Equality, diversity and inclusion fund project highlights

Led by Dr Jessica Hope and Dr Michael Simpson (School of Geography and Sustainable Development).

BRAP – a black led organisation that works within higher education institutions – ran workshops within the School of Geography and Sustainable Development, which aimed to provide staff with a greater awareness of how racism manifests, and equip staff with a set of tangible tools to identify racism, speak about it in a sensitive way, reflect and make appropriate changes.

The sessions allowed staff to have these conversations outside of academic hierarchies, and most staff within the School have now had some involvement with this, or similar training. This is a great building block for future work within the School in challenging racism and dynamics of privilege in both teaching and research.

Led by Dr Deborah Kent (School of Mathematics and Statistics).

The key aim of the project was to create a bibliography and literature review, providing context for a principled approach to promoting inclusivity in the Mathematics curriculum.

Two research assistants created a reading list which was discussed at several workshops around the UK held by the History for Diversity in Mathematics Network funded by the Isaac Newton Institute.

The resource appeared in the March issue of the American Mathematical Society Notices and the full list is publicly available through ArXiv.org.

Materials related to the project focused on collection and analysis of data were implemented in the History and Future of Data module.

Led by Dr Anna Stefaniak (School of Psychology and Neuroscience).

The key aim of the project was to empower female-identifying staff and students, who are disproportionately the target of sexual harassment and assault, through a series of seminars teaching basic self-defence techniques, based on the ‘Stay Away’ program developed by the International Krav Maga Federation.

Upon completion of the course, participants displayed a significantly stronger belief in their ability to defend themselves, were more ready to use violence in situations that call for such use and were generally more confident in their ability to use the various self-defence techniques (e.g. strikes, kicks, loud voice etc.).

Led by SAASUM (student committee).

The Spring Summit 2024 was SAASUM’s 10th Annual Summit at St Andrews and the theme was Empowering Africa: unveiling the Hidden Drivers Shaping Tomorrow.

Guest speakers included Hilda Kragha, Valerie Obaze, Wangari Muchiri and Sobere Diri.

The awarded funding was primarily allocated to cover the printing costs of the SAASUM Review. The review is a key publication that provides in-depth analysis and insights on various topics discussed during the Summit. It serves as a valuable resource for attendees and contributes to the broader academic and professional discourse on African issues.

Led by Meagan Neves (undergraduate student in the School of Mathematics and BAME Officer) and Michael Pagano (undergraduate student in the School of Classics).

With support from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Student Network, the student-focused symposium brought together staff and students from across multiple disciplines and areas of interest to focus on diversity in academia. Panelists and speakers spoke on a range of different topics including gender-based and queer translation theory in the classics, the Hazara minority-ethnic group in Afghanistan, women in modern Arabic fiction, and the status of museums in western consciousness.

Part 1 and part 2 of the symposium can be viewed online.

Led by Claudia Lubao (postgraduate student in the Schools of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Geography and Sustainability, and Music).

Claudia, also known as Chemical, is a well-established female rapper in Tanzania, recognised as the recipient of the best female hip-hop musician award at the Tanzania Music Awards (TMA2021).

The project “Your Story, Your Song” aimed to utilise music as a platform for advocating issues of EDI. Drawing inspiration from the societal commentary of Bongo Flava, a form of Swahili hip-hop rap in East Africa, the project aimed to explore various music genres by bringing together participants from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and origins; to express their narratives and communicate about relevant issues through music, whilst fostering cultural heritage preservation.

As part of this project, four songs were created by participants, which you can listen to on Spotify.