UCL aims to address inequality across the post-graduate research
student lifecycle and barriers that exist for students from
Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups through a new
programme funded by Research England and the Office for Students.
The programme, In2research, is receiving a £790,000 grant as one
of 13 projects announced today by UKRI as part of an £8m funding
call to improve access and participation for BAME students in
postgraduate research study.
Co-led by UCL and social mobility charity In2scienceUK, the
project has a particular focus on supporting UK-domiciled
students from Black, Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds, who
are most acutely under-represented in postgraduate research study
and academic careers. It aims to strengthen students’
applications to postgraduate programmes, build confidence,
increase networking opportunities, and extend support through an
alumni community.
Professor Sasha Roseneil, UCL Pro Provost (Equity
& Inclusion), said: “Whilst UCL’s UK undergraduate
students have become increasingly ethnically and racially diverse
over recent years, our PhD student community, and, even more so,
our academic staff are far less representative of the UK
population.
“We urgently need to address the social processes and cultures
that maintain the academy as a white, majority ethnic space. The
In2research programme offers a really exciting opportunity to
take forward evidence-based interventions that will open up
postgraduate research and academic careers to Black, Asian and
minority ethnic students.”
The programme is led at UCL by UCL’s Doctoral School and the
Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging. It is a collaboration
with project partners UCL Students’ Union, Leading Routes,
UK-Pakistan Science and Innovation Global Network (UPSIGN), City,
University of London and the University of Cambridge.
Paulette Williams, Founder & Managing Director of Leading
Routes, said: “We are delighted to be a partner on the
In2research programme. The pipeline to academic careers begins
way before the PhD application stage and this programme aligns
with our aspirations to support Black students on that journey as
early as possible.”
Over the course of the project, UCL will work with its partners
to recruit over 300 students to engage with a 12-month mentoring
and development programme - including an 8-week paid research
placement with experienced academics and mentors.
Implemented over the next four years, the programme will also
promote institutional culture change through cultural and race
literacy training for staff who supervise, train or support
postgraduate research students, led by project partners Leading
Routes and UPSIGN.
Professor David Bogle, UCL Pro-Vice-Provost (Doctoral School),
said: “The PhD student cohort, which is the pipeline to research
careers within and beyond the academy helping drive innovation in
society, needs to be more diverse and representative. This
project will help accelerate our actions to achieve this and
build a strong partnership to embed change.”
Students, academic staff and professional services staff from
several faculties and central services contributed to the
In2research project working group and consultations, and provided
input into the design of the access and participation programme.
The project’s vision is to be a sustainable, national programme
that strategically embeds equity, diversity and inclusion values
and shares effective practice across the higher education sector.
Notes to Editors
More information on Leading Routes can be found at www.leadingroutes.org
More information on the In2research programme and In2scienceUK
can be found at www.in2scienceuk.org/in2research
