Mind the gap! What transpired in the recent BAME awarding gap conference?

students and educators talking Student journalist Karthik Vinod reports on the progress of the project to help address the disparities in outcomes and experiences of undergraduate Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) and white students at UCL. The UCL BAME Awarding Gap Conference: 5 Years On, took place a month ago at the Institute of Education. Students, academics and professional services staff from across UCL attended the conference. Its aim was to highlight the progress made in the last five years in addressing the disparities in outcomes and experiences of undergraduate Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) and White students in line with UCL's Access and Participation Plan. Alongside highlighting key achievements, outcomes and learnings, the conference looked at how UCL will continue to work towards closing other awarding gaps, such as the number of first and upper-second class degrees achieved in the future. The conference also included a keynote speech from cultural historian and British Black Studies lecturer Sofia Akel, as well as several presentations from academics and practitioners.  "UCL's awarding gap has dropped significantly. During the pandemic, this dropped as low as 0.4%".