IDEA

Published in the RSAA Lunations
Vol1 Issue69 1–28 February 2026

Welcome back everyone: the year is already in full swing, and it's hard to believe we're almost in March already!

As anticipated late last year, exit interviews for staff and students finishing their time at RSAA are now in place. This process begins with a short, anonymous tick-box online questionnaire that takes no more than a minute to complete, with the option to opt-in for a confidential in-person conversation. With Mat and Christoph's help, we are working to ensure everyone leaving RSAA is captured. A reminder to supervisors: if a staff member or student in your group is finishing their position at RSAA, please encourage them to reach out to me for the questionnaire link. Likewise, if you are finishing your position, feel free to contact me directly and I can provide the link.

The 2025 Equitable Hiring Strategy annual report has also been published and is available via the RSAA IDEA webpage. The report confirms the positive actions being taken across the School, while also highlighting ongoing challenges. In particular, gender balance among applicants and offers continues to largely reflect the current demographic profile of RSAA, underscoring the need for continued and proactive efforts to improve the representation of women. The report also identifies a decline in the use of proactive measures to encourage applications from under-represented groups. When advertising a position, please consider strategies to ensure a strong and diverse pool of candidates, such as reaching out directly to potential candidates or using a wider range of networks and newsletters to advertise positions more broadly.

As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out if you’d like to discuss any of these initiatives, or any other matter related to inclusion and equity.

Luca Casagrande