Posted: 27th July 2023

We are thrilled that our Outreach team has been recognised with a divisional Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Award. Every other year, alternating with the University-wide VC’s Diversity Awards, we recognise staff and students in MPLS who have gone above and beyond in their efforts to advance ED&I within our communities, celebrating individuals and teams that have accomplished amazing things to make our workplaces a better place for all of us.

The Computer Science Outreach team (at the time of award Suzanna Marsh, Sarah Baldwin, Huw Edmunds and Jenny Watson) got the award in the Best Initiative category, ‘for a successful activity or initiative aimed at increasing equality, diversity and inclusion in a department, group, or subject area’. Their award was specifically for the Royal Institution Masterclasses.

The Royal Institution Masterclasses in Computer Science are an ongoing outreach programme that engages year 9 students from state-funded schools across five counties, and then asks the same students to participate in the programme again in years 10 and 11. Schools nominate students to attend sessions across June and July, where they meet speakers from industry, academia and education, learning about computer science topics. When selecting participants, ACORN and POLAR data is used to prioritise students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, and the programme aims for 50% of the cohort of participants to self-identify as female because women are particularly underrepresented within computer science. Schools who have not previously engaged in the programme are also prioritised.

Positive feedback has been received from participants including 'I have gained a lot of experience and knowledge and I love computer science even more' and 'I now have more of a passion for computing'. The programme's continuation and this feedback demonstrates its success.

These MPLS awards are an important way to showcase the incredible work that MPLS colleagues and students undertake, which may otherwise go unnoticed. At the same time, the awards aim to foster and raise awareness of impactful and innovative activities in all areas of equality, diversity and inclusion (including disability, LGBTQ+, race/ethnicity, gender, mental health and wellbeing, and more).