The Institute of Microbiology and Infection (IMI) is committed to providing a welcoming, inclusive and safe community for all. We expect co-operation and support from all staff, students and visitors to help ensure a harassment-free environment where everyone is treated with courtesy, respect and dignity.
The EDI initiatives in the IMI have, so far, mostly focused on raising awareness, through themed seminars, participation in Birmingham Pride Parade, the IMI Summer School, the Grace Frankland Memorial Prize lecture and our bi-monthly newsletter. IMI’s EDI initiatives have been well-received by students and staff, and have been successfully promoted across the Institute.
To improve EDI within the IMI, the IMI Director Prof Willem van Schaik and Deputy Director Prof Jason Mercer set up an IMI Cross College EDI Committee, consisting of staff and students from across the three Colleges (College of Life and Environmental Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, College of Engineering and Physical Sciences), representing different career stages and backgrounds. The members of the Committee are listed below.
The University's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy for 2021 - 2024 [PDF, 4.0mb] sets out the vision and priorities for achieving an inclusive learning and working environment where discrimination is not tolerated and where all members of the University can reach their full potential. With this in mind we launched our IMI Code of Conduct [PDF, 95kb] which outlines how everybody in the Institute should interact with students and staff by providing a supportive and inclusive environment, free from bullying and harassment, with integrity in our research at its very heart.
The Code of Conduct covers both staff and students in the IMI and complements the University's Report and Support initiative. This is an online tool where staff, students and others can report bullying, harassment, discrimination and other issues. Reports can be made anonymously or with named details. Report and Support also provides information about internal and external support, policies and procedures.
The IMI EDI committee continue to recognise and tackle the difficulties in building a diverse research community. We encourage all of our IMI Prinicipal Investigators to attend the online ‘Introduction to Race Equality’, 'Neurodiversity in the Workplace' and 'From Bystander to Upstander' courses, which, among other things, will help them develop their skills (and gain confidence) to help build inclusion and belonging in their groups.
EDI Cross College Committee Members
Willem van Schaik
Alison Iboro Offong
Sara Jabbari
Amanda Rossiter
James McDonald
Cassie Bakshani
Laura Hollis