Race Equality at UCL Engineering

Read our Black Lives Matter Twitter thread from 10.06.2020

The following statement was sent to all students in UCL Engineering on 18.06.2020

Dear all,
 
We at UCL Engineering believe that Black Lives Matter. To all our Black staff and students, we say: we hear you. We recognise your pain, we acknowledge the stress and hurt and we acknowledge our privilege and the disadvantages you have experienced. Thank you for being with us. We are proud to have you as part of our community. You belong here.

When racism rears its ugly head we must be able to take a stand and do what is right.  We won't always get it right, we acknowledge that, but we will keep trying to do the right thing, and make positive changes to racial equality as part of our faculty ethos to "Change the World”. Whilst we do this, we are prepared to listen and amplify the Black voices in our community and we tell you: you can count on us.  

We are embarking on a long journey to transform ourselves with a comprehensive and strategic Equality, Diversity & Inclusion plan that is now being put forward for consultation and approval by the whole of the Faculty. We have made a comprehensive and ambitious strategic plan for the next 10 years to reinvent ourselves focused not on diversity, but on belonging. 

We are committed to removing the awarding gap and decolonising our curriculum to create an environment in which you can thrive and a faculty you are proud to be a part of.

Our privilege is also evident through the profile of our staff and senior representation at the Faculty and Departmental level.  But we are determined to do better. We will create new opportunities to shadow leadership, we will commit to transparency in recruitment and selection, we will use Fair Recruitment Specialists and will look at structural injustices in terms of equal pay and progression in the light of intersectionality. 

By focusing on belonging, we want to make sure that students (and staff) at all levels at UCL Engineering are comfortable raising, addressing and discussing racism.  We commit to create a safe space where these conversations can happen, where your voices are heard and where you have a direct line of communication and accountability with Senior Leadership.  As part of our strategic plan, we have devised the creation of an ‘EDI Forum’ that will create a unique opportunity for dialogue and reflection and we are committed to use this direct feedback to make changes for the benefit of our whole community.

Most of all, please know that if the toll of recent events is making it more difficult for you to work or study in what are already very challenging circumstances, we are here to support you. No-one should have to put up with racist comments or actions, but we understand that Black members of our community have put up with this throughout their lives. UCL can provide support for students or for staff who have been affected by racism, either directly or in response to things such as the ongoing coverage of violence against Black people in America. We want any staff or students who experience racism within UCL Engineering to know that they can discuss this with their department’s Inclusion lead, or one of UCL’s Dignity Advisors. Any incidents can be reported anonymously or in person through UCL’s reporting system.

With our very best wishes,
 
Prof Vanessa Diaz, Vice Dean, (Equality, Diversity & Inclusion)
Prof John Mitchell, Vice Dean, (Education)
Prof Nigel Titchener Hooker Executive Dean, UCL Engineering 

• Staff: UCL B-MEntor Academic Mentoring Scheme

• UCL Student Support and Wellbeing
• UCL Staff Mental Health resources
• UCL Race Equality webpage 
• Let's Talk About Race and Racism campaign 
• Black Lives Still Matter: inclusion and diversity in our work - UCL Public Engagement
• UCL makes formal public apology for its history and legacy of eugenics

• Association for BME Engineers.
• Race Equality Foundation.
• Runnymede Trust - Race equality think tank.
• Self-Care Tips for Black People Who Are Really Going Through It Right Now.
• TigerSTEMM website  

• BBC News: The Black British history you may not know about
• Black Lives Matter & what solidarity really looks like: UCL Students’ Union article 
• Coursera race, inequality and social justice courses
• Harvard Implicit Association Test
• How to be an active bystander - 5 simple steps: UCL article 
• Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People about Race - Reni Eddo-Lodge.