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DiG-UK Blog

Access to GEES* education for working class students, and decolonising curricula

*Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences By Dr Jacqueline Dohaney (she/her) In a recent meeting of ScotGEESE (a community for Scottish geography, earth, and environmental sciences educators), I learned about the current challenges and opportunities that many geoscience students are encountering in school and university education. Our topic for the meeting was ‘GEES education in a changing world’, and we invited speakers from across secondary and tertiary GEES education to share their vision of where we are going as a community of educators. Two important themes emerged on the day that are relevant to DiG-UK: Though neither of these two themes are ‘new’ to those concerned with improving equity and diversity in the geosciences, it was really striking to see what specific barriers students and teachers are encountering in the Scotland context. In this blog, I will share what I learned and some reflections on my experiences with both themes. 1. Working class students’ access to and choice for GEES subjects I grew up in Nova… Read More »Access to GEES* education for working class students, and decolonising curricula

Geospatial Student Accelerator 2024

Link to Full Details: https://akamafund.org/esriukaccelerator/ The Geospatial Student Accelerator 2024 marks a ground-breaking initiative, offering annual awards to students from diverse backgrounds who may not have previously considered a career in the geospatial industry. This initiative is proudly inaugurated in partnership with Esri UK, a global leader in geographic information system (GIS) software. Akama Fund, a non-profit dedicated to widening access to higher education scholarships, takes immense pride in unveiling this transformative student accelerator program. Accelerator Benefits Eligibility To be eligible for the Accelerator, applicants must meet the following criteria: Application Process Email [email protected] with any questions on the accelerator or for further information. “The Geospatial Student Accelerator scheme has been designed to widen the scope of support for students from Black and mixed Black backgrounds, in line with Esri UK’s dedication to cultivating a more inclusive and diverse geospatial community,” explained Pete Wilkinson, Managing Director of Esri UK. “By increasing the number of financial awards and easing the burden of applying, working with Akama… Read More »Geospatial Student Accelerator 2024

DiG-UK: Where we came from, where we are now, and where we’re going….

INAUGURAL BLOG by Alison Stokes A very warm welcome to our new DiG-UK blog series. Over the coming months we’ll be posting a range of articles exploring different aspects of, and perspectives on, diversity in Geoscience. To kick things off, and in celebration of the 5th anniversary of DiG-UK’s launch, I’m reflecting here on how DiG-UK came about, our progress and achievements to date, and looking ahead to where we go from here. The idea for a UK-based network / organisation focused on supporting access and inclusion in the geosciences was seeded during conversations with Chris Atchison, Brett Gilley and other members of the fledgling IAGD (International Association for Geoscience Diversity) at a number of Geological Society of America Annual Meetings in the late 2000s-early 2010s. Ideas were consolidated during the IAGD accessible fieldtrip to Vancouver in 2014. With support from the Geological Society of London, a one day meeting on accessible fieldwork in June 2015 brought together a diverse range of people from education, local government, professional bodies… Read More »DiG-UK: Where we came from, where we are now, and where we’re going….

Enhancing Fieldwork Learning

13th Annual Showcase: Fieldwork in Green Careers University of Birmingham and Online – 13-14th September 2023 Full details at: https://enhancingfieldwork.org.uk/the-efl-showcase/ Further updates are available on the EFL website and please follow @fieldwork_ntf on Twitter to keep the Showcase conversations going using the hashtag #greenfieldskills.