THE KNOW Spring 2018 | Page 7

SPRINGBOARD SUCCESS 07 Jackie Cat How did you get involved in delivering Springboard at Keele? How was your experience attending the course? When I was working at Trinity College Dublin I was asked to go and speak to a group of female researchers on Springboard about my career and my experiences in higher education. I found this really useful; it helped me reflect on my career and professional ambition and the events and choices that had shaped that. Three years later I started working at Keele and I introduced the course and made it open to any woman working in the University. In the past five years we have had nearly 100 women from Keele take part. What is the course about? The workshops are designed to ensure that the participants get to know and trust each other in order to help define their personal and professional goals, and work together to achieve them. Attendance at the workshops is only one part of the course. Groups of three participants meet between workshops to support each other using peer support and the principles of coaching. There is a workbook that the course participants also use to explore their values, define their goals and to develop the skills they need to achieve them. Topics covered by the course include assertiveness, projecting yourself in the workplace and reaching your goals Why do you think this course is a positive step for women who want to progress their career? Springboard is a great course for people who want to take stock of where they are in their career, or their personal life, and make changes or achieve goals. The focus on assertiveness, finding your core values and setting goals leads to notable changes in the confidence and aspirations of participants. As they work towards their goals, with the s upport of their peers, their success drives their confidence and their ability to further succeed. Perhaps unsurprisingly, for many participants one outcome of the course is the desire to develop their professional profile further. Women who complete the Springboard course report being more confident in their own abilities and clearer about their ambitions and aspirations for both their work and home life. Springboard, unlike any other programme I had attended, well and truly surpassed my expectations both professionally and personally. The group of academics and professional services staff provided a supportive environment to discuss career aspirations, goal setting, navigating the challenges of work/family balance and offered pragmatic solutions. It’s one of the few programmes available that provided this holistic overview, a space to reflect on decisions made in the past that impacted on the present day and mapping out plans for the future. How has the course benefited your career progression? The course supplied a simple yet powerful tool, a Springboard workbook. The workbook offered opportunities to reflect on my ‘whys’ and areas that mattered most to me. By completing the programme, it was evident that I am particularly interested in the world of technology, past, present and future. At the time of taking the course, I worked in the School of Medicine in e-Learning and e-Assessments. When the position of Faculty Learning Technology Officer was advertised in September 2015, I immediately realised this area fell further in line with my core interests. I now work with six schools within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences primarily responsible for advocating the innovative use of learning technologies to enhance staff and student experiences. I also recognised that instead of being a passive bystander I can be a change catalyst for matters close to my heart, which has led to me pledging to raise money annually for causes related to education access, and I am now involved in the Athena SWAN, Race and Equality Charter, and Equality and Diversity initiatives. This year, I will be attending the Aurora Women’s Leadership programme which aims to address the under-representation of women in leadership positions in higher education. Three years on from Springboard, I have received enormous support and encouragement. For me, the biggest take-home was the support available, mentorship, coaching and defining what matters to each individual, including a fantastic network of supportive women. It may sound clichéd, but Springboard truly was a springboard in my life and I would definitely recommend the programme!