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Where did the idea for A Write Space come from?

Mairi: "I'd been speaking with my former colleague and co-founder, Kate Mawson, and explaining how much I struggled to maintain prioritising written work - the kind where you need to really think and create something that clearly communicates your ideas, motivations and purpose to others. It wasn’t so much about help with writing - instead, it was about help with prioritising writing that I needed.

ÌÇÐÄTV International Higher Education Academy (WIHEA) hosted our pilot sign-up sheet, to see if our planned format of two hours a week for six weeks was about right. It was really effective and we were delighted that Leadership and Management Development (LMD) offered us a home for our web sign-up and support pages, which I now co-host with LMD's Harriet Richmond."

Above: Mairi, who's a Professor at WMG with a focus on design (product, service and experience).

Can any staff member join the programme?

Mairi: "A Write Space is open to all staff in Research, Education and Professional Services, as well as students - we've had some really interesting PhD students use the time to help with the challenge of write-up.

We've also had members from other institutions as far afield as Australia, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, and Florida! Some of these short-term attendees have then used A Write Space's material and format to establish their own writing group. It’s a joyous thing that celebrates and gives space to the very essence of the role University plays in society."

Attendees of the group say that it's a powerful way for them to access their ideas and creativity. How does that feel?

Mairi: "I'm mindful that I have the privilege of working alongside some of the world’s leading academics and top talent. Such talent thrives when given space to develop, and I'm also mindful that this space can be hard to find in the day-to-day. A Write Space protects time to invest in the work that is meaningful and generally has greater importance than the urgent emails and demands that can feel so compelling.

Knowing I am part of this community and I have helped support this community makes me feel proud. It’s that sweet spot of recognising I am very small and that I, too, am important."

Can you tell us about about some pieces that wouldn't have been written without A Write Space?

Mairi: "There are so many! I wrote a proposal for a workshop on developing professional identity through playful methods, to run at an International Education conference. This was accepted, and the conference organisers funded myself and three other colleagues to deliver this workshop and attend the other sessions of the conference.

This has led to several of the conference attendees submitting papers to me and Harriet for a special issue of the Review of Education that we are co-editing, Learning with the Playful Body: Embodied Learning in Play-based and Creative Learning in the Review of Education. Needless to say, Harriet and I wrote the proposal to be guest editors for the Review of Education in A Write Space."