Department of Materials

News

31 Jan 2024

Loughborough University Inclusive Engineering Excellence Hub receives Royal Academy of Engineering Diversity Impact Programme grant

colleagues from inclusive engineering hub holding award with the VC

Loughborough University is one of three UK universities to receive grant funding from the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) Diversity Impact Programme for its flagship Inclusive Engineering Excellence Hub (IEEH).

The grant is part of the programme’s latest round, bringing the total awarded to nearly £2 million over three years, supporting 20 universities in 22 projects aimed at improving outcomes for students from diverse and underrepresented groups in engineering.

The funding will contribute to the ongoing development of the IEEH for transformative, equitable and inclusive teaching. Initially established through a Diversity Impact Programme grant in 2022, the IEEH provides an inclusive environment for students to celebrate diversity, receive professional career and coaching support, engage in engineering activities, ease cost-of-living pressures, socialise, and focus on self-care.

The new funding will allow the University to build on the success of the IEEH and develop extended reality facilities for engineering education, enabling students to access a wider range of transformative engineering experiences that will improve the cohesion of their learning and transferable skills, providing vital development opportunities for translation to industry.