In 2020, three years on from its official launch, the UTS Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion undertook an internal evaluation with its staff and key stakeholders to investigate the extent to which the centre contributed to UTS becoming an increasingly just, equitable, and socially impactful university.
It provided an excellent opportunity to refocus on our mission and purpose and reflect on some positive stories from the UTS community, outlining the impact that our social justice initiatives have had.
The UTS community is diverse and inclusive.
The UTS Mardi Grass Parade float provided ‘rare’ opportunities to ‘[foster] a sense of connect amongst staff and students’. It also allowed members of the UTS community to fulfil personal goals outside of work.
Participating in the parade was a ‘life dream expressed by many participants’, with one saying it was ‘the first time [they had] been completely out in 25 years’ and ‘since then, [they] have completely embraced [their] non-binary/trans identity and haven't been this happy in a long time.’
The opportunity made people feel more ‘connected to LGBTIQA+ staff and allies at UTS’ and paved the way for new friendships and workplace collaboration.
Sometime after the float and [gender diversity] training sessions I was sitting on the Alumni Green and one of the other participants came and sat and had lunch with me. We would have never done this if it wasn’t for the float.
UTS is a just and fair employer.
UTS has a longstanding commitment to gender equality. It has been awarded Employer of Choice for Gender Equality by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency every year since the citation began in 2002, and has a number in initiatives in place to support women in the workplace.
The Postdoctoral Parental Leave Scheme in the Faculty of Engineering and IT recognised that an area where women were disproportionately affected when it came to the gender pay gap was maternity leave.
Whenever a rising star researcher who happened to be female would go and take maternity leave there would be a dip in her research outputs, because the research was on hold while she was on parental leave and frankly, this was not something that affected men.
– Survey respondent
With support from the Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion and FEIT leaders, the initiative was introduced, providing resources and funding to hire a postdoc ‘who would continue working on [the woman’s] research, co-authoring papers and completing studies in order to maintain as much of an upward trajectory on research output as possible while on parental leave.’
UTS offers equitable access and ongoing support to diverse student cohorts.
Support is offered through outreach programs, scholarships, and wrap-around support for students for the duration of their degree. Examples include:
- UTS enabling unconditional early offers to low-SES students who met Equity Access Scheme criteria, including new COVID related disadvantages, and an assessment of their ATAR based on year 11 results, for the first time, in 2020.
‘This change is critical because of the disproportionate impact of COVID on students from a low-SES background.'
- 110 laptops provided to year 11 and 12 students in UTS’s low-SES partner schools in South-West Sydney.
- Academic support offered to high school students via tutoring, online ‘homework club’, and a ‘Discussion Board’ where students could ask questions and submit their work for feedback.
- The UTS Humanitarian Scholarship which not only covers tuition for Humanitarian Scholars, but also includes financial assistance for equipment including textbooks and electronics, as well as academic and industry mentoring.
The transformation that I have seen with the graduates that we've had … their growth within the {Humanitarian Scholarship] program, as well as just everything that they're doing right now. And that they're wanting to continue to do work for the program, I mean you don't want them to feel obligated … but [it] is great that [they] want to come back and give back. They would not be where they are if UTS didn't set up the scholarship and provide them with all those different opportunities.
- The U@Uni Academy is a two-year program that introduces senior students to the university experience, with tutoring and additional support to develop skills to succeed at university and beyond. Students who successfully complete the program will be offered a place at UTS.
‘The most significant change I have contributed to, is the development and implementation of an alternative pathway to university (Academy) that addresses the inequity in traditional modes of assessment,’ one participant said.
‘The UTS U@Uni Academy has invited the higher education sector to reframe how it approaches admission and notions of success, shifting from a traditional focus on high-stakes, single mark assessments, to a rich, equitable and contextualised representation of the skills and potential of a student.’
‘We now have over 650 students, who were not originally on a trajectory to receive admission to university, on a direct pathway to receive a place at UTS. We have begun to see the impact on individual students who are part of the program, [with that] impact extending to their families and communities,’ the participant said.
UTS has expertise and engages in leading practice in ‘engaged research’.
Established in 2008, Gateways: International Journal of Community Research and Engagement has had a mission to advance a growing global movement in higher education: to bring multi-disciplinary, community-engaged research to a wide audience.
‘We have planned a special issue with two external guest editors on the theme of 'power' in collaborative research, for publication in December 2021,’ said one participant.
Rather than proceed along in a fairly conventional, hands-off manner, we have made the writing, feedback, and revisions process part of the volume. We received considerable positive feedback on the theme and on the process. One member of the Advisory Board sent a congratulatory email saying this was the best Call for Papers that he had seen in years.
Staff and students are provided with opportunities to contribute to social change and amplify their impact.
The UTS Social Impact Grants are awarded to research and practice projects that align with UTS’s social justice agenda. Up to $5000 is awarded to successful applicants.
‘There is a lot of evidence of positive social change that the centre contributes to within UTS and beyond. That small [Social Impact] grant every year … not only my two students that I know who have received the grant, but also others in my faculty that have received the grant this year … [they are] doing amazing work. All of them … I look at that work, and their outcomes and I do believe that it actually has helped those of us in my faculty,’ one participant said.
‘And then I see the work from [the Social Impact Grants] go from UTS to a broader national focus … my student got a Social Impact Grant last year, working with an organisation outside UTS … and that has already led to headline stories with awareness about social justice … and that [awareness] is definitely happening …
I see that small $5000 grant from the Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion has suddenly led to these events, nationally, in that particular area.
Students are provided with opportunities to contribute to social change and possess the required resources and capabilities to have social impact
The UTS Shopfront Community Coursework projects pair UTS students with not-for-profit organisations in a mutually beneficially partnership. Students get to work with a real-world client, while the organisation receives high-quality products in return.
‘[the students’] confidence levels definitely change … from the beginning to the end of the project … their demeanour and their confidence in their own abilities, and in how they present themselves, definitely changes,’ one participant said.
‘I think the range of projects that the students had participated in was amazing. Some of them brought me to tears. I think just exposing students to that not-for-profit world that they possibly haven't encountered before … I think that creates change in itself
… showing them what valuable work they can do and how much they can make a change. I reckon it has the potential to change their career path.’
– Key stakeholder
UTS actively contributes to resolving the social challenges that affect communities
COVID-19 forced many services to rapidly move online. Most people were able to adapt, but for many it made access to basic needs impossible due to a widening digital divide.
On our doorstep in Glebe, a group of residents over the age of 55 found themselves with little to no experience accessing online services, and a lack of digital literacy skills.
At the same time, the pandemic was disproportionately impacting international students – many lost their employment, were ineligible for government support schemes, and were left socially isolated.
The Glebe Digital Mentoring Program responded to the needs of both groups, and matched international students with Glebe residents to provide digital mentorship and support their technological needs.
After coming to Australia in February this year [2020] and getting no job for six months … they [UTS] called me and said you are capable of doing this job for the digital mentoring program … and that was encouraging for me,’ one mentor said.
‘Then I started in this program and in my first [mentee] meeting I was like, "oh, my goodness am I able to do this? Am I any good at this?" After meeting [my mentees] for two or three weeks, I realised that this is a program which will actually enhance my skills and encourage me to do something.’
And as for the mentees?
‘It has definitely been a huge change. I've learned an awful lot and the greatest issue I had was a fear of technology, a fear of failing, a fear of making mistakes.
[my mentor] made me comfortable with the computer. I'm now able to go on the computer, and explore and venture out ... out of this little box I was in. I definitely have benefited tremendously from the program … my whole relationship with the computer is different, totally ... when I turn on the computer or take my phone in my hand, I'm a lot more comfortable ...
‘And also, the other thing is I realised that at age 72 I'm still teachable. I can still learn … I can still absorb what's taught to me … It is really wonderful. The best thing that could have happened to me at this stage of life.’