Faculty Club

Erläuterung

Der Faculty Club soll Professorinnen und Professoren der RWTH Aachen Rahmen und Gelegenheit bieten zum Netzwerken, wissenschaftlichen Diskurs und Austausch mit Entscheidungsträgerinnen und Entscheidungsträgern aus Wissenschaft und Politik.

Ziel

• Austausch zu hochschulpolitischen Themen mit Entschiedungsträgern

• Vernetzung innerhalb der Professorenschaft und mit der Hochschulleitung

• wissenschaftlicher Diskurs innerhalb der Hochschule

Methoden

Vorträge, Diskussionen, Gespräche und Austausch

Inhalt

Strength in Diversity: thinking differently about who gets to work in STEM

Academics are keen on freedom, at least of the academic variety. But according to 20th Century philosopher Isaiah Berlin, the opposition between freedom and equality is an “intrinsic, irremovable element of human life.” Are universities, which have long been extremely hierarchical organisations, therefore destined to be centres of inequality? For many women, that is precisely their experience. The same can be said for many academics who are from ethnic minorities, who are disabled, or who are not heteronormative.

Does this matter for science? What do molecules or the laws of physics care for the machinations of human society? To the extent that science matters for society, society should matter for science. That means that as influential and progressive civic institutions, universities and research institutions must strive to represent the societies they serve and to challenge, rather than to mirror or exacerbate, the structural inequalities that degrade the daily experiences of so many. This is a difficult task, but not one that can be delegated to specialists, however valuable their expertise. It must be embraced by the whole scientific academy. In my talk, I will discuss how we are attempting to tackling inequalities at Imperial College London.

Stephen Curry, Imperial College London

Zielgruppen

Professorinnen und Professoren, Juniorprofessorinnen und Juniorprofessoren