Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

The management team and all staff associated with the EPSRC-SFI Centre for Doctoral Training in the Advanced Characterisation of Materials (CDT-ACM) wish to state clearly that we renounce discrimination in all forms. The CDT-ACM community is a broad and diverse one where everyone makes significant contributions to the fields of Engineering and Physicals Sciences. Our impact on research, training, education, policy and industry is far-reaching. The world is still very far from a place of equal treatment and opportunity for all and much more must be done.   In the CDT we have made some steps towards helping; by having EDI champions from the student body and the management committee, by our commitment to outreach projects and through reviewing our recruitment process but there is much more that can be done. With Black Lives Matter – we stand in solidarity and will act on the words and actions of those speaking out about racism and intolerance.

Within the CDT we all have a responsibility, collectively and individually, to tackle discrimination. All students and staff must identify and report all discriminatory and bullying behaviour, and treat others with respect and dignity, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, disability, age or national origin. We understand that there is still a way to go, but we are committed to carrying out a number of actions to address these issues. We, as a CDT, pledge to:

• Introduce a Code of Conduct for all staff and students and communicate this through our website.
• Continue to cultivate a community in which everyone feels welcomed, respected and can develop to their full potential.
• Continue to monitor and modify our recruitment processes to ensure that these are fair.
• Continue to develop outreach activities and develop policies to encourage applicants from the widest range of backgrounds.
• Continue to work closely with colleagues to ensure that all staff and student interactions are always respectful and unbiased.
• Ensure that all students and management board members continue to undertake the unconscious bias training.
• Always welcome your suggestions and feedback on new initiatives and translate these into actions.

If you have been affected by recent events or have experienced discrimination in any form, the CDT is here to support you. There are a number of resources available to you and these are listed below.

Imperial College London

• UKRI Equality, Diversity and inclusion website
• Imperial Support for student page
• Imperials Resources
• Imperial Student wellbeing advisers – Faculty of Engineering list of wellbeing advisors

 University College London

• Black and Minority Ethnic Student’s Network– represents the views of students’ at UCL who self-define as BME, including but not limited to, students with African, Asian, Arab, Caribbean and Indigenous heritages. This involves meetings to discuss issues that affect the network, running of campaigns and projects, and attending socials
• UCL Race Equality
• Racial and Xenophobic Harassment– Information on racial and xenophobic harassment, including who to contact for support, advice and positive action
• UCL African Caribbean Society– a society for meeting new people, learning about African and Caribbean cultures, and finding opportunities to help your future.
• Racial trauma after tragedy and supporting black students
• The UCL Doctoral School summarises resources for Support and Advice
• Accessing counselling at UCL Student Psychological and Counselling Services (SPCS) can provide a variety of free counselling, therapy and support options. Find out more about all their service.
• UCL HR is offering wellbeing support to PhD students as well; you can find your local Wellbeing Champion and Mental First Aiders there as well.
• UCL PGR Financial Assistance Fund for those who experience unexpected financial need.

Trinity College Dublin

• TCD Equality website https://www.tcd.ie/equality/.
• SAGE Charter – https://www.sage-growingequality.eu/web/assets/media/publications/sage_publications/sage_charter_of_principles_for_GE.pdf
• Athena SWAN https://www.tcd.ie/tcgel/athena-swan/
• Gendered Innovations: https://genderedinnovations.stanford.edu/
• TCD Equality Policy https://www.tcd.ie/equality/policy/equality-policy/
• Diversity and Inclusion, TCD:  https://www.tcd.ie/diversity-inclusion/
• Peer Support S2S: https://student2student.tcd.ie/
• SU Welfare Officer: welfare@tcdsu.org
• Trinity Postgraduate Student Support Officer: pgsupp@tcd.ie
• GSU President: president@tcdgsu.ie
• GSU Welfare Officer: vicepresident@tcdgsu.ie
• TCD Afro-Caribbean Society: http://trinitysocieties.ie/society/?socid=131

The CDT is also committed via the memberships of our institutes to Athena Swan, time to change, Disability confident and Race Equality Charter

Elwin Hunter

Studying my PhD as part of the ACM CDT not only provided me with valuable training courses and workshops on characterisation techniques, but also regular academic seminars, team activities, and discussions to help expand my interests, both inside and outside of research.