Welcome to the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion  (EDI) Workgroup homepage

Introduction

This group was set up (in Nov 2021) with the aim of embedding EDI and social justice into the culture of the Centre, and to be an integral part of the way we do things at all levels. Our motive – to help contribute to making a fairer, more just and equitable society.

The WG focus includes how we work with each other on a day-to-day basis (such as meetings and workshops, and providing support to our members), how we do our research (e.g. exploring decolonising environmental science), and our outreach and communications (including recruitment).

Working in communication with the EDI teams in our partner organisations, the WG aims to develop changes from small, individual actions, to larger programmes and initiatives.

All Centre members, including affiliates, are very welcome to be involved, whether to just listen, add views and ideas, or  lead or help with an EDI project. Please contact Adriana Ford at a.ford@imperial.ac.uk

 

EDI activities in the Centre

Effective EDI requires both introspection and tangible actions. Here, we provide an overview, with links to further details, on some of the activities we’ve taken in the Centre to date. Our aim is not to just talk about EDI, but to also ‘walk the walk’.

 

Visiting Researchers

Decolonising Fire Science

International Bursaries

We are actively supportive in hosting and providing financial support for visiting researchers from low and middle-income countries. In May 2024, we welcomed visiting researcher Candice Charlton from University of West Indies, providing full funding for a 3 week visit, to support researcher mobility, knowledge exchange and to scope future collaboration opportunities, which has already led to one grant application.

Read more here

We have been running a series of events and actions on decolonising fire science. You can find out more below:

Workshop 1: Decolonising Fire Science – An Introduction. Workshop Report  or view the blog here

Workshop 2: Decolonising Fire Science – Critical Conversations – view the full report here

Workshop 3: Decolonising Fire Science – Fire Across Contested Landscapes  View the blog here and published paper

Workshop 4: Decolonising Climate Research: an art-science workshop

Further workshops coming soon. We aim to transfer the learnings from the workshop into practical resource/guidance on decolonising fire science.

In our Leverhulme Wildfires Summer Conference 2023 we offered two full bursaries for PhD or Masters students from countries with low-income or middle-income economies  to attend in person, to support researcher mobility and knowledge exchange. The awards went to Aline Naawa (University of Lomé, Togo) and Naftal Kariuki (Kenyatta University, Kenya). Read more here

Our plan is to offer a similar bursary in future conferences.

UROP at Imperial

International Women’s Day

Generating Genius

We provide funding for up to two Undergraduate Research Opportunity Placements at Imperial to carry out wildfires research (e.g. 2021 projects) each year. We particularly encourage applications by Black students, as well as from individuals who are members of current and historically underrepresented groups. To celebrate International Women’s Day 2022, we spoke to 15 women in the Centre about about their research, the challenges they’ve faced, and advice to women wanting to pursue a career in science In 2020 we partnered with charity Generating Genius, engaging students from African and Caribbean backgrounds in a virtual wildfire challenge

 

Leadership Team