We have obtained the renewalof the Athena SWAN Bronze award, first given in 2015, and renewed in 2018. You can find out more in this news item and our commitment to Diversity and inclusion.

The Engineering and Informatics Athena SWAN committee is chaired by Dr. Spyros Skarvelis-Kazakos (he/him).

About Athena SWAN

The School of Engineering and Informatics is celebrating International Women's Day on 8th March 2022. This day recognises the achievements of women across society, including in economics, politics, and culture. It also calls for further action to contribute to women's equality worldwide.

Women in STEM

We are using International Women's Day to celebrate women in STEM. Although women have made incredible achievements in STEM fields, they are still underrepresented in STEM disciplines. This is due to gender stereotyping and systemic bias, a lack of visible role models and lack of confidence because of this. As part of combating this imbalance, we need to showcase powerful women role models and highlight the potential career paths for women throughout STEM professions.

International Women's Day at the School of Engineering and Informatics

To celebrate International Women's Day 2022, we have created a week-long exhibition of women in Engineering and Informatics to highlight the many contributions and achievements of women from around the world. This display will be on our digital display boards and outside the Chichester I Lecture Theatre until March 9.

The women we are celebrating with our display are:

Hu Qiheng - Computer Scientist and Internet Pioneer (1934- )

Wanda Austin - Aerospace Engineer and Presidential Council Advisor (1954-)

Valentina Tereshkova - Engineer, Cosmonaut and Politician (1937- )

Kimberly Bryant - Electrical Engineer, Biotechnologist, CEO (1967- )

Lynn Conway - Computer Scientist, Electrical Engineer, Inventor (1938- )

Jess Wade - Physicist in Plastic Electronics, Campaigner for Diversity in STEM (1988- )

Rana el Kaliouby - Computer Scientist, Entrepreneur (1978- )

Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay - Computer Scientist, Computational Biologist (1968- )

Yvonne Brill - Rocket and Jet Propulsion Engineer (1924-2013)

Student Societies working towards gender equality STEM

Everyone in Engineering 

Gender Representation in Computing Society (GRiCS) 

Career Timelines

These timelines illustrate the career progression of some of our faculty members. We aim to show you the many routes your career could take, including the ups, downs, and unexpected turns. See on padlet.

We provide support to our female student’s initiatives: Robogals and Equality in Engineering Societies aimed at promoting a better student gender balance and inclusion. Robogals proposes playful workshops to initiate young people to robotics and coding. Equality in Engineering, organizes talks by our alumni or students to open career opportunities or make complex problems more accessible. These societies are led by our Engineering and Informatics students.

The following awareness poster campaign started in 2019 and it is displayed in our School teaching rooms and digitally promoted among staff and students.

Since 2019, the School of Engineering and Informatics has stablished a partnership with Women's Engineering Society (WES) to strengthen our commitment to support our students and staff development, by having access to a professional network of women engineers, scientists and technologists offering inspiration and support. There will be a series of events co-sponsored by WES, if you are interested in being part, please contact Dr. Elizabeth Rendon-Morales.

If you have any suggestions for improving female representation within the School, you can email us the Academic Lead Elizabeth Rendon-Morales / Athena Swan chair Spyros Skarvelis-Kazakos

The School of Engineering and Informatics celebrated International Women in Engineering Day on 23 June 2022. 

INWED aims to raise the profile of women in Engineering, and encourage more women to join the Engineering profession. The School of Engineering and Informatics recognises that women are still vastly underrepresented within Engineering due to gender stereotyping, systemic bias, and a lack of visible role models.  

According to the 2021 Engineering UK Gender Disparity Report , only 12% of people working in engineering professions were women, yet women make up 47% of the total workforce.  As part of combating this imbalance, there is a need to showcase powerful women role models and highlight the potential career paths for women throughout STEM professions. 

The EDI team in Engineering and Informatics are highlighting the importance of male allies in achieving gender equality. In encouraging male allies, the School recognises that the gender disparity within engineering is everyone’s issue, and that people of all genders should all be working towards equality as a common goal. It is crucial that men in engineering help to uplift the women around them, and speak out against sexism where they see it.  Staff profiles includes a picture of the faculty member and an encouraging comment supporting our celebration of Women in Engineering within the School.   

To celebrate this year's INWED theme of inventors and innovators, and to give a platform to the achievements of women, the School have been showcasing women inventors on social media and on their digital display screens this week:  

• Hedy Lamaar - Invented a method of transmitting radio signals. 
• Deepika Kurup - Invented a method of water purification.   
• Lin Lanying - Invented a new way to manufacture monocrystalline silicon.
  
• Patricia Bath - Invented a medical device that improves on the use of lasers to remove cataracts.  
• Lucy Hughes - Invented a bio-plastic made out of waste from the fishing industry.   

The full campaign is shared on the School  social media pages.  In addition, staff were asked to share an encouragement for our students, and those wanting to study or join STEM careers, which are displayed on a padlet.   

The School of Engineering and Informatics is committed to working towards racial equity. We recognise that to enable success for all staff and students, we must directly address institutional and structural racism.

It is vital that we acknowledge the real racist events that occur within our School, listen to Black and other people of colour’s voices and lived experiences, do work to understand how we can take action to build more equitable and just spaces, and act to work for sustainable change. If you have any concerns about racism within the School, you can contact anyone in the School EDI committee.

Black Lives Matter

The School of Engineering and Informatics pledges its support to Black students and staff across the University. We condemn the violence and terror of racism in all its forms. We also acknowledge its structural presence and histories in all our lives.

Recent events are a powerful reminder that locally we can lose no more time in bringing about the cultural shift we would like to see in wider society. We recognise the urgency of addressing racism within the higher education sector and the specific work we can do to ensure that our staff and students reflect the values that will move us towards justice. Staff and students are critical in helping us all to identify our shortcomings as a School and as an institution, and the actions we should take in response.

Many of our students and staff work on anti-racist projects already, but this labour is overwhelmingly provided voluntarily. This is not acceptable. The University needs to support this work by putting additional actual resources in place. At School level and beyond, we will work to make sure that this labour is valued and recognised. Our goal is to increase the diversity of our community, and we will work to ensure equitable opportunity for Black applicants in the recruitment of both staff and students. We will examine promotion practices to ensure equitable opportunity and we will make training on cultural competency and race equality mandatory for all staff. We will revise our teaching and learning materials and methods where necessary to fully reflect the diversity of our subject and to remove cultural bias. We welcome the challenge of transforming our culture.

The School of Engineering and Informatics recognises the need to better support disabled staff and students. We strive to make our building as accessible as possible, and ensure our estate is inclusive. Whether our community has physical, mental or hidden disabilities, a key priority will be to improve provision for disabled staff and students. Special exam arrangements, deadlines, mentoring, and adjustments are available for disabled students.

If you feel something has gone wrong, talk to someone. We have EDI staff who can provide advice, support and guidance. You can also contact Dr. Emeline Brule.

Find out more at the links below:

• All support available to students
• Study Support

We have produced an LGBTQ careers guide. 

The School of Engineering and Informatics are celebrating LGBTQ+ STEM Day on 18 November 2021. This day recognises the work of LGBTQ+ people done in the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths. It also aims to highlight the difficulties and barriers still faced by LGBTQ+ people in these fields. This date was chosen to remember the struggle of Astronomer and gay rights activist Frank Kameny, who fought against workplace discrimination in the US supreme court from the 1960s.

Find out more from the official organizers, Pride in STEM.

We recognise that LGBTQ+ individuals are underrepresented in STEM fields, and often face barriers in both education and the workplace. In the School of Engineering and Informatics we are working to make sure that our school is the best possible environment for all students and staff.

 Dr Kate Howland, Senior Lecturer in Informatics and Director of Student Experience, said “I am really proud to be part of a School that celebrates LGBTQ+ in STEM Day. It’s important that all our students know that our School recognises the barriers that LGBTQ+ students, academics and professionals still face, and celebrates the many successes of those who are out in STEM today, as well as influential historical figures. We are working to ensure that this School is a safe space for LGBTQ+ people, in which no-one is discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.”

As a way to celebrate LGBTQ+ people who have made significant STEM contributions specifically to Engineering and Informatics professions, the School office created a display highlighting 10 individuals and their contributions. This display will be in the Chichester Lecture Theatre Foyer from 15-22 November, and on digital display boards around the school.

LGBTQ+ People celebrated by the display include:

Lynn Conway, Computer Scientist & Electrical Engineer

Audrey Tang, Computer Scientist & Digital Minister of Taiwan

Sally Ride, Astronaut & Physicist 

Arti Agrawal, Electrical Engineer & Physicist

Siddharth Garg, Computer Scientist & Professor of Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence

La-Chun Lindsay, Aerospace Engineer & Former Managing Director of GE Aviation Wales

Orkut Büyükkökten, Software Engineer & Social Media Entrepreneur

Alan Turing, Computer Scientist & Mathematician

Sophie Wilson, Computer Scientist & Inventor

Coraline Ada Ehmke, Software Developer & Social Justice Activist

Dr Spyros Skarvelis-Kazakos, Senior Lecturer in Electrical Engineering, added his admiration for one of our LGBTQ+ STEM day notable people, Alan Turing. He said “Alan Turing has been the most impressive researcher that I have read about in my research career. He effectively set the basis for artificial intelligence and made a real difference in WWII. Sadly, he was persecuted for something completely irrelevant to his world-changing work: his sexual orientation.”.

Local support resources for LGBTQ+ Students and Staff:

The Clare Project – self-supporting tansgender support and social group in Brighton and Hove open to anyone wishing to explore issues around gender identity

Allsorts Youth Project – charity that listens to, supports, and connects LGBTQ+ children and young people under 26

Brighton and Hove LGBT Switchboard – Charity for LGBTQ people for community, support or information, and provides services and links to other specialist organisations

MindOut – Mental health service run by and for LGBTQ+ people

We offer Masters scholarships to increase diversity in the AI and data science sector and to support students from underrepresented groups to access, participate and succeed in higher education.

The Sussex Widening Participation team aims to support students/learners who are under-represented in higher education.

The School is committed to the inclusive use of language. Communication (both written and oral) should not make implicit assumptions that may may lead to people feeling excluded or inferior. Please refer to the following resources for examples and guidance:

• University of Leicester advice on inclusive writing
• Gender equality guidelines for UNESCO publications