Our Team:

Cathy Elliott

I'm Cathy Elliott and I'm a Senior Teaching Fellow in the department. Decolonising and diversifying the curriculum really matters to me because I remember that when I first read feminist and queer theory at University, it genuinely changed my life. I really want that experience for all my students and I'm so proud of the work the team has done.

Muminah Arshad

I’m Muminah Arshad, and have recently completed a postgraduate degree in Global Governance and Ethics. I am a first generation female British-Pakistani, and the learning spaces that I have encountered so far in my life have mainly been white. Working with this team, as a part of the project that tackles issues of representation and inclusivity head on, has been a privilege. I hope the work we have done ignites further research and change to better the department and UCL.

Jotepreet Bhandal

I’m Jotepreet Bhandal and I recently just finished my master’s in Public Policy. I was drawn to this project, as I’ve always believed inclusivity and diversity should be promoted and encouraged in academia and wider society. I hope the findings of this research project will encourage academics at UCL to further promote diversity and inclusivity, to ensure that students leave with a more enriched understanding and, crucially, feel included and represented.

Rachel Dada

I’m Rachel Dada and I have just finished postgraduate degree at UCL, where I studied Public Policy MSc. As a Black woman studying over the last five years, I have often found it difficult to navigate through higher education. The Inclusive Curriculum project hopes to promote a more inclusive curriculum in the political science department at UCL, that fairly represents the contribution to scholarship of women, people of colour, LGBT+ and Disabled people. I am grateful and honoured to be a part of such an exciting project and be around such inspiring and remarkable people.

Iweta Kalinowska

My name is Iweta Kalinowska, and I have just finished a postgraduate degree in International Public Policy at UCL. As a first-generation immigrant from Poland, as a woman, and as somebody with an invisible disability, I would like to see experiences like mine represented more widely. A diverse curriculum encourages us to question our beliefs and preconceptions, helps us think about the world in new ways, contributes to better policy-making and a more equitable society. The Inclusive Curriculum project is only a start, but we hope that it will inspire a movement towards greater diversity - not only in our society, but also UCL’s own diverse and unique student body.

Mehreen Khan

My name is Mehreen Khan and I have just completed a postgraduate degree in International Public Policy. As a student from a minority group, I am aware of how a lack of representation of women and ethnic minority authors in our curriculum can negatively impact the student learning experience. Having an inclusive curriculum means that future students can feel better represented, but it also means that all students will leave university with more complete understandings of the subjects they are taught; this will only add to the value that universities can bring to students’ lives, not decrease it.

Robert Lipiński

My name is Robert Lipiński, and if it was not for my Polish roots I would be the epitomization of the lack of diversity that our research highlights. Despite this I will allow myself to underscore how important and overlooked the issue of inclusivity of our curricula is, even at UCL, which prides itself on being the first UK university to award academic degrees to women. Inclusivity is important to understand how multidimensional the questions we study in politics and social sciences more broadly are.

Varun Vassanth

My name is Varun Vassanth and I am a final year undergraduate studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics student at UCL. Diversity and inclusion can make a fundamental impact on students’ lives. To read content written by people that we can identify with and being exposed to a range of critical theory to encourage challenging discussion and broaden perspectives is incredibly important for both personal and academic development which is what university is all about! I hope that the work that we have done will enable future students to achieve a more diverse and decolonised curriculum, not just in the Political Science department, but across the board.

Monica de Quinto Schneider

I’m Monica de Quinto Schneider and I am currently in my second year of studying BSc Politics and International Relations. Being part of an invisible minority, I strongly believe that diversity and inclusion are the keys to building a more equal society in the future. I hope during my time at university to achieve some progress within this field, and am therefore thrilled to have been granted the opportunity to be a part of this project for an inclusive and decolonized curriculum.

InÈs georgis

I’m Inès and I recently completed my undergraduate degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at UCL. Engaging with what we have termed non-mainstream approaches was the highlight of my studies and formative for me. However, such approaches are rarely present in our department’s reading lists. I hope our work will lead to this being remedied and that it might enable, beyond simply increased inclusion of marginalised authors, more engagement with critiques of the processes that lead to such marginalisation.