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Exploring the experiences of BME students studying Brain Sciences at UCL

This case study describes a student-led project aimed at highlighting and improving the experiences of BME students at UCL.

27 July 2021

Case study by Manuela Sadik

What was the aim of your project?

We wanted to learn more about the experiences of BME students studying Brain Sciences at UCL. We aimed to use this information to identify potential ways of decreasing the attainment gap between BME and non-BME students. 

What did you do?

We hosted focus groups with BME students to explore their experiences and opinions about UCL. 

What were the main successes of the project?

The focus groups went really well. Although we discovered that there were no distinct differences between the experiences of BME and non-BME students at UCL, we learned that some felt isolated from the rest of the student body due to being a minority. We identified strengthening the relationship between such students and their personal tutor as a potential way to help them to feel more comfortable and included at UCL.

What difficulties did you face during your project? What would you do differently?

Given more time, we would have hosted more focus groups to gather a wider range of opinions and experiences. Our focus groups had a high female-to-male ratio, so we would have focused on finding ways to engage with more male BME students to further explore their specific experiences. 

What impact has your project had? On whom?

This project will make a small but significant difference to BME students studying Brain Sciences at UCL. We hope it will give direction and inspiration to future projects endeavouring to explore methods of ensuring that BME students have, and can make the most of, the same academic opportunities as non-BME students.

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