For Black History Month 2023 at Queen Mary, University of London, we were proud to present a special lunch and learn series across the month.
These talks celebrated research contributions that focus on race, ethnicity and culture at QMUL. They are a great opportunity to listen, learn and get food for thought on making a change that benefits us all - you can also still catch recordings of our 2022 talks!
Lunch and Learn events:
Increasing representation (Computer Science at Queen Mary)
September 2023 (Celebrating Black History is not just for October!)
Available to watch
Watch Jo Brodie, Public Engagement Manager for the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science at Queen Mary, sharing ideas and practical steps that her colleagues in Computer Science took to increase diversity and representation. This is part of our Lunch and Learn series around Black History Month and showcases ongoing, year-round work to recognise and celebrate the invaluable contributions of Black people to the university (and, in this case, Computer Science as a discipline).
4th October, 12-1pm
As part of black history month, Denise Amankwah gave a LingLunch on the findings from her MA project. The title of her talk was be: 'English on a pedestal: experiences of Black African children and their families'. The talk was held on the 4th October 2023 at 12pm-1pm.
Student engagement - professional expertise and personal experience
11th October 2023
12:30-1:30
David Oluwatobi Ajibade, a Queen Mary alumnus, former student ambassador, and current staff member, talked about his Queen Mary journey, and how it has kindled his passion for supporting and engaging others who start out on a similar path. This is both an opportunity to learn from lived experienced and from professional expertise on student engagement, with a particular focus on Black students - watch his talk here.
"Stories told by us" - celebrating the African contribution to the UK HIV response
16th November
Rebecca Mbewe, MBA, research assistant at Queen Mary, introduced the story of “Our Stories Told By Us”, the book she co-authored, on celebrating the African contribution to the UK HIV response. She was joined by fellow co-author Winnie Ssanyu-Sseruma, a freelance International Development consultant.
They talked about their own journey, research, and activism, and the need to re-ignite the conversation around HIV, as well as the importance of peer support: no problem is ever solved by silence. For more information on their book see here, and do watch the recording of their conversation.