and then design the change process with all the stakeholders’ contributions by the adoption of legal instruments and provision of incentives for increasing gender equality. Then we can move on to the implementation of change, and here we need close and careful monitoring and evaluation in order to make the necessary adjustments throughout the change process. There are certain issues that should be given importance in