How do workers design their future when traditional career pathways are threatened by unstable environments? More importantly, how do women approach new literacies (be they digital and non-digital) when natural disasters and human-induced social and political instabilities threaten their work-related journeys?

This project aims to establish a growing network of academic and non-academic stakeholders who will investigate the relationship between digital literacies, entrepreneurial training opportunities and women’s vulnerabilities in unstable contexts.

Support for this application will go towards the organization of two professional meetings in Glasgow and Manila, with activities focused on research planning, development of new methodologies and public meetings with non-academic stakeholders. Partners from three countries (UK, Iran and the Philippines) will work on strengthening and establishing new collaborations in order to tackle the issue of women’s engagement with digital literacies and their changing roles as they transition into the workplace. The meetings will aim to develop a research agenda that will investigate both women’s vulnerabilities as well as their opportunities to build sustainable futures for themselves through the effective use of digital literacies in the context of economic and infrastructural challenges (UK), environmental disasters (the Philippines) and human-induced challenges (global political and economic sanctions on Iran).

PI: Dr. Lavinia Hirsu (University of Glasgow, School of Education)

Co-Is: Dr. Katarzyna Borkowska (University of Glasgow); Professor Matthew Chalmers (University of Glasgow); Professor Zenaida Reyes (Professor and Director of Linkages and International Office, Philippine Normal University); Lamiah Hashemi (University of Kurdistan Technology Incubator, Iran)

Duration: 15 January - 30 June 2019

Funding: Scottish Funding Council/Global Challenges Research Fund (2018-2019) £30,425