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Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) Conference, Nottingham, 2nd - 4th December 2025

Symposium: How can we increase collegiality in research? Revealing hidden structures, cultures and networks
Presenters: Lisa Backwell, Zain Ul Abidin, Joulie Axelithioti, Cristina Vazquez Martin, Caitlin McDonald
Chair: Charmaine Lim
Discussant: Charlotte Bonner-Evans

 

Written by Caitlin McDonald, InFrame Project Coordinator, University of St Andrews. 

 

The theme of this year’s Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) conference was ‘Compassion, collegiality and communities in higher education: challenging the discourse’, so it seemed fitting that several members of the InFrame team were able to travel to Nottingham to deliver a symposium together focusing on collegiality in research.

Slide outlining the aims of the SRHE International Conference and why InFrame attended, highlighting goals such as advancing research and practice in higher education, supporting knowledge exchange and collaboration, and exploring innovation. The slide also explains how the conference aligns with InFrame’s mission to transform research culture through collaboration, collective leadership, shared resources, and building connections with researchers and policymakers.

Over the three days, the team attended many insightful presentations that with key themes of invisible labour, gender imbalances in workload, and prioritising inclusion and care tied in with our own aims. Learning about the different approaches other individuals and organisations were undertaking to prioritise compassion and collegial working in diverse groups and institutions sparked reflection within our own approaches, and we were able to make several new professional contacts for shared future learning.

Group photo of InFrame team members standing together at an SRHE conference venue, with a screen behind them displaying the message “Inclusive framework for research leadership,” highlighting collaborative engagement in discussions on research culture and leadership.

While the conference was largely focused on student-facing activities and teaching, this played to our favour, with our work standing out by highlighting the importance of collegiality and collaboration throughout the research community. Indeed, despite being delivered first thing in the morning of the last day, our symposium had a large turnout, with many of our new contacts attending specifically to hear about our work.

Slide titled “Key Insights from the Conference” highlighting three focus areas: invisible and emotional labour, care and collegiality in higher education systems, and diversity and inclusion gaps, presented alongside a flowing blue abstract background design.

Our symposium was kicked off with an introduction by Kay Guccione (Head of Research Culture & Researcher Development, University of Glasgow), followed by three papers. The first, delivered by Lisa Backwell, Community Knowledge Analyst (CKA) at the University of Edinburgh, drew on the data gathered from the Culture Catalyst Fund to identify how research communities collectively design initiatives to increase collegiality. This was followed by Zain Ul Abidin, CKA at the University of Glasgow, who demonstrated the infrastructures encountered during the funding process, and how this contributes a network-informed process with collegiality at its heart. Finally, Joulie Axelithioti, Leadership Developer at the University of Glasgow, along with project coordinators, Cristina Vazquez Martin, from the University of Glasgow and Caitlin McDonald, from the University of St Andrews, co-delivered a case study looking at the InFrame team itself, and demonstrating how we collectively navigated role delineation, mutual dependence and shared purpose.

During the Q&A session, led by Charmaine Lim, CKA at the University of Glasgow, it was clear that our message of collaboration and collegiality resonated with the audience, and the team received praise for building a cross-institutional community. Indeed, one member of the audience commented “how refreshing it is to see a team who all seemed to genuinely get on and like each other!” Reflecting on the feedback received, it is more evident that our work to break down barriers between job families, individuals and institutions is something from which the whole sector can learn from, and the need for developing new ways of working is particularly timely during a period where many universities are facing substantial change.

Round‑table discussion session at an SRHE conference, with InFrame team members and participants seated in a circle and engaging in conversation. A presentation screen in the background displays closing slides and information for staying connected, reflecting collaborative dialogue and shared learning around research culture and collegiality.

Following such a degree of engagement, we noticed that the inherent nature of academic conferences means that the learnings from our symposium were inaccessible to a large portion of the HE community. We have therefore decided to deliver this once again in an online format and will record this to be publicly available on our YouTube channel thereafter. If you are interested in attending, a link will be shared with you shortly. 

 

 

 

 

First published: 8 January 2026

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Conference registration badges and lanyards arranged on a table alongside SRHE materials, including a programme booklet themed around compassion, collegiality, and community, representing delegate participation and engagement at the SRHE Conference.

Society for Research into Higher Education

SRHE International Conference 2025