Ongoing initiatives

The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion committee has many initiatives underway in the School of Mathematics. Further information on each of the initiatives can be found in the Action Plan, on the Policies and Strategies page.

The School of Mathematics have successfully implemented many initiatives which promote equality, diversity and inclusion in the study and work environment. The School has consistent and open dialogue with its academic staff regarding their contributions to EDI within the School, such as in annual reviews.

This a select list of some of these initiatives, and is by no means exhaustive.

Widening Participation recognises that not everyone has the same start in life, nor the same opportunities to flourish and succeed educationally.


We are broadening our widening participation initiatives to support students on-programme, as well as pre-application.

Widening Participation (WP) at Edinburgh

The University's WP Strategy 2030 is a university-wide endeavour encompassing the full student lifecycle.

Widening Participation Strategy 2030 


First launched in 2023, Count Me In is a 6-week cohort-based research internship in Edinburgh for undergraduate students of mathematics (focused on algebra, geometry and topology). It is targeted at women and non-binary people, members of under-represented ethnic minorities in mathematics, people from a challenging socioeconomic background, and people with a disability. 


The School of Mathematics offer Maths Access Scholarships, awarded to high-achieving students from the UK who are from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, to assist them in getting their undergraduate degree in mathematics. This coincides with the School's involvment with Widening Participation in Edinburgh.


Vacation Scholarships (link requires EASE login) are summer research projects awarded to top students, to research an area of mathematics they are interested in with a supervisor. We are working to promote this scheme to students of under-represented gender identities within mathematics, actively working to get more applicants who are women and non-binary people, and increase their interest in pursuing research mathematics.


The University's School of Mathematics has partnered with the Martingale Foundation to improve access to a number of its Masters and PhD courses.


The Flora Philip Fellowship was launched in Autumn 2022. This fellowship is for early career postdoctoral researchers from underrepresented backgrounds. Our first set of Fellows joined the School of Mathematics in September 2023. 

This is an ongoing initiative. See our Flora Philip Fellowship webpage for more information.


Within the College of Science and Engineering we have a stark underrepresentation of female academics at grade 10 and, subsequently, in management positions. This is problematic for several reasons, for example we know that decision-making is more effective where there is good gender balance, and the College is committed to taking positive action to address the imbalance that currently exists.

To help support the progress of women into the more senior academic grades, the CSE are launching a sabbatical scheme, with applications open to all female academics on open-ended contracts on either grades 8 or 9. Sabbaticals will be one semester long. The sabbatical must be used to develop CVs in line with the promotions criteria for either grades 9 or 10. This can include, for example, completing publications, submitting a research grant, developing new teaching methods or furthering knowledge exchange activities. In the first instance this scheme will run for 5 years.

Sabbatical Scheme for Females (grades 8 or 9) | CSE Equality & Diversity HUB


Many steps have been taken to provide a more inclusive mathematical curriculum, including the use of open-book exams and 'flipped classrooms'.  Flipped classrooms are a type of blended learning which increases diverse student engagement and allows students to discuss maths questions during lectures. Questions are typically asked through the app TopHat, which widens accessibility and provides a more inclusive culture for students.


Our EDI committee is working to increase the number of gender neutral bathrooms in JCMB.

All bathrooms in the Bayes Centre are gender neutral.


The School provides free access to sanitary products in our building, James Clerk Maxwell Building (JCMB).


The Neurodiversity Peer Support Network has been developed for neurodivergent staff and students in collaboration with the School of Physics and Astronomy. This group is for staff and students, with or without a formal diagnosis, to meet informally over tea, coffee and cake. If you are interested in joining the network, please contact Charlotte Desvages (charlotte.desvages@ed.ac.uk).


The School of Mathematics joined the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Scheme in October 2025.

Invisible disabilities are wide-ranging and can include autism, sensory, mobility or other chronic physical or mental conditions that affects an individual’s day-to-day life.

Sunflowers and sunflower lanyards have been used for some time now to show that someone has an invisible disability. People can choose to wear a sunflower to communicate that they have a disability that might not be immediately apparent. The Sunflower symbol is a request for compassion, understanding and it allows us to recognise that someone needs a bit of help / assistance.

Staff and students at the School of Mathematics can access Sunflower lanyards free of charge:

Sunflower Lanyards

 


This article was published on