Outreach Seed Fund for Recruiting Black Students

The Imperial Seed Fund for Recruiting Black Students has been introduced to:

1. Provide the opportunity for more Imperial role models to engage with pre-university Black African and Black Caribbean students in order to support students from this demographic, who are underrepresented at the college, to explore STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) opportunities and pathways.
2. Encourage and enable a wider range, and greater number of, Imperial students to develop and deliver new outreach initiatives.
3. Enhance the diversity of student-led outreach initiatives across Imperial and increase the number of student-led approaches to Outreach.
4. Engage current Black students and encourage them to create and execute meaningful initiatives to help increase their sense of belonging at the College.

Seed Fund proposals could include a discrete project or a pilot activity to be further developed, and should include one or more of the following outcomes: 

• Demystify: messaging that helps to demystify the process of applying to university 

• Support: messaging which showcases the support and care students receive to develop the skills needed to apply to Imperial 

• Picture themselves: messaging that helps students picture themselves studying at Imperial. We use this to focus on aspects of belonging, ensuring that everyone can see themselves reflected in the students we profile and the passion and interests of Imperial students, for example, through student societies, volunteering etc. 

• Academic attainment: offering STEM specific subject support 

Interested in getting involved but unsure what to do? Get help!

The Outreach team can assist you with seed fund applications, you can contact us with a specific question or discuss your idea. Some project ideas you can consider include school talks, workshops or information sessions at local community groups, engaging with primary schools, competitions or hackathons addressing real-world problems, tutoring, university application support, hands-on activities in a lab, and on-campus events such as conferences or visits/tours. Make sure to read the Seed Fund Guidance Notes and application questions carefully.

Funding

A total of £5,000 is available from the Access and Participation budget.

Applicants can request funding in the range of £100 - £1,000 to support projects that involve innovative, two-way, creative approaches to: 

• engage Black students with Imperial,
• demystify STEM pathways and career opportunities,
• and  support students with their STEM studies and journey to higher education.

The application form, guidance, desired outcomes and eligibility criteria outlined in the rest of the document still apply to these projects.

Eligibility

1. The Principal Applicant must be a current Imperial student (UG or PG)
2. Proposals can involve a team made up of students, Imperial academics, staff or alumni and/or external partners, alongside the Principal Applicant.
3. Initiatives need to be aimed at a UK audience and must engage at least one of the following primary audiences: school students, schools, local community groups, teachers, parents/carers, local authorities or charities, and may also engage the government or media as a secondary audience.
4. Existing outreach activities may be eligible for funding, as long as the proposal demonstrates that the intervention has proved effective and is fits with the objectives of this fund.
5. Exhibiting at the Imperial Festival or other public events should not be the sole objective of the proposal, although proposals can incorporate the Festival or Lates events as one output among others. 

Before applying, please read the following documents: Outreach Seed Fund Guidance Notes and How to Avoid Common Pitfalls. Both documents are available at the end of the webpage.

One supporting document is allowed per application (no more than two pages in length) that either provides images or diagrams or provides details of a previous or similar project, to help illustrate your proposal. There is a section in the application form where you can upload this.  

Applications are currently closed and will reopen in autumn 2025.

For any questions, please contact h.jama@imperial.ac.uk.

ACS School Talks 

Students from the African Caribbean Society developed and delivered a series of school talks to tackle the underrepresentation of individuals of Black heritage backgrounds pursuing STEM degrees. They visited multiple schools, engaging with KS4 and KS5 students through informative talks. These sessions provided valuable insights into the application process, shared personal experiences of studying STEM, and raised awareness of Imperial and the courses on offer.

ACSTEM Conference 

Yemi Abe and the African Caribbean Society hosted an on-campus conference aimed at Year 12 students of Black heritage interested in pursuing STEM degrees. 83 students attended and participants took part in academic sessions led by representatives from the Faculty of Engineering, Medicine, Natural Sciences and Business school. A range of sessions were covered on the day including insights into the UCAS process, student life panel and personal development workshop.