Project title: Diversity Confidence in Engineering
Funding awarded: £95,782
Summary:
Reflecting challenges in the wider sector, the university’s research suggests that minoritised groups take longer to settle or be accepted, that neurodivergent students struggle to transition into and out of university, that there is an awarding gap between students from some Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds and their peers from white backgrounds, and that women are less attracted to study engineering programmes than men. This project will allow us to lead work that tackles these challenges, by taking an approach which prioritises relationship building and collaboration, bringing together stakeholders from minoritised and majority groups to build skills, empathy and practical frameworks with an explicit aim of developing a more inclusive culture that can shape engineering activity for the public good.
What need does the project address?
The project aims to address the unintended barriers to inclusivity that cause a reduced sense of belonging of students from minoritised groups and lack of agency in interactions with peers, particularly in group work. A stronger sense of belonging should also increase student progression to careers in engineering in industry and research as students are more able to see themselves in these positions. The project recognises that the development of a more inclusive culture requires change on the part of those in the majority, as well as those in the minority and the interventions and expectations proposed as part of this project cover both groups.
What does the project consist of?
The project comprises a series of interconnected activities spanning from induction to progression into graduate positions including facilitation skills development for staff, resource creation, support for student societies, a new approach to design and assessment of group work and regular structured awareness raising activities all underpinned by a framework for student development. The framework will be co-created by students and staff working together to improve inclusion across the faculty. One of the key outputs will be an ‘engineering-for-good’ charter developed by students which highlights, among other things, the importance of inclusive workplace culture to achieve effective engineering outcomes in a diverse society.
What are the expected outcomes?
Intended changes include:
- Building diversity confidence and awareness in staff and students
- For students in minoritised groups: improved sense of belonging to academic community and improved confidence in contributing to their engineering community of practice
- For students in majority groups: being proactive in seeking diversity and confident at supporting inclusion
- A set of resources to enable change, improving diversity confidence in engineering student and staff communities, across the UK HE sector.
This will be seen in an improved approach to group work led by staff with new knowledge of effective group project design and facilitation skills, more and better student interactions across traditional cultural divides and an improved awareness of professional responsibilities to society and how diverse teams working inclusively can deliver value for communities.