Speakers
Sally Lambah
Presentation
This session shares the story of the Medr National VAWDASV Project, a sector-wide collaboration led by Wrexham University and The Open University in Wales on behalf of all nine Welsh universities. We will explore how the project came about, from the national policy context, including the Welsh Government VAWDASV Blueprint Toolkit, and Medr’s emerging expectations on staff and learner welfare, to the shared recognition that no single institution could address violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence in isolation. We will reflect on what it has taken to move from an idea to a funded, coordinated programme of work across policy, training, data and practitioner networks.
The session will focus on the partnerships at the heart of the project: Medr, Welsh Government, Welsh Women’s Aid, Public Health Wales and Welsh higher education institutions. We will share how these relationships have developed, what each partner brings, and how we intend to join up their expertise to build a consistent, trauma-informed and evidence-led approach across the sector, building on the Toolkit rather than duplicating it. Delegates will leave with practical learning on building and sustaining cross-sector partnerships, and ideas they can apply in their own institutions.
Ceri Wilcock is Deputy Director, Student Experience at The Open University in Wales, where she leads a broad portfolio of work focused on improving student experience, support, learner engagement and success.
Ceri began her career as an advice and guidance practitioner and has worked across student-facing services and higher education leadership for over 20 years. This practitioner background continues to shape her approach, with a strong interest in how institutions design support around the needs and experiences of students, particularly those who may face additional barriers to participation and success. She is also a Trustee of Cardiff Metropolitan University Students’ Union, bringing an additional perspective on student voice, governance and the relationship between universities and students’ unions.
Alongside her role at the OU, Ceri leads and contributes to Wales-wide partnership work and is currently co-leading a Medr-funded national project exploring how the Welsh higher education sector can strengthen its approach to violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence (VAWDASV). The project reflects her wider interest in collaboration, student safety, equality of opportunity and translating policy and regulatory expectations into practical improvements for students.
