Azhir Mahmood  🚀 🤖 🧬 🧠 🪐

Would love to hear your ideas for different recommendations.

1) Contextual applications: If you recognise there's a attainment disparity, why an earth does every PhD / Masters program require a 2.1. (it's like you're literally punishing people twice).

2) Robuster racism reporting: do you have any idea how many times when I've reported a racist incident or an assault it was buried. There is literally no accountability at universities.

3) Increase of teaching and examination methods. It's almost like every course was designed by someone who had a very similar educational background.

4) Improved mental health support. Being BME at university mean we're more likely to be from a poorer socio-economic background, be victimised etc. Yet there is no support when we need it. Further isolating us.

Great suggestions. The report isn't mine - hearing good ideas is really useful. 1 is interesting given rise of contextual undergrad admissions. 2 just MUST happen. And I have always personally been particularly invested in 3 as an educator. 4 is slowly happening, but too slow.

Yeh, it's a bit stupid contextual postgrad admissions aren't a thing yet. I've been very disappointed in the academic community. I imagine I'll be 80 before things improve. It's not like any of these recommendations are mind blowing, they're kind of just obvious.

Having worked specifically on contextual undergraduate admissions and widening participation schemes for about the last 15 years, I know just how challenging it is to make change happen!!