Representation plays a critical role in shaping how we see ourselves – our identity, skills and what we feel we can achieve – as well as how the world sees us. The proportion of Black students entering undergraduate and postgraduate education in the UK has increased over the past decade, as it has for other minority ethnic groups, but they are leaving STEM in greater numbers at all stages of the career pipeline. In England, young people from the Black major ethnic group are less likely to obtain high grades, enter ‘prestigious’ universities, end up in a highly-skilled job, study further or have career satisfaction. This is what we are looking to address through the Black Inclusivity Catalyst programme, led by Professor Sara Rankin, Dr Wayne Mitchell, Dr Sunday Popo-Ola and, in 2023-24, Dr Joseph van Batenburg-Sherwood.

 

The Black Inclusivity Catalyst programme brings together expert academics, business leaders and organisations to create a springboard for the Black community to access the best support to gain entry to university, progress into postgraduate study, create a startup or develop their careers. The programme also looks to increase the sense of belonging of these students at Imperial. Over the years, a range of activities have taken place as part of the programme, including:

  • Black Founders Challenge Programme – a three-day entrepreneurship programme hosted by Angel Investor Andy Davis, part of Imperial’s Enterprise Lab project Imperial BE (supporting Black entrepreneurship, promoting Black talent and encouraging inclusion through panels, workshops and masterclasses);
  • “Black to the Future” – a full-day event showcasing excellence in UK Black Engineering Research, with TED-style talks from three prominent speakers from academia and industry;
  • R2 Frontiers: Frontiers Revolutions in Biosciences, Computing & Engineering – a two-week Summer programme where up to 50 undergraduate students collaborate on design projects, visit facilities at Imperial, attend talks from Imperial academics and take part in a one-day hackathon;
  • Africa Innovates – a conference promoting internal collaborations between Africa-focused Science, Policy and Education initiatives at Imperial and building bridges with external partners;
  • Empower – an inter-university event held by Imperial’s Black Doctoral Network bringing together over 40 attendees to share experiences of postgraduate studies and careers.
"Students from around the UK are always impressed with their own ability to 'rise to the challenges' that we set for them. This is how we adjust their self-expectations upwards, and show them that coming to a research-intensive university can also mean becoming even more industry-focussed. It is just that we look at the sharp-end of the problems that industry would like to solve." Dr Sunday Popo-Ola, project leader

 

Another exciting aspect of the programme is the Black Graduate Careers Conference, our annual flagship event, which  empowers and inspires Black undergraduates and recent graduates to make informed decisions about their careers and to consider the wide range of benefits of studying a postgraduate degree, as well as promoting a sense of belonging at Imperial. It is open to Black undergraduate and graduate students from any University, and specifically targets Black STEMB graduates from non-Russell Group universities. The conference is a highly popular event, with an increasing number of participants: nearly 100 in 2021/22 (a recording of the event can be found on YouTube), 130 in 2022/23, and over 160 in 2023/24. Feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive: in 2024, 95% of attendees rated the conference 8/10 or higher, and 96.8% recommended it to a friend. Its popularity now extends to Black academics, professionals and entrepreneurs, as well as various businesses and charities: in 2024, there were over 50 speakers on panels and workshops, and 21 businesses and charities exhibiting.

Importantly, these initiatives have successfully encouraged Black UK students to apply for postgraduate study. In 2024, for instance, several students who attended the Black Graduate Careers Conference applied for and successfully secured places at different postgraduate taught courses at Imperial. These applications were the result of students talking directly to academics at the conference. The conference has also led to the establishment of links with researchers outside the UK: in 2022, academics and students from Austin University in Texas researching the experience of Black students in HE attended the event; they went on work with Imperial in developing and co-hosting the first Symposium on Transatlantic Racial Reckoning.

We are excited to continue supporting the personal and professional development of Black heritage students at Imperial and beyond.

 "We’ve successfully enhanced research culture through these activities."
Dr Sunday Popo-Ola, project leader

This work has been partly funded by Research England’s Enhancing Research Culture grant.