Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: Targeted action to increase inclusion at the Wellcome Sanger Institute
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, United Kingdom
- Genome Research Limited, United Kingdom
- Newcastle University, United Kingdom
- Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom
- Brazilian Biosciences National Laboratory, National Center for Research in Energy and Materials (LNBIO-CNPEM), Brazil
Figures
Figure 1
Recipients of the first three Sanger Excellence Fellowships: Kudzai Nyamondo (left), Oumie Kuyateh (middle) and Ore Francis.
Credit: Wellcome Sanger Institute.
Figure 2
Introducing the Sanger Excellence Fellowships involved various changes at the Wellcome Sanger Institute.
The changes to our recruitment process, and the additional mentorship, sponsorship and training available to the new fellows, are described in the main text. The leadership of the institute were involved in various workshops and related activities. There was also a sustained effort to change the culture at the institute by working in partnership with grassroots community organisations to run workshops and events, and provide mentoring and sponsorship opportunities.
Tables
Table 1
Examples of current schemes tackling underrepresentation in science in the UK.
| General schemes |
|---|
| Cowrie Scholarship Foundation Undergraduate: Supports disadvantaged Black British students at UK universities. |
| Royal Society Career Development Fellowship Postdoctoral: Four-year fellowships to retain researchers from underrepresented backgrounds in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. |
| Health Data Science Black Internship Programme Workforce: Eight-week paid internships to tackle the underrepresentation of Black people within the health data science sector. |
| Wellcome: Targeted funding for researchers of Black, Bangladeshi and Pakistani heritage Postdoctoral and higher: Awards of up to £200,000 to support researchers of Black, Bangladeshi and Heritage in the UK to stay in research and advance their careers. Total funding is £20 million over four years. |
| Schemes at specific institutions |
| Stormzy Scholarship for Black UK Students (University of Cambridge) Undergraduate: Scholarships to provide financial support for Black UK students at Cambridge. |
| Excel in Science Internship Programme (University of Nottingham) Undergraduate: Paid internships to give budding researchers the opportunity to gain hands-on research experience at Nottingham. |
| Surrey Black Scholars Programme (University of Surrey). Undergraduate and postgraduate: Programme to provide Black British students at Surrey with the resources, support and environment necessary to achieve excellence and pursue rich and rewarding careers after graduation. |
| James McCune Smith PhD Scholarships (University of Glasgow) Postgraduate: Scholarships to fund Black UK students to undertake PhD research at Glasgow. |
| Academic Futures Scholarship (University of Oxford) Postgraduate: A series of scholarship programmes to address underrepresentation and help improve equality, diversity and inclusion among graduate students at Oxford. |
| Cancer Research UK: Black Leaders in Cancer PhD Scholarship Programme (CRUK City of London and Cambridge Centres) Postgraduate: Programme aimed at students from Black heritage backgrounds pursuing a PhD in cancer-related fields. |
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Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: Targeted action to increase inclusion at the Wellcome Sanger Institute
eLife 13:e94732.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.94732
