School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science achieves prestigious Athena Swan Silver Award
The School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science has been awarded the Athena Swan Silver Award for the first time, recognising its sustained commitment to advancing gender equality and creating a more inclusive culture across higher education and research.
The Athena Swan Charter is an internationally recognised framework that supports equality in higher education, originally focused on addressing barriers faced by women in STEM and now encompassing broader gender equality and inclusion.
This achievement reflects several years of collective work led through the School’s Equalities Committee. Michaela MacDonald, who co-led the Committee alongside Mustafa Bozkurt, played a key role in shaping the Athena Swan submission and driving the work behind the award. Reflecting on the achievement, Michaela said:
“Over the past five years, Mustafa and I have co-led the School’s Equalities Committee, and I am proud that this work has culminated in EECS securing the Athena Swan Silver Award. Preparing the application showed just how much care, time and teamwork sits behind this recognition. Thank you to everyone who contributed — this has truly been a collective effort.”
The award also marks the start of the next phase of equality, diversity and inclusion work within EECS. Habiba Akter and Charalampos Saitis are now taking on the role of co-leads, with a focus on implementing the Athena Swan Silver Action Plan developed by Michaela, Mustafa, and colleagues across the School. This work will build on strong foundations to further embed inclusive practices for staff and students.
They added:
“This award recognises the care and commitment that so many people have contributed over time. We are excited to carry this work forward together and continue building a culture of trust, openness and support within EECS.”
Find out more about our initiatives here: https://www.qmul.ac.uk/eecs/about-us/equality-diversity-and-inclusion/