Faces of Reading

I work full time, but I work from home 4 days a week. Managers are very good at giving us that flexibility.

I have Becker Muscular Dystrophy, and people have been very supportive without being patronising. Part of the reason for working from home is to help manage my fatigue. I live in Reading, I came here when I was 18 as a student and have more or less stayed here ever since. I had been commuting to Oxford – I was at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust before – which was getting a bit too tiring. It's better now I'm working a lot closer to home.

The team from Estates and Facilities also came in and created a kind of frame by my desk so I can get up easily, which has been really helpful. Everyone in the office will help out if I need anything too; it's been a positive experience.

I entered higher education on a series of fixed term contracts which is common to our sector as there is a disproportionate demand for EAP teachers/lecturers in the summer, but this reduces once Autumn is upon us. Living in this state of employment precarity was unnerving, especially when I was expecting my first child. In 2009, I did manage to secure my first permanent post despite being five months pregnant at the time of the interview. Even though it is unlawful to consider this ‘temporary condition’ during the selection and recruitment process, just 11 years ago attitudes differed. I felt incredibly anxious before the interview panel. Currently, as a member of the Unviersity Parent and Family steering group, I am keen to open up discussions on issues facing parents -to- be, parents, and carers working at universities, and share best practice in support across the University. 

I came to work at UoR, after working for nine years at Royal Holloway, University of London. Moving jobs mid-career is a huge leap of faith for anyone, but with a young family to relocate, this was a significant undertaking for me. In addition, my carefully built network of personal and professional contacts had also been removed. At first the benefits of changing employer and location can seem quite small in comparison to the sacrifices. I would say to anybody in this position though that the gains do start to emerge incrementally. 

Reflecting on the long working lives ahead of us, we should reconsider outstaying employers. Four years on my family are settled and working at Reading has brought me so many new opportunities in teaching a greater diversity of nationalities, supporting outreach work in English Language teaching, and leading on new provision. Most of all I have experienced a more positive approach to different contracts types. I now work 0.9FT and have a better work/family balance as a result, something that was not conceivable in my past roles.

Collaboration was never something we planned, it was more of a way of doing things that seemed practical to us. But, when it came to finding institutional support for our work, particularly in academia, we found that it was quite difficult to square this way of working with existing frameworks. 

Few universities were willing to take us on as joint lecturers, so we were delighted to find the University of Reading more open-minded. Here, our collaborative approach is not only supported, but reflected in the teaching in the Department.

The Art Department offers many opportunities for students to work collaboratively and really fosters an engagement with practices that challenge the idea of individual authorship.

As well as working students in the studio, we have had several opportunities to run projects offsite as mini-residencies with students in collaboration with various venues both nationally and abroad, from the Merzbarn in Cumbria to Nova Perla on the outskirts of Prague. In these less formal environments, we have found group work to be particularly useful as a way of instilling the mutual support that we hope will serve our students as well when they graduate as our collaboration has done for us.

I speak several languages, so I know exactly what the main problems are with learning a new language and what students find most difficult. I try to encourage them to speak the language and overcome any difficulties on the way.

Everyone here has given me the opportunity to show my potential and challenge myself as a language teacher, but most of all to do what I love.

I'm an audiovisual translator and I study BSL. I believe that deaf and visually impaired people should have access to language learning too. My aim is to work as an interpreter in the future, and I am proud that BSL will be taught here at the University.

I'm a School Champion for Diversity and a member of the LGBTQIA+ staff scheme. I think it's important to promote diversity and inclusion.

At the University of Reading, our students come from all around the world and this makes their learning experience really interesting. I really like to build a relationship with my students, watching them grow as independent learners, helping them with their learning process, and making them feel part of a community.

I give a lot and receive a lot; it's beautiful. This is why I'm still teaching after 12 years.

Read more about the University's LGBT Plus Staff Network.