SHMS hosts successful EDI Roadshow
The School of Health & Medical Sciences (SHMS) at City St George’s, University of London held its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Roadshow in June to highlight the University’s ongoing work to promote inclusivity, respect, and co-production in education.
Michelle Ellis, Associate Dean for EDI in SHMS, opened the event. She praised attendees for their dedication and contribution to progressing inclusive practices at City St George’s, adding that “EDI is a vehicle through which we can drive the changes we wish for as a School and embrace our diversity and talents.”
In the first half of the event, participants shared past and ongoing EDI work from both Clerkenwell and Tooting campuses, while the second half was held in an informal global café style where participants came together to explore strengths, challenges and actions they wished to take forward.
EDI in induction and teaching
Following the introduction, Dr Jessie Cooper presented the evolution of the School’s EDI student induction programme. Initially launched in response to the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, the team restructured it in 2022 into a more intersectional and health professions-focused programme, underpinned by Kimberlé Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality.
Katie Campion, Patient Involvement Lead MBBS, then spoke about exploring inclusion and the Staff-Student Partnership Grant (SSPG) at Tooting. The project involves student leads Emmanuel Nzeyimana and Natasha Wollen, and it helps address the mismatch between the intention and the felt experience of inclusion.
The project is ongoing and has three main priorities: decolonising the curriculum; humanising lectures; and finding out how to work with lived experience in the room. A hybrid celebration event to showcase prototypes was held on 9 July.
David Ross, a lecturer in inclusive education based on the Tooting campus, discussed inclusive education priorities, and the work on the inclusive education framework. This included a focus on community, student stories and fostering student partnerships. There is also an inclusive education blog.
Embedding EDI into curricula
Margot Turner, Senior Lecturer in Diversity & Medical Education, and Dr Ban Haider, Senior Lecturer in Primary Care, then discussed embedding EDI in clinical curricula. They spoke about the priority areas for change, including increasing accountability and recruitment and selection. They also spoke about student-cocreation events and projects, including inclusive clinical cases, Mind the Gap, Transgender Healthcare MOOC and the Windrush Project, to name but a few.
Dr Mohani-Preet Kaur Dhillon, Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Research and Education, then discussed the Equal Representation in Academia (ERA) programme, which offers funded studentships and mentoring to address inequalities in higher education. Since its launch in 2021, 41 students have completed the programme, with 11 more joining this year.
Race Equity, Disability and LGBTQIA+ inclusion
Next, Dr Jack O’Connor, Quality Officer in SHMS, and Dr Ohemaa Nkansa-Dwamena, Associate Professor in Psychology, spoke about the Race Equity and Anti-Racist Practice – EDI subgroup, including the Network for Racial Justice Report. The findings of the report are informing key priorities for SHMS in relation to race equity, and are directly related to core priorities of accountability, belonging and representation. They also discussed other priorities and actions for staff, including supporting BME researchers to progress to senior roles.
Dr O’Connor also highlighted past events celebrating diversity, including Black Futures, International Women’s Day, South Asian and East & Southeast Asian Heritage Months, and ongoing work on the University’s Race Equity Action Plan.
Dr Helen Spicer-Cain and Dr Holly Kahya then spoke about the neurodiversity and disability subgroup, including the neuroaffirmative teaching guidelines, neurodiversity and disability passports (based on RCN templates). They also recently held two staff training events in December 2024 and April 2025, which offered a theoretical introduction to neurodiversity and explored students' experiences and offered reflective practice.
Cicero Souza, Quality and Compliance Manager (SHMS), and Michelle Ellis spoke about the Gender & LGBTQIA+ EDI subgroup. The group is helping to foster an environment that is inclusive across all protected characteristics, but in particular, considering gender and LGBTQIA+. Michelle also spoke about Athena Swan progression and the submission of a silver award for SHMS.
Transgender healthcare
The final presentation discussed the transgender healthcare MOOC. A major focus was the former St George’s University MOOC on transgender healthcare, developed in response to the lack of content on the topic in curricula. The course covered mental and physical health disparities, trans-inclusive communication and service provision, and case study videos and practical scenarios.
Michelle concluded the event by expressing gratitude to all contributors and reaffirming the School’s commitment to advancing race equity and anti-racist education. “Thank you so much for everybody’s contribution today,” she said. “This is only the beginning, and it was wonderful to all come together either in person or online to share our successes and consider next steps. I very much appreciate all the hard work and commitment you all have to progressing our EDI strategy in SHMS and across City St George’s, University of London.”
View all previous EDI event resources here: EDI Events and Resources
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