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The University of Birmingham has been awarded a slice of £5.5 million funding for a project to improve equality, diversity and inclusion in engineering and physical sciences. Birmingham is one of 11 universities that have been funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) through the Inclusion Matters call, the first initiative of its kind which has been launched as part of the collective approach by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to promote equality, diversity and inclusion. Called 'Challenging Different Forms of Bias in Physical Sciences and Engineering Research', the project is being led by Professor Tim Softley, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Transfer at the University of Birmingham. The £531,287 project is also being carried out in collaboration with Aberystwyth University, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, and Vitae, a global leader in supporting the professional development of researchers. Programme Director Professor Jon Rowe, Director of Research at the University of Birmingham's College of Engineering and Physical Science, said: "The University of Birmingham is committed to increasing our representation of academics from ethnic minority backgrounds and female academics. "It is not yet fully understood why academics from these groups struggle to progress in their careers. We are delighted to participate in this important collaboration and investigate the underlying causes.