As plans for the IN4RF event in May come together, we have been inspired by the different activities taking place that have provided great support for seed projects that are underway. I caught up with Laavanya, an economic student at Glasgow University, who together with Glasgow University environmental science student, Blythe Kaddour, have been progressing well with their project to create interdisciplinary support for regenerative futures work. Together, the students noticed a gap in access to opportunities between departments at the university, including different levels of financial support, and want to pool resources to provide inclusive workshops across the campus.
They plan to include leaders in practice that present practical challenges that help support the community as well as provide real-life experience and the chance of benefiting from internship opportunities at the collaborating organisations. Laavanya and Blythe presented their project at the student narrative workshop last month and showed great passion for their work. The students, with support from lecturers Dr. Paulina Navrouzoglou, Dr. Geethanjali Selvaretnam, and Dr. Lovleen Kushwah, also had the opportunity to present the project at the Advance HE Symposium on Student Mattering.
Dr. Geethanjali Selvaretnam is originally from Sri Lanka and has worked at several UK universities, before beginning her journey at Adam Smith Business School, Glasgow University. Her research interests have moved from banking to development economics to pedagogy. The many projects Geetha supports show her enthusiasm for this work and great engagement with student activities.
I enjoy exploring interactive learning, multicultural skill development, authentic assessments, and inner feedback generation. I have held leadership roles that champion equality, diversity, and inclusion, as well as responsible, sustainable management and education. What excites me most about being part of this project is that we are showing, by example, how people around the world can come together to take action, individually and collectively, to make the world better and more sustainable.
My Values?
One’s values evolve over time, and I hope mine are for the better. Reflecting upon what I consider my values, as well as what others who know me have told me, I would say the following: be supportive, be positive and have hope, give the benefit of the doubt, stand up for what is right and for others, be diplomatic (not sure if this is a value, but my style is non-combative), and work hard to inspire the next generation.
Also, Geetha explains her goals for action while working with the IN4RF, saying:
Recently, I led an initiative to encourage colleagues in our Business School to reflect and engage in decolonising the curriculum and enabled them to share good practice. I would like to build to share with this community (as well as others) how we went about it and our experience. Moreover, I will also challenge myself to reflect and educate myself more in order to improve my own teaching practice to be even more globally focussed and inclusive.
How could you support a transdisciplinary approach to engage students in regenerative futures work? Do you have different strengths and needs that could benefit from connections across campus and in your community? What inspiration and support could you provide to engage students and teachers in inclusive activities?
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