Widening Participation

Widening Participation at IGH

We are a sub-group of the IGH EDI committee working on widening participation in education at both undergraduate and post-graduate level.

Our aim is to redress inequities in access to and achievement in higher education at IGH and more widely. Specifically, we aim to improve the: (1) representation and performance of disadvantaged school students in undergraduate courses, (2) representation and performance of less advantaged international students, and (3) gender balance in IGH post-graduate courses.

We use global health as an entry point into highlighting educational and career pathways for learners from disadvantaged backgrounds. Global health is uniquely multidisciplinary and therefore well-placed to demonstrate a variety of non-traditional career and learning progressions. This can be a vital tool in showing disadvantaged learners, many of whom may be the first in their family to consider or undertake higher education, that there are many paths to success  – regardless of initial educational or career decisions.

Meet the team

Gerard Abou Jaoude

Widening Participation Champion

Gerard is a Research Fellow in Health Economics at the Institute for Global Health. I first got involved in Widening Participation in 2018. My sister and I were the first to go to university in our family and I know first-hand how valuable it is to be exposed to others that have attended further education. Simply speaking with others can help dispel myths around belonging in university, access to finance and other key barriers to pursuing higher education. My favourite part of being involved so far has been our event with KS4 students and receiving their positive feedback.

Ana Correa

Ana was born and raised in Colombia and completed her studies in the UK. She has research experience in epidemiology, infectious disease surveillance, mental health, and social protection programmes. She is a lecturer and programme director for the Health Economics and Decision Science MSc, which hosts a diverse student body. Ana is heavily involved in mentoring activities and is passionate about opening up opportunities in higher education for all.

Hattie Lowe

Hattie is a Research Fellow and PhD student in the Institute for Global Health at UCL. Hattie feels strongly about helping people from underrepresented groups to access the information and support they need to make informed choices about their future. 

Rebecca Irons

Rebecca is a Wellcome Trust research fellow working with Venezuelan migrants living with HIV in Latin America. As a first generation academic, she is interested in widening participation for underrepresented groups and have particular interest in encouraging state-school educated students to pursue higher education.

Previous Events

Global Health Taster day 

We put together a “Do Something Different Day” as part of central UCL widening participation activities. This involved introducing A-level students to global health economics to highlight the wide variety of courses available at university, beyond the usual vocational subjects, and help them select an undergraduate course closer to their interests.

Aim Higher event

Together with Aim Higher London, we hosted KS4 students for a taster day in global health at UCL. Students met academics and were shown around campus. Sessions were provided on financial support available to access higher education, and the day ended with students taking on the role of academics they met in an Ebola outbreak scenario. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, except for a couple of clear objections to the vegetarian pizza that was on offer.

WP Opportunities for Volunteers

Help inspire the next generation of researchers by mentoring or hosting a placement on the In2Research programme.

Are you In2research?

Help inspire the next generation of researchers by mentoring or hosting a placement on our 2023/24 programme.

The In2research programme is co-developed by UCL and In2scienceUK and aims to help people from low-socioeconomic and underrepresented backgrounds access PhDs and research careers. Over the academic year, participants access an 8-week research placement in their area of interest, tailored workshops, subject-specific mentoring and support to build their skills and experience.

Find out more and apply

 WP Funding Opportunities

UCL Access Initiative Projects - department funding to develop programmes and events that address local access gaps for underrepresented groups (Next round closes 19 Nov 2023) 

Student Success Funds - to enable the academic success, retention, and continuation of underrepresented UK domiciled undergraduate students (Next round expected Autumn Term 2023/2024)