Diversity Mark initiative recognised at Advance HE Conference for valuing the student voice<\/p>\n
Members of the Student Success research team were delighted by the response to their Diversity Mark<\/a> <\/strong>presentation and Q&A at the recent annual Advance HE (EDI) Conference that took place in Hull, March 15th<\/sup> and 16TH<\/sup> 2023.<\/p>\n Postdoctoral Research Associate Dr Barbara Adewumi and Senior Diversity Mark Officer Rachel Doorson-Gefferie from Student Success (Central) at the University of Kent presented on the Diversity Mark initiative in the form of the paper \u2018Students as co-producers for a more diverse curricula\u2019<\/strong> to a capacity crowd on the two consecutive days at the annual conference.<\/p>\n Rachel Doorson-Gefferie stated \u201cThe feedback on our presentation from attendees has been overwhelmingly positive and it is wonderful to see Diversity Mark being praised and applauded in an external setting as an innovative, student-centred and effective initiative from an EDI perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n Both Rachel and Barbara agreed, \u201cThe post-presentation Q&A prompted some very interesting discussions and also triggered some exciting expressions of interest for collaborative work on the Diversity Mark from other HEPs in the form of best-practice networking, library initiative developments, consultancy work, podcast production and even parliamentary lobbying.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr Barbara Adewumi concluded, \u201cIt is great to see Diversity Mark, Student Success and the University of Kent leading the way at a national EDI forum and we hope to maximise the impact of our presentation here in the interests of student success through further collaborative work.\u201d<\/p>\n Highlighting the vision, challenges and opportunities of the Diversity Mark initiative, the session focussed on how Diversity Mark puts the student\u2019s voice at the centre of a review and reflection process that aims to create more diverse reading lists, in turn leading to a more inclusive learning experience for all students.\u00a0 An integral part of the initiative is the appointment of specialist student interns who work with module convenors on reviewing the reading lists.\u00a0 Particularly well-received by the audience was the video<\/a> <\/strong>segment by sociology student Paige Sharma, utilising her voice and life experiences as a Black Female student to help enhance the curriculum at the University.\u00a0 Paige is one of the current Diversity Mark officers who supports convenors in their journey towards diversifying their module.<\/p>\n Comprehensive details on the Diversity Mark Award can be found here<\/a> .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"