Working with Techne Racial Justice Fellows, the University of Roehampton launched a Diversity Hub  in December 2022 with an initial focus on supporting current and prospective students of colour. As they develop the activities of the Hub, it will also support other under-represented groups.  

The Hub was developed because research has demonstrated that postgraduate research programmes have many inclusion issues. Students of colour are less successful in being awarded doctoral funding and continues into postgraduate research degree programmes.  This has contributed to the underrepresentation of researchers of colour in academic posts. Additionally, the Arts and Humanities are some of the least diverse in the sector, that under 4% of staff in Classics identified as being from an ethnic minority. The University of Roehampton will continue to develop the activities of the Hub in future years they will expand to support other under-represented groups.  

The Hub seeks to address these barriers and inequalities by providing resources to support students who are either considering undertaking postgraduate research or who have already begun a PhD. It also provides Safe-Space Forums and provides one-to-one mentoring for current students.