Royal Academy awards £1m to boost diversity and inclusion in university engineering departments

The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) has awarded grants of up to £100,000 each to 11 projects in university engineering departments that address unequal outcomes for students from diverse and underrepresented groups.

Launched in October last year, the Diversity Impact Programme aims to inspire change in university engineering departments so that ‘all students succeed and the unique perspectives and experiences of engineers from diverse backgrounds continue to enhance the profession’. 

Among the 11 projects in the first cohort are several that focus on socioeconomic background and neurodiversity – two areas that are underserved by research, and where available data suggests career progression and sense of belonging within engineering is weak.

Other projects will explore the impact an inclusive culture can have on the outcomes of students from diverse and underrepresented groups, while some will focus specifically on disability, gender, race and ethnicity. 

Universities from all over the UK will be involved, and proposed ‘interventions’ vary from mentoring and work-based projects to the development of an inclusive culture and peer networks. 

RAEng chief executive Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE said: “The academy’s new Diversity Impact Programme has been designed to support universities in making a step change in diversity and inclusivity across engineering higher education.

“Our goal is to help universities to develop interventions, informed by evidence, that transform the outcomes of students from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds. It is vital that we seek innovative and creative ways to accelerate the pace of change, rather than accepting that incremental improvement is all that is possible. 

“There is an extensive evidence base supporting the benefits of diverse teams working in inclusive cultures, but there is still a way to go in understanding how to deliver the culture of inclusion that unlocks the power of diversity. These projects will give us invaluable insights and experience that will be shared across the higher education community, so that we can work collectively to drive positive change”. 

For more details about the 11 projects, visit the academy’s website.