EDI STEMM Colloquium
Organizers: Betti Hartmann (UCL) 29 January 2025, 11:00 - 12:00, Drayton House B06
Charlotte Kestner (Imperial College London)
Women in Imperial Mathematics: Why so scarce, and can anything be done?
The proportion of women on the mathematics degree at Imperial is very low: indeed lower than other elite mathematics courses. In this talk I will discuss my MEd project that investigates reasons for gender disparity in elite undergraduate mathematics courses, with a particular focus on Imperial’s practices. In particular I investigate the use of the MAT and STEP exams for admissions, finding that they likely increase this disparity due to negatively calibrated mathematical self-concept in women.
9 October 2024, 14:00-15:00
Órla Meadhbh Muray (Northumbria University Newcastle and Durham University))
Girl Bossing Imposter Syndrome? Unevenly Distributed Imposter Work in STEMM Do you persistently feel like a fraud despite your achievements? Do you worry that you are one mistake away from being exposed as an imposter? You may be experiencing imposter syndrome. This talk provides a critical discussion of imposter syndrome based on recent sociological research (as discussed in Sociology Sociology and the LSE HE blog https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/highereducation/2022/10/20/we-cannot-self-care-our-way-out-of-impostor-syndrome/ ) on imposter syndrome and inequalities in STEMM UK higher education, alongside broader research on unequal early career academic experiences. We will discuss what produces imposter feelings and how might we collectively respond in UK universities?
9 May 2024, 14:00-15:00
Camille B. Kandiko Howson (Centre for Higher Education Research and Scholarship, Imperial College London)
Widening participation in STEM: The use of contextual data in admissions practices National research on the use of contextual data in admissions is generalised across disciplines, and largely draws on national datasets and interviews with heads of admissions. Research has shown the engagement with and confidence of using contextual data varies across the sector. However, the role of contextual data and “grade-dropping” have different consequences for STEM programmes, which build on previous knowledge in more linear fashions. This talk explores use of contextual data in Maths admissions, and reflects on continuing work by Master’s and PhD students on equity in Maths admissions
14 February 2024, 14:00 - 15:00
Louise Archer (University College London)
Understanding young people's mathematics and STEM trajectories: Evidence from the ASPIRES study This talk draws on evidence from the ESRC-funded ASPIRES research on the factors shaping young people's trajectories into/away from science, computing, engineering and mathematics. The study tracked a cohort of young people for over a decade, from age 10-22, surveying over 48,000 young people and conducting over 740 longitudinal interviews with a sub-sample of young people and their parents/carers. The talk presents an overview of the key reasons shaping the likelihood of a young person pursuing a STEM trajectory, with a particular focus on factors shaping maths degree trajectories and the role of intersectional inequalities. Implications for educational policy and practice are discussed.
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