Assoc. prof. dr. Petra Videmšek is responsible for the professional management of the new Office for Equality and Inclusion (PEV) at the University of Ljubljana. Her area of expertise focuses on involving services users to develop social work education, as well as on the empowerment and advocacy of people with mental illness and intellectual disabilities. We reached out to find out:
The office’s top priorities
The fundamental aim of the Equality and Inclusion Office (PEV) is to contribute to the development of a general culture of inclusion, tolerance and integration in an open academic community.
This includes providing information on the principles of equality and legal foundations that ensure equal opportunities and dignity; to point out violations; and to systematically ensure integration in the academic community.
To this end, the office is linked to the work of the Student Ombudsman Service, the Student Affairs Committee, the Psychosocial Counselling Services and the activities of the Equality Plan Implementation Working Group.
What expertise are you bringing to the table?
My knowledge of social work is certainly very useful, because in social work we have developed the concepts of participation, empowerment and, above all, the concept of co-creation. My work is based on theories developed by people who have experienced exclusion themselves. The slogan “Nothing about us without us” is a guideline for the work of the office. We do not want to plan from the top down, but from the bottom up. We start from the needs and plan further activities around these needs. I believe this is the most effective way of providing support, based on partnership and dialogue.
Of course, my knowledge of social work alone is not enough, an interdisciplinary approach is needed to ensure inclusion. Teamwork and an interdisciplinary approach are essential to developing an inclusive and compassionate community.
In IDEA-net’s first webinar, three university cases – from the project’s Compendium of 50+ IDEA practices* – were invited to provide further perspective on the road ahead. The geographical diversity of the speakers reflects, in part, the continental reach of universities which have contributed to the Compendium. Here are some of the reflections from our speakers:
Driving forces for bold IDEA practices
Pr Renato Cymbalista from the University of São Paulo underscored how affirmative action policies are controversial by nature. Today, approximately 50% of enrolled students at USP are admitted through such policies. He notes however, how integral such actions are to the university’s reparation mission. Backing from other progressive universities and country-wide support for reparation have been major drivers for such IDEA practices.
Collaborating for scaling-up IDEA
Pr Frank Tuitt highlighted the commitment of University of Connecticut and the state of Connecticut to address racism as a public health crisis. The Centre for Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) is one of the flagpship initiatives of UCONN. The TRHT initiative is made possible by the American Association for Colleges and Universities and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, with UCONN being one of 78 collaboratory institutions in the United States.
Creating more opportunities for unity
Ms Pelin Deniz from Middle East Technical University emphasised the importance of students taking more active roles in the delivery of universities’ IDEA practices. She refers to her experience having studied clinical physcology at METU and is now fulfilling this role at the disability support office of her alma mater. More interaction between IDEA units is necessary as she noted the effect of support staff having too little time to collectively process their experiences in implementing and developing IDEA practices.
–
*To browse the database of IDEA offices, services, programmes, and leadership roles, visit: https://idea-net.eu/idea-net-cases/
IDEA-net project researchers, Professor Slobodan Cvejić and Dr. Milica Resanović organised a dynamic webinar focused on the potential for establishing an IDEA Office (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility) within the University of Belgrade. Together wtih Dr. Nataša Simić, Vice Dean for Academic Affairs, the webinar engaged both academic and administrative in discussing key opportunities and challenges.
Resources inspiring change
The webinar began with a brief presentation by Milica Resanović, who introduced the IDEA-net project (Expanding the Network of IDEA Practitioners in Higher Education through Institutional Capacity Building). All participants had the opportunity to learn about the project’s key ideas and objectives. Special emphasis was placed on an analytical overview of the Compendium of Best Practices, highlighting the diversity of IDEA practices around the world and the different ways in which inclusiveness and excellence are integrated into the everyday work of higher education institutions.
Slobodan Cvejić then presented the Guideline on Establishing an IDEA Office, published as part of the IDEA-net project. The presentation focused on the essential steps required to establish such an office, with particular attention given to evaluating which steps may already be partially implemented, such as identifying underrepresented groups and pinpointing critical moments in students’ academic journeys when they may be especially vulnerable, and which steps still need to be taken in the future.
Reflecting on the vision for September
Dr. Nataša Simić concluded the session by sharing her knowledge of the most vulnerable student populations and current support mechanisms available at the Faculty. She also highlighted a variety of initiatives already aligned with IDEA principles, both formal and informal, which could serve as a strong foundation for future institutional practices.
The exchange of ideas that followed served as a powerful catalyst for reflection and collaboration. It set the stage for concrete next steps toward building a more inclusive, equitable, and supportive academic environment at the Faculty of Philosophy. In total, 19 participants discussed for 90 minutes and agreed to continue with IDEA activities in September.
Within the span of one week between March and April 2025, the IDEA-net project visited the universities of Belgrade and Zadar to host capacity building on matters of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA) in education. These workshops follow from the first workshop at the University of Ljubljana. We would like to thank our hosting universities for coordinating all necessary preparations as well as the Expertise Center for Diversity Policy and Erasmus University Rotterdam who delivered these workshops.
Our first workshop in Ljubljana
Hosted over two days at the end of the summer of 2024, teaching and administrative staff of the University of Ljubljana gathered at the Faculty of Arts to take part in the IDEA-net’s first capacity building pilot. Discussions tapped into the questions, experiences and expertise of the university faculty staff on:
- The differential qualities of safe, brave and accountable spaces.
- The intersectional and contextual dimensions of diversity.
- How issues regarding diversity, inclusion, exclusion are resonated with, and how these manifest contextually.
- The workings of exclusion mechanism, such as micro-aggressions, and possible interventions.
- Actions for a safe and inclusive campus culture at the University of Ljubljana.
Our second workshop in Belgrade
Led together with the Faculty of Philosophy, participants of the capacity building shared their experience and vision for IDEA concepts, frameworks, policy, practice, networks and community.
The University of Belgrade’s decentralised model of governance set the context for identifying methods to strengthen cooperation and communication between cross-faculty bodies, professors and students to enhance IDEA.
The faculty’s Committee for Student Issues, administration, legal office, students organisation and the vice-deans were in attendance.
Our final workshop in Zadar
At the University of Zadar, participants from the academic departments and Student Counselling Service had the opportunity to become acquainted with current concepts and practices related to ensuring inclusion at higher education institutions, as well as to exchange their own experiences of working with students.
The two-day workshop addressed:
- What are the possible frameworks for ensuring the inclusion of students, as well as staff members, from vulnerable groups?
- What does it mean to foster a culture of belonging within the context of a higher education organization?
- Who are the specific vulnerable student groups at the University of Zadar, and how should they be approached?
- What is the significance of inclusive curricula and pedagogies for teaching practices, and what is their role in supporting students?
In addition to detecting the University’s strengths and spaces for IDEA improvement, participants underlined the importance of Student Counselling Service in providing pyschosocial support to vulnerable students. They also agreed on improving the inclusion of students who work as well as extending IDEA principles to University staff.
The Guideline Toolkit for setting up an IDEA office is designed to be a supporting framework, which post-secondary institutions may also apply to evaluate and improve on Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access activities. University College Dublin (UCD) and the University of Zadar have been the primary leads developing this report, together with the IDEA-net project partnership. The guideline is the product of an extensive desk review and multiple workshops and sessions with IDEA practioners to test its usefulness across borders and cultures. It is neither prescriptive nor exclusionary. Local expertise will be vital in ensuring that the Guideline Toolkit can be adapted as appropriate.
The nine steps
-
- Identify need and underrepresented groups.
- Identify inclusion activities over the student life and employee cycle.
- Establish principles.
- Identify governance structures/prerequisites to enable success.
- Identify stakeholders.
- Source funding and resources.
- Identify an optimal IDEA structure.
- Develop a system for measuring impact.
- Engage students and staff as partners.
Providing clarity of purpose from the outset is a core message to develop an understanding of when, where, and how interventions and activities can be most appropriately made. The steps outline an ambitious plan for post-secondary institutions to celebrate change and diversity. Recommendations are specifically attentive to IDEA-conducive activities as well as intra- and inter-institutional cooperation while generic enough to be beneficial in meeting different benchmarking systems, where based on principles of equity or equality.
Challenges and possible solutions
Feedback gathered in the development of the guideline highlighted the need to address conservative opposition. The importance of working with each other has been stressed, with concrete actions suggested in the guideline to avoid polarisation and “taking sides”.
Fear of saying the wrong thing often fuels resistance to IDEA. By following the nine steps above, education institutions would be taking a crucial step towards agreement on what is and is not within the remit of the IDEA office with all relevant collaborators.
Suggestions for securing institutional management buy-in are included. Where the opening an IDEA office is not possible in the short-term, starting small – from wherever it is possible to start – is beneficial towards a “plus one” approach. This attitude ensures appreciation and the opportunity for small changes to make a significant impact.
