Stirling academics shortlisted for the Scottish Women’s Awards

Two academics from the University of Stirling have been shortlisted for prestigious awards celebrating the achievements of women in Scotland.

Professor Carron Shankland has been nominated for Services to Science & Technology at the inaugural Scottish Women's Awards.

Carron Shankland, Professor of Computing Science, and Professor Karen Boyle, co-director of the Centre for Gender and Feminist Studies, have been shortlisted at the Scottish Women’s Awards 2017.

The awards, in their first year, recognise and celebrate the achievements of outstanding women in Scotland – from entrepreneurs, professionals and civil servants to academics, emergency workers and charity workers.

Organisers Creative Oceanic received thousands of nominations from members of the public, industry professionals and other key stakeholders.

Professor Karen Boyle has been shortlisted for her Services to Education.

Professor Shankland is shortlisted in the Services to Science & Technology category. Her work focuses on understanding the behaviour of biological systems through mathematical and computational models.

In 2016, she was one of 12 women in computing and mathematics to receive a Suffrage Science Award recognising both scientific achievement and ability to inspire others.

Passionate about the promotion of careers in science for women, Professor Shankland chairs CygnetS, a best-practice network of computing departments engaged in gender equality work. She initiated the University’s Athena SWAN work, to improve diversity in higher education, and has led it for the past four years.

Professor Shankland said: “I am excited to be doing research that makes a difference to society.

“I hope that, by being nominated for this award, I can act as a role model for young people who may not have realised that a career in science is open to them.”

Professor Boyle is shortlisted in the Services to Education category.

Her main research area is on gender, violence and representation, and underpinning this work is a recognition that changes in representation do not only follow on from social changes, but can also help to bring about those changes. She is the first Professor of Feminist Media Studies in the UK and is committed to working with women’s organisations to think about how academic research works in the world.

Honour

Professor Boyle said: “It is an honour to be nominated alongside other women working to challenge gender inequality across Scotland.

“This is such an exciting time for feminist education in Scotland, and Stirling has been leading the way in the development of applied postgraduate programmes in Gender Studies.

“Learning alongside our students is an absolute privilege and seeing the difference they make in the world is genuinely inspiring."

Irfan Younis, CEO of Creative Oceanic, said: “We are delighted to see so many people getting involved in the inaugural Scottish Women’s Awards.

“We have had a fantastic response from the public and we are looking forward to welcoming and acknowledging the most dedicated and successful Scottish women in a celebration of their tireless work. We would like to wish all the finalists the best of luck.”

The awards will take place at Glasgow’s Crowne Plaza Hotel on Wednesday, 30 August.