Equality, Diversity, Inclusion:
Informing technē Doctoral Training Partnership Action Plan (3 years)
What is this project about?
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This EDI Action Plan underpins techne's three governing principles to account for EDI within the techne Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP). Over the next three years a series of small projects are undertaken to investigate and promote a greater sense of EDI awareness into techne DTP practices.
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Principal 1: Activities will align with the broad aims and spirit of the EDI action plan, given that the action plan is a live document and can be expected to evolve with the needs of the partner institutions, PGR student cohorts, and lessons learned from initiatives undertaken.
Principal 2: The workplan for activities will be coordinated against the PGR lifecycle, recognising that there may be different EDI considerations at the application stage, during the programme of study, and beyond, with career expectations, development, and future learning opportunities.
Principal 3: The techne EDI action plan is not a monolith but must be contextualised in a wider ecosystem of EDI directives, including the AHRC EDI policy, UKRI’s EDI strategy, and the equality-driven governance and statutory commitment schemes of the techne partner institutions.
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The following sections detail the activities and findings completed through this project's cycle. This includes accessibility to content produced and outputs created from the data collection and analysis of this body of work.
Project Outputs
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Learn more about our project outputs:
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1. Intersectionality through the lens of PGR students - videos of intersectionality
2. PGR Student Wellbeing Fortuneteller - new approach to taking mental breaks
3. Supervisor EDI Toolkit - how to build diversity considerations for PGR students
4. Future Funding of Arts & Humanities PGR Programmes - Design thinking workshop
5. PGR Grand Challenge - Two case study examples of PGR EDI initiative
6. EDI Techne PGR Impact - Feedback on the value of the PGR scholarship programme
7. Equality & Equity of PGR scholarship programmes - when to initiative positive discrimination for application access
8. Building EDI Action Plans - toolkit guidance for creating EDI catalyst into scholarship programmes
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Activity 1: Intersectionality through the lens of PGR students
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We commissioned the work of 12 ‘Sketch’ videos will be 1–2-minute animated line drawings with a narrative overlay of techne student (in some cases two students partnered), with the aim of exposing challenges, opportunities and benefits related to intersectional characteristics of the students in relation to their lived experiences as PGRs. This aligns with the action to challenge the siloed approach to EDI, while anticipating an evolution of student needs according to the unique situations they face by virtue of experiencing inequality, minoritisation, or discrimination through multiple channels.
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Video 2: Race & Religion
Video 1: Gender & Disability
Video 3: Race & Disability
Video 4: Gender & Religion
Video 5: Race & Gender
Video 7: Marriage & Sexuality
Video 9: Gender & Race
Video 6: Age & Gender
Video 8: Ethnicity & Gender
Video 10: Age & Religion
Video 11: Race & Age
Video 12: Gender & Age
Activity 2: PGR Mental Wellbeing Fortuneteller
We engaged three experts (James Scrogg MBE, Mark Smallman, Professor Cecilia Essau) to collaborate on the co-creation of a specialized mental health and wellbeing toolkit designed specifically for PGR students. These students often face unique challenges, such as working in isolation, where their external environment or academic community may not actively support their mental health and wellbeing.
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To address this, we developed an innovative approach that allows PGR students to take a wellbeing break at their convenience, from the comfort of their own space. As part of this initiative, we created a downloadable fortuneteller resource, along with additional materials designed to support mental health.
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Additionally, we developed pocket-sized briefing notes and infographics tailored for PGR students who may experience mental distress due to stigma, prejudice, or bias. These resources are intended to complement—not replace—existing mental health and wellbeing services, helping to guide students toward appropriate support systems. Design by KryssyGold.
Download your printable FortuneTeller by clicking on the image below.​
Below is a video to show you how to use your PGR Fortuneteller
Activity 3: Supervisor EDI Toolkit
We have designed and produced a dedicated Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) toolkit to strengthen support for postgraduate research (PGR) students, recognising that inclusive supervision is central to student success and wellbeing. The Supervisor Toolkit, accompanied by an online training video, provides clear academic guidance and practical resources to help supervisors reflect on and embed inclusive practices into their supervisory approach. It offers strategies for recognising and addressing the diverse needs of PGR students, from navigating cultural and linguistic differences to creating an environment that values all contributions and supports equitable progression.
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Co-developed with Sanchia Alasia (Diversity Consultant) and Gulce Ipek (Senior Manager for EDI, London School of Economics and Political Science), both of whom bring expertise in institutional EDI strategy and its application in higher education. Their contribution ensures that the toolkit is grounded in best practice, informed by current sector priorities, and adaptable across disciplinary contexts.
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The value of this resource for PGR supervisors lies in its dual focus: first, on raising awareness of systemic barriers that can affect research students’ academic journey, and second, on providing practical steps that supervisors can take to foster a more supportive and inclusive supervisory relationship. By engaging with the toolkit and accompanying training, supervisors can strengthen their confidence in navigating sensitive issues, gain language and frameworks to support inclusive conversations, and better understand how to champion equity within their supervisory practice. Ultimately, the toolkit contributes to building a culture where all PGR students can thrive, enhancing both individual student outcomes and the overall research environment.
Activity 4: Future Funding of Arts and Humanities PGR Programmes
This design thinking workshop was in collaboration with the University of Roehampton and facilitated by the Royal College of Art’s Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design. Its purpose was to explore how the Arts and Humanities can articulate their distinct value while embedding EDI considerations into future doctoral training pathways.
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Bringing together 15 stakeholders from across the sector, including senior academics, an EDI lead, professional staff, a doctoral researcher, and external partners from local government and heritage organisations, the workshop created an equitable platform for dialogue, design and discussion.
Using a design thinking methodology, participants collectively examined what makes Arts and Humanities research unique, how graduates contribute to society and the workplace, and where opportunities exist to embed inclusivity more systematically across the doctoral landscape.
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The discussions highlighted both the strengths and challenges facing Arts and Humanities research: from its interdisciplinarity, creativity, and human-centred approach, to the persistent difficulties of evidencing impact in conventional terms. Participants emphasised the need for more flexible PhD models, stronger interdisciplinary supervision, and support for diverse learning needs, including neurodiversity and caring responsibilities. The full report provides an overview and analysis of the workshop.
The workshop culminated in three prototype pitches for a new Doctoral Landscape Award, signalling a shift from traditional academic models towards more integrated, skills-based and accessible doctoral training. For future DTP consortia, these insights provide a valuable resource for designing programmes that are more inclusive, adaptable, and aligned with diverse career pathways beyond the PhD.
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Activity 5: PGR Grand Challenge
The PGR Grand Challenge was a multi-faceted event focused on celebrating diversity and addressing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) issues within the postgraduate community. The competition featured inspiring cultural contributions, with PGR students hosting a musical showcase that highlighted lyrical diversity and shared cultural experiences from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) musicians in the Wandsworth borough. Notable PGR contributors included Lottie Anstee, Kimberly Olden, Halemah Ahmad, Yiyan Shi, and Maha Alutairi, supported by Dr. Megan Loveys and Ted Vallance.
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In addition to the musical celebration, the Grand Challenge tasked PGR teams to tackle pressing EDI "wicked issues." One team, comprising Maayda Shahid, Lorretta Fagbemi, and Abdallah Alqudwa, focused on "Postgraduate Housing and Discrimination." They organized and hosted external guest speakers, including Mustafa Ozbilgin (Brunel University) and Zainab Naeem (Coventry University), who shared both policy perspectives and personal stories about housing discrimination, centering the theme “nothing about us, without us.” The overall competition showcased student leadership in fostering inclusive research cultures and addressing real-world challenges.
Activity 6: EDI Techne PGR Impact
This activity examined the end-to-end application process for the Techne scholarship scheme with the aim of improving accessibility and transparency for potential applicants. The analysis was driven by recognition that individuals from marginalised or underrepresented backgrounds may be dissuaded from applying, or disadvantaged in producing competitive applications, due to social status, socio-economic or cultural background, or lack of access to appropriate information and resources.
The study focused on the structure of the application form, the language and terminology used on the form and website, and the guidance provided to peer reviewers. The work aligned with Techne’s action plan commitment to ensure continuous monitoring of acceptance and enrolment criteria and to give fair weighting across different parts of the application (for example, prioritising research potential over educational pedigree). By interrogating how language, linear structures, and semantics may embed unconscious bias, the analysis sought to generate insights for refining equality impact assessments (EIAs) and strengthening inclusive practices within doctoral scholarship programmes. The guidance produced from the analysis can found here and applied as a framework for consideration of designing new and accessible application forms that would help enable the widening participation and access to diverse participants. Below is sample of the participant analysis of the Techne application process.
Activity 7: Equality & Equity of PGR Programme
In this unit of work, we reviewed how PGR scholarship schemes in the UK have approached “positive discrimination” and clarified what is lawful positive action under the Equality Act 2010. As it was challenging to analyse a live-data set, because participant demographic EDI data on awardees had not consistently been collected over award periods, we were not able to customise a specific report on Techne practices. However, to be more forward-facing of how this data can be analysis can be applied to future DTP programmes, we have done a detailed summary (explained below) of scholarship programmes and positive discrimination to model some guidance as a starting point for new DTP/ DLA programmes to consider as part of their on-going regulation of candidates as applicants or awardees.
The work focused on locating workable practices used by other funders and DTPs that widen participation without breaching the law. We synthesised guidance from national regulators, funders and sector bodies to distinguish between (i) unlawful preferential treatment based solely on protected characteristics, and (ii) lawful measures that address evidenced under-representation, including targeted outreach, contextualised selection, tie-break provisions, and (where appropriate) carefully governed charitable scholarships. The output was a practical framework that technē could adopt: evidence under-representation, design proportionate interventions, embed bias controls in selection, and monitor outcomes transparently, pending improved EDI data collection. Download a copy of the guidance.
Activity 8: Building EDI Action Plans
This unit of work was originally designed around a series of ‘Critical Appraisal Labs’—stakeholder engagement forums that would challenge and test the EDI directives of HEI and non-HEI partners. While the workshops could not be delivered as planned, the ethos of the initiative was retained through the creation of an EDI Action Toolkit.
This resource was designed to support funding bodies, doctoral training partnerships (such as TECHNE), and scholarship awarding consortia in developing and refining their EDI Action Plans. Drawing on evidence from UKRI initiatives, including the EDI Caucus and IGNITE+ Network, the toolkit offered a structured framework for self-critical reflection, collaborative critique, and sustainable action planning.
It provided stakeholders with practical prompts and flowcharts to help interrogate assumptions, assess the validity of existing practices, and design interventions that align integrity, reliability, and inclusivity across academic, research, and creative career spaces. View the summary flowchart that will support future doctoral consortiums with designing their unique EDI Action Plan, to underpin practices in their strategy.
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Research Collaborator:
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Professor Ted Vallance
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Prof Ted Vallance is Director of the Graduate School at the University of Roehampton and institutional lead for TECHNE. He is a historian of early modern England, currently researching the trial and execution of Charles I. He has led development of the TECHNE diversity hub which aims to support current and prospective postgraduate researchers from under-represented communities.
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Research Assistant:
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Sherin John
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Sherin John is a versatile research assistant with professional experience across India, the UAE, and the UK. She combines a robust academic background in biomedical sciences and biotechnology with extensive industry experience in logistics, clinical support, and research coordination. She has contributed to research, including cancer genomics and biosorption techniques, and is skilled in advanced laboratory techniques such as CRISPR gene editing and plasmid construction. Currently supporting Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) initiatives, She excels in designing research projects, coordinating events, and facilitating data collection. Her global exposure and commitment to excellence make her a valuable asset to the research team.
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Research Assistant:
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Gloria Anandappa
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Gloria is a PhD student at the Centre for International Education Research at the University of Nottingham. Her current thesis focuses on access to education for disabled children of foreign workers in Singapore. Her research background covers international education, international development, disability, inclusion, and social justice in education. She has been working in the role of research assistant and project manager on various projects for Dr. Melissa Jogie at the University of Roehampton since October 2021.
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