Resources and Training
We have complied a list of resources and training for students surrounding Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. It's highly recommended students complete this training and get educated as much as possible about EDI and the associated concerns, to promote a more inclusive community within the School.
Within the University
The Edinburgh University Student Association (EUSA) is a useful resource which provides lots of information about activities and societies, particularly those surrounding EDI. They promote the student-voted Liberation Officers who work to represent marginalised communities. They also regularly post articles on current news affairs and campaigns which you can get involved in.
The University EDI website for students has lots of information available surrounding microaggressions, privilege and intersectionality. They also link to an overview site called Respect at Edinburgh, which provides policy documents, guidance and training for students. The site also provides information on steps students can take to contribute to the inclusive and diverse community the School of Mathematics aims to provide.
Training
There are training modules students can take to educate themselves on EDI and its concerns. These are free and provided by the University on Learn.
Consent and Tackling Harassment
Students can take short courses called "Consent Matters" and "Tackling Harassment", which are designed to educate students about consent and sexual violence, and harassment of all forms. There is information provided about the course details and how to enrol. It is highly recommended students educate themselves as much as possible about EDI, and these courses support this education.
Unconscious Bias
The University has developed online Unconscious Bias training for students. This training aims to help you recognise and work to eliminate your own bias towards others and contribute to a diverse and inclusive School and University community. It is also recommend students take this training prior to courses involving peer assessment or group work.
Outside the University
There are many resources surrounding EDI which are provided outside the University. Students may find many of these resources beneficial.
LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn learning is accessible for free using a university login and has many useful training courses surrounding EDI. Students are encouraged to undertake this additional learning to understand more about possible internalised and unconscious biases.
Driving Change and Anti-Racism is a LinkedIn course which provides useful tools for combatting internalised and systemic racism.
How To Be More Inclusive provides comprehensive definitions of inclusivity, and how it benefits the work and study spheres.
Implicit Bias Tests
Implicit bias is the name given to internalised stereotypes developed throughout our life that can be harmful to many marginalised groups of people. Every person is vulnerable to social conditioning, and so every person in the School can hold bias against marginalised groups, even those who belong to that marginalised group.
The history of mathematics typically centres cisgendered, straight, white European men, and it’s easy to allow this to contribute to stereotypes that exclude people from outside that demographic. It is recommended that students take some of the Implicit Bias Tests which were developed by Harvard University, in order to recognise internalised biases and work to diminish them.
Decolonising Mathematics
The effects of decolonisation are widely felt across the world, and no university curriculum is exempt from it, including mathematics. Whilst different from humanities subjects, where colonisation is more obvious, mathematics is very much still involved in colonisation, as most of its history is white-washed, and contributions of other cultures have long been ignored. The National Union of Students provides a Decolonisation Toolkit, which contains lots of information for students to help decolonise their mindset and begin to enact change in the university sphere.
The University also provides a Decolonising the Curriculum Hub for students and staff, with resources provided to develop deeper understanding of decolonisation in the University. Note, access to this resource requires an EASE login.
To read about more about decolonisation in mathematics, visit the School of Mathematics main EDI webpage.