The Human Sustainability Expo: prioritising people, potential and wellbeing in the organisation

Bio

Dr Vicky Cockerill is a dual-qualified Mental Health and Learning Disability Nurse and Accredited Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist. She has extensive experience in delivering clinical, managerial and safeguarding supervision within the healthcare sector, supporting workforce development and promoting safe, effective practice.

Objectives

This workshop will showcase how structured supervision can enhance workforce sustainability by reducing sickness absence, improving engagement and increasing motivation.

Drawing on the experiences of supervision in healthcare and evidence, the transferability of these strategies across other workforce sectors.

Bio

Dr Caroline Harvey is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology and has led the development of compassionate communication approaches for students and staff in education. 

Objectives

This workshop will enable delegates to identify helpful and unhelpful communicative behaviours and learn techniques to support a more supportive culture through implementing elements of compassionate communication. 

Be able to identify some of the helpful and unhelpful communicative behaviours. Have awareness of techniques to address unhelpful behaviours.

Bio

Orla Kelleher is a senior lecturer in Responsible Management at Derby International Business School, University of Derby. She is a Sustainability Champion and PRME (Principles of Responsible Management Education) lead for the school and a member of the UN PRME Working Group on Sustainability Mindset. She leads on climate education for the Derby International Business School and is programme leader and module leader for the MSc Sustainable and Ethical Business Management for both business leaders and full-time postgraduate students, where she takes a purpose-driven, values-led, systems-thinking and regenerative approach to business development.

Objectives

Through the medium of storytelling to explain how we lost connection with nature and what shifts in mindset we need to make to realise a regenerative, positive and healthy future.

Storytelling for Change:

• Part 1 - New insights into how humans lost connection with nature
• Part 2 - Unintended consequences
• Part 3 - Shift in mindset for regenerative future

Bio

Mark Gilman is a professor of Economics and Director of the Regional Economic Observatory. Mark both researchers and works directly with entrepreneurs to understand and develop productivity and growth for SMEs.

Objectives

People within organisations are readily cited as a source of competitive advantage. Yet very little is known concerning how to develop this. This session will explore and explain what factors are involved and how to build processes, systems and culture to support such an environment.

1. To understand how people can be developed for competitive advantage.
2. To understand how to motivate and increase productivity, innovation and effectiveness.
3. To understand the changing nature of the employment relationship in the new digital revolution. 

Bio

Dr Tom Outram is a senior lecturer in Sports Biomechanics who specialises in research on movement sequencing. Tom also leads the University's Human Performance Unit, which provides expert sport science services to athletes of all abilities.

Josh Davidson is a lecturer in Clinical Exercise Science and specialises in physical preparation and rehabilitation interventions that prioritise both health and high-performance. 

Objectives

To showcase how the principles of high performance in sport and exercise science can impact workforce engagement and productivity. 

1. To explore the relationship between employee health and well-being and workforce productivity.
2. To demonstrate how physical screening and health status assessments can be easily employed to assess the health and well-being of a workforce. 

Management KTP (MKTP) is a programme part-funded by Innovate UK, designed to inject significant management expertise into organisations.

Join the University of Derby for a workshop designed to help employers understand how MKTPs can support your organisation evolve, deliver growth, and support your journey towards human sustainability.

Objectives

1. Understand if your organisation is eligible for support
2. Get a clear understanding of the support available and the funding mechanism
3. Practical example of  how UoD collaborates with partners to introduce strategic management activities for transformational changes

Bio

Jayne Davies, Employer Engagement Lead for both Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Carers Associations. Jayne leads the Carers In Employment project, offering consultancy and training to employers. Jayne's background in personnel management, previously an owner-manager of an SME, and her own lived experience of juggling work and caring responsibilities inform the guidance offered to employers.

Objectives

The workshop raises employer awareness of unpaid carers in the workplace and highlights the real organisational and economic costs of failing to support them. Using both national and regional data and new economic modelling from Carers Trust, participants will understand how caring responsibilities affect workforce participation, productivity, retention, and financial wellbeing—alongside the business case for carer‑friendly policies.

After completing the workshop, participants will:

1. Understand the scale and hidden nature of unpaid caring in the labour market
2. Recognise the employment barriers unpaid carers face
3. Understand the economic and organisational cost of not supporting carers
4. Know practical steps to build a carer‑friendly workplace
5. Commit to at least one improvement in their own organisation.

Bio

Alistair has been a senior academic at the University of Derby for 13 years, leading programme provision across a number of areas, including health, development, and research practices. Alistair also provides private research and consultancy services focused on employee health, workplace wellbeing, and approaches to research and investigation.

Objectives

"Keep Britain Working" (KBW) marks a pivotal shift in UK policy, positioning employers as essential partners in public health. This moves the conversation beyond simple absence management toward a broader framework of human sustainability—focusing on the long-term value and well-being of the workforce.

With the Vanguard Phase already shaping standards and national expansion expected within 24 months, organisations are best served by taking the initiative early. While the incoming Workplace Health Intelligence Unit will offer specialised, evidence-based guidance, centralised frameworks risk overlooking the nuanced realities of your specific operating environment.

This session explores how to bridge that gap. We will demonstrate how a proactive approach allows you to identify specific root causes of health risks in your business, ensuring you can tailor interventions that improve outcomes and access to future incentives.

1. Contextualise the Shift: To consider KBW through the lens of human sustainability, understanding how the transition from the Vanguard to the Expansion Phase will redefine employer responsibilities.
2. Evaluate the Gap: To assess why reliance on external guidance—however specialised—can fail to address your organisation's unique constraints, and the strategic value of defining your own health evidence base.
3. Prepare for Implementation: Actions for assessing current provision and piloting local interventions, ensuring you have the data to demonstrate what works for your people before national standards roll out.