IMPACT Graduation

An overview of the graduation day for the 1st IMPACT cohort

 Imperial Positive About Cultural Talent

The 11^th November 2015 marked the end of a 6 month journey for the IMPACT cohort.

IMPACT is Imperial Colleges BAME  (Black, Asian and minority  ethnic)development programme that looks at the barriers that Imperials staff face, what cultural barriers they face, how they can make their culture work for them in the workplace and  a range of skills, tools and advice on how they can progress their careers.

The Cohort was split into four action learning sets which allowed them to voice and find solutions to any problems they were facing in their lives. This also formed their project groups each set had to come up with one project they could work towards to benefit Imperial College.  On Graduation Day Audrey Linton of P31 opened the session by explain what the past 6 months had entailed.

Debra Humphris took the floor and gave an impassioned overview of why programmes like IMPACT are important and her experience of being a mentor on the IMPACT, she detailed about the growing relationship that had been built between herself and her mentee and the learnings she has received as a result. 

This led way to the presentations of the projects these were:

Celebrating Cultural Diversity –  ( reviewing and celebrating diversity at Imperial)

Co – Action –  (Job application support  and interview support for staff up to level 3b)

Job Shadowing – ( creating and managing shadowing opportunities)

Apprenticeships  - ( reviewing current apprenticeships and implementing best practices)

All the Action learning sets presented with enthusiasm and passion, showing true belief in their projects with the dedication to make imperial a great and inclusive place for all.

Overall it was an exciting time for the P31 team and the 1^st Cohort of impact to show how far each individual has come from the start of the course  and alongside growing their confidence, skills and career development they have managed to grow their friendships and professional relationships.