A successful QMUL Impact Funding bid will support the secondment of Amira T. Uddin, a PhD researcher in the Department of Chemistry at QMUL, to the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Race and Ethnicity Unit for six months.

This secondment represents a crucial step in bridging the gap between CAISE's leadership in promoting diversity in the undergraduate curriculum and the RSC's initiatives to support BAME students in progressing to postgraduate study. By connecting CAISE's efforts to inspire and retain diverse talent with the RSC's Windsor Fellowship and Broadening Horizons programmes, this collaboration will help students access soft skills training, PhD funding, and industry connections.

By the end of the secondment, a sustainable framework will be developed to integrate the objectives of the RSC's Missing Elements Grant Scheme (MEGS) project—"Making Diversity Count: Fixing the Leaky Pipeline", led by Dr. Tippu S Sheriff—with the RSC's race and ethnicity initiatives. This will initially benefit students at QMUL, Imperial College London, and Greenwich University, with plans to expand nationally.

Now in Year 2 of the MEGS project, the focus is shifting from highlighting historical role models to showcasing contemporary figures relevant to employability. Additionally, under the leadership of Dr. Giorgio Chianello, innovative animated resources and multilingual avatars—funded by the President and Principal's Fund for Educational Excellence—will further enhance the project's global impact.

This initiative marks a significant step toward ensuring meaningful and lasting change in supporting BAME students along the STEM education and career pipeline.