Professor Bernadette Byrne has taken on the role of Associate Provost (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion), until 31 August 2027.

In this role, she will engage with senior leaders for positive cultural change across the whole University. We caught up with Bernadette to find out about her plans in her new role.

What drew you to the role of Associate Provost (EDI)?

I was Associate Dean (EDI) for the Faculty of Natural Sciences, a role I absolutely loved, for two years. I would have been happy staying in that role for longer but I do like to push myself. When this position became available I felt both that I could do the job and that I could influence EDI strategy and activity more as Associate Provost.  

What are your main priorities for advancing EDI across the university?

There is an enormous amount of amazing work that goes on in the EDI space across Imperial. But we are not always talking to one another to share best practice. I have started to revise some of our committee structures to try and provide more opportunities to exchange ideas and information on what has worked to also better help us identify gaps in provision.

It is also clear that we still need to increase diversity particularly at senior academic levels. However this needs attention much earlier in the career process. I would like to start joining up all our support and mentoring processes into a continuous pipeline, filling any gaps to ensure that we support a wider diversity of people at every career stage. This means working with a range of stakeholders including the Early Career Research Institute (ECRI), Outreach and People Function as well as engaging across faculties and departments.

A key part of this strategy remains a piece of work that I developed initially as a Department of Life Sciences initiative, the Enhance mentoring programme for Black heritage students who want to undertake a PhD. Subsequent to pilot work carried out in Life Sciences, this rolled out across the Faculty of Natural Sciences and is now part of the cross-Imperial offering by ECRI. This highlights the importance of having small local initiatives which, if practical and successful, can be a key part of EDI for the whole organisation. Supporting this type of work is a key priority.

We will also be working in 2026 on the new EDI strategy and I’m keen to hear suggestions and new ideas that could form part of this. 

How do you plan to work with senior leaders to support positive cultural change?

 This involves regular consultation as well as raising awareness that what we do is essential to have the most efficient and effective teams. A positive working environment where everyone can thrive is crucial for REF outcomes as well as the upcoming Athena SWAN and Race Equality Charter work. It is important to perform well in all of these if Imperial is to continue to be seen as a great place to work and study. 

What challenges do you anticipate, and how do you hope to address them?

It can be hard to take everyone along on the journey as there are people who don’t think this is relevant to them or their work.  However positive changes in EDI make the environment better for everyone and so it is a case of keeping doing this important work. One challenge is working out what is done and where and how to translate that best across Imperial and that involves becoming more and more knowledgeable about Imperial (I have only been here 25 years so some way to go to know this completely!)

What does long-term success in EDI in our community look like to you ?

I would like to see a greater diversity of individuals at every career stage with in particular, more ethnic minorities and women in senior roles. I would also like to see a greater diversity of students (in an ideal world we would accurately reflect diversity in London) including increased numbers of ethnic minority students and white men from working class backgrounds. I would also want to have an Imperial culture where everyone, staff and students, feel able to fulfil their potential.

How can staff and students get involved or support your initiatives?

Mentoring is a great way to get involved, supporting current or future staff and students to be the best they can be, so watch out for call-outs for mentors. Soon, after a long wait, we will be rolling out a mentoring programme for underrepresented Post-Doctoral Research Associates who wish to stay in academia - Life Sciences has some amazing individuals who fall in this group and we are keen to hear from them. Providing feedback on what is and isn’t working, leading on local initiatives and volunteering at events are all ways to get involved. A big job for me moving forward is to deliver on our next Imperial-level Athena SWAN and I will be really keen to take on board ideas around that!