This blog post was written by Jordan Blanchard-Lafayette and Marissa Lo, with contributions from Aqil Rashid (pictured l-r). Jordan is studying for his PhD on the cultural drivers of deforestation at Lancaster University and The University of Nottingham. He is a current member of the REED ecological network, and an active freelance writer with prints such as the British Ecological Society’s quarterly magazine. You can find him on Twitter @JordanLafayette. Marissa recently completed her PhD on modelling different volcanic processes on the Moon at the University of Manchester. She’s just started a new job as Assistant Editor of Geoscientist magazine, the Fellowship magazine of the Geological Society of London. You can find her on Twitter @MarissaLoBot. Aqil is a 3rd year Earth Sciences student at University College London.
What was the Equator Research School?
The NERC-funded Equator Project set out to improve equity and increase representation for ethnic minority students in Geography, Earth and Environmental Science research. The project was split into different activities: a Mentoring Network, a Research School, and a Working Group.
The Research School aimed to widen participation in GEES research careers by providing a fully-funded, ring-fenced, training and networking experience. It was held from the 9th to the 13th April 2022 at Sheffield Hallam University. Accommodation in Sheffield was provided for all participants, travel and food costs were reimbursed, and participants were each given a bursary for taking part.
Over the course of the 5 days, 30 Geography, Earth and Environmental science students took part in different sessions on networking, science communication, academic publishing, and pre-prints. For two of the days the group was split into undergraduate/Master’s and PhD student streams, and workshops tailored to each group were given. On the final day of the school, we had a conference-style day where every student was given a 5 minute slot to talk about something they were interested in or their research area.
Jordan’s experience
From the first day of the school, I quickly realised that what would unfold would become something special for all involved. Since starting my PhD, this has been one of the most supportive networks in the sciences that I have come across, and one that created a familial atmosphere. For me, that family element was important because:
1) My parents didn’t go to university and didn’t know exactly what doing a PhD meant, let alone being able to provide tailored guidance about navigating this career choice, and;
2) It’s difficult to discuss what it feels like being the only minority in a room, when you’re the only minority in the room.
Comments about my hair and the surprised looks when I entered a room aside, I had no idea what getting into a career in environmental science would mean for me, both in terms of my atypical profile for someone in this career, but also in my lack of connections when applying for PhD positions. Many things that are better known to most of my peers, in terms of career planning and seeking out funding for my work, were mysteries to me. In addition, I’m statistically less likely to achieve some of the hallmarks of a successful early research career than my white-British peers, such as being awarded grant funding. I went into the school understanding that any advice on how to navigate academia could be crucial.
My personal highlight of the week was the grant writing workshop, facilitated by Lucy Kender from GrantCraft. This 2-day workshop was extremely useful because it demystified much of the grant writing process, instilled a level of confidence in me about submitting small grant proposals, and also talked us through what an ideal grant proposal might look like. Hot on the heels of this brilliant workshop was the conference day. On this day, all of the school participants spoke about an element of their research/interests. I loved this day in particular because it allowed even those with minimal research experience an opportunity to present and get useful feedback for a key skill in communicating scientific research- presenting.
“The school convinced me that, only in this way, through collective knowledge sharing and the provision of spaces to learn and grow, can we play catch-up in a system that wasn’t built for us”
Jordan Blanchard-Lafayette
Being part of the Equator Research School has inspired me to take on a mentorship role in an even more active capacity than I had previously, and I sincerely hope that I can help to open doors to underrepresented groups in the environmental sciences through my work. The school convinced me that, only in this way, through collective knowledge sharing and the provision of spaces to learn and grow, can we play catch-up in a system that wasn’t built for us.
Marissa’s experiences
After 2 years of lockdown and feeling like I was missing out on connecting with people at in-person events, I am so glad that I got to take part in the Equator Research School less than 2 months before submitting my thesis. On the first day of the school, I was struck by this overwhelmingly positive and odd feeling in the back of my mind: I had never been in a room with so many non-white geoscientists. I felt an amazing sense of belonging but was also sad to realise that I’d never felt this feeling before in an academic setting.
Despite being in the final year of my PhD, I learnt so much at the school. I really enjoyed a talk on pre-prints by Dr Rebecca Williams. I had heard of pre-prints, mostly on Twitter, but had no idea what they are and that they could benefit my research by getting my results out there sooner than more traditional publishing routes. I also found the 2-day workshop on writing fellowship and grant proposals, led by Lucy Kender from GrantCraft, to be an absolute goldmine of information. I’d heard people in my research group talking about fellowship and grant proposals for years but I always felt too embarrassed to ask what everyone was actually talking about, so the workshop really demystified the whole process.
“Taking part in the school made me feel like I was catching up on advice and gave me a new network of people I can approach when I have questions about careers”
Marissa Lo
Many of the fellow school participants, and other ethnic minority students I’ve spoken to, are often the first in their family to go to university, and almost always the first to study geoscience. I know a few fellow PhD students and early career researchers who have a parent (or parents) who have done a PhD before, but they’re exclusively white. As a result of this, it does feel like we students from minority ethnicities miss out on a lot of advice from family members on what a PhD even is, how to apply for a PhD, what a post-doc is, and so on. I remember speaking to an office mate, whose father had completed a geology PhD, saying that his father suggested he email potential PhD supervisors as he neared the end of his Master’s year. Despite my parents’ best intentions for my career, they would never had suggested this because they, being immigrants from east and southeast Asia, don’t know how universities in the UK work and have never done a PhD. Taking part in the school made me feel like I was catching up on advice and gave me a new network of people I can approach when I have questions about careers.
Aqil’s Experiences
The Equator programme was the first insight I had into all things related to geosciences. I joined without having a clue about science communication and left being trained on how to write up reports and papers for a wide range of audiences, from academic to journalistic approaches. I always knew I lacked these skills and struggled to positively stand out in an environment dominated by socio-economic backgrounds which do not reflect everyone in today’s society. I was never exposed to the potential academic and career progression in this field and had no clue about the opportunities available and their respective application processes. Constant unsuccessful applications can be demotivating but after being in a comfortable environment with professionals from the geoscience and science communication fields, I felt trained to be a better candidate for the opportunities they revealed. The most useful part I could take from the programme was the presentation event. As someone who has never done a presentation, I ended up being ready to give a short presentation on my paper in a theatre, which was well-received.
“…networking and speaking to people with similar socio-economic backgrounds in the programme were immensely valuable to me and made me believe this field will be more diverse in the coming years.”
Aqil Rashid
All these insights given into geoscience have allowed me to feel more comfortable and prepared to be in this field in the future. The programme was especially effective due to how engaging it was, truly getting involved and interacting with like-minded peers and professors in a range of practical and beneficial sessions. This is something that most young students would value, after COVID-19 crippling in-person interactions in academic institutions. Going into university with limited interactions due to the pandemic made it even harder for me to be able to fit in, and find my position and path into geosciences. However, networking and speaking to people with similar socio-economic backgrounds in the programme were immensely valuable to me and made me believe this field will be more diverse in the coming years.
Community and legacy
The importance of having a supportive network was a strong theme during the school and continues to be something we’ve personally taken away from the project. Since April, we and the other participants have been sharing opportunities and interesting articles with each other over WhatsApp and LinkedIn, on an almost weekly basis. We know what an enriching and worthwhile opportunity the school has been and we hope that this opportunity is provided to other budding geoscientists from underrepresented groups in future.
For more experiences from the Equator Research School, and evaluation of all Equator activities, please read the full report here. You can also find a brief summary in Natasha Dowey’s blog here, and find resources and articles on the Equator website.