This week the University of Bradford held their internal launch for the YCEDE and Brad-ATTAIN programmes. As you already know, YCEDE is a collaboration between five universities in Yorkshire, 12 UKRI funded Doctoral Training partnerships and Centres for Doctoral Training plus a number of external partners dedicated to equity at doctoral level.
However, Bradford is also running the Brad-ATTAIN (Bradford Pathways to Academia for Minoritised Ethnicities) project. This project will support internships for undergraduates to give them an understanding of what postgraduate research involves. Some 24 interns will each undertake a 10-week placement over four years. There will also be special ‘research summer schools’ to showcase postgraduate research to undergraduates and students from outside the University.
On the day, we were greeted by Dr Tiffany Holloman who is managing both YCEDE and Brad-ATTAIN projects at Bradford. Then, the event was kicked off by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Bradford – Professor Shirley Congdon. She reaffirmed Bradford’s steadfast commitment to equity and inclusion at all levels. From undergraduate to postgraduate to staff themselves.
Next, we were treated to a rousing speech from Professor Uduak Archibong, the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. She has strived to make inclusion a core aim of the university and is driven to reduce the offer gap for PhD students.
Afterwards, colleagues gave a more in-depth look at how both projects will work. Giving detail on how the projects are structured and how they will be delivered at the university. Plus, the stories of how they were able to get these multi-million pound projects off the ground.
The keynote speech was delivered by Professor Dawn Edge of the University of Manchester – the UK’s first black female professor. She took us through the cultural shock of moving from Jamaica, as the child of Windrush generation parents, to the UK. As a professor of mental health, her research emanates from a passion to reduce inequalities in access, care, and outcomes experienced by under-served communities. Particularly through her current work on Culturally-adapted Family Intervention (CaFI) which seeks to improve the experience of psychiatric therapy for those of Black British or Mixed heritage.
Lastly, we heard from a panel of current PhD students at Bradford. Their stories of academic success in the face of discriminatory abuse was truly inspiring and further highlighted the need for projects like YCEDE and Brad-ATTAIN.
The event was a huge success and we are incredibly grateful to Tiffany Holloman and Lenka Kaur for organising such a brilliant event. We cannot wait to travel back to Bradford!
