Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities

Organisation

In 2021/22, we introduced several new staff and student networks to sit alongside Step Up (supporting women) and our Early Career Researchers. These new networks aim to support minority groups and include: EmbRace (race/ethnic diversity), Cranfield Disability Network, Q at Cranfield (LGBTQ+ community), and Parents and Carers. Cranfield also actively supports Black History Month. Find out more in this blog post.

Financial support

Recognising the financial difficulties facing students, we made available a Student Hardship Fund and the Cranfield Postgraduate Loan Scheme. The Sue White Fund is available for African students, together with several scholarships, including the Santander Master's scholarship for female students and Chevening scholarships. Further examples can be found on our funding pages.

Research

A consortium of researchers, including experts from Cranfield University, launched a major study to investigate the impact of the rapid move to online public services on minority ethnic communities. The £3.3 million project is part of UKRI’s Protecting Citizens Online programme, initiated in response to the 2020 Online Harms White Paper.

Research highlights in this area included:

• Environmental and social benefits of regenerative agriculture for tropical perennial agroecosystems.
• Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold Chain.
• EWA-BELT – Enhancing East and West African Framing Systems.
• Study on the global imbalance of wind energy diffusion.
• PhD student Calvin Cowell is developing his research into the effects of financial inclusion on ethnic groups with a view to improving financial access to disadvantaged and underserved groups.
• Research on the potential of urban green spaces for supporting horticultural production looks at how this might reduce inequality.

At Cranfield we value diversity and recognise the new perspectives that this can bring to our working, learning and teaching community.

Through our diversity initiatives and policies we are creating a culture in which everyone is able to fulfil their potential.

Our Learning Support Officers help, guide and support students with specific learning support needs or impairments.

Our Students' Association has an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) Officer. Cranfield’s Senior Diversity and Inclusion Business Partner leads the University’s Diversity and Inclusion function and is responsible for the management, development and implementation of the University’s Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and action plan.

In 2021 we began the process of establishing our EmbRace Network and Working Group to support ethnic minority staff and started our Disability Network to help identify and support actions and interventions to make Cranfield a more inclusive University for disabled staff and students. We also joined Stonewall and developed communications to support LGBTQ+ staff and students. Our 'First Time Line Managers' programme and 'Managers Essential Pathway' have ED&I embedded into them so that managers are aware of how ED&I impacts decision-making and the employee lifecycle. Staff can find out more on our intranet site.