Please read our plan of action statement to elevate the voices of our Black, Indigenous, and People of Color student innovators and our commitment against racism and for building a stronger platform for rising Innovators from underrepresented groups in the sciences and entrepreneurship.
The Inventors Program stands with the University of Texas and the College of Natural Sciences in their commitment to building a community where all know that they belong and have exquisite value – and where dehumanization and hatred have no place.
Specifically, our Program’s students, faculty, and staff are committed to elevating the voices of our Black, Indigenous, and People of Color student innovators. Though our work is ongoing, 37.8% of the Inventors Program student cohort from Spring 2020 was composed of traditionally underrepresented student groups on campus.
During Summer 2020, our program staff and student leaders are actively listening and learning from student voices and the University’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion resources. Together, we’re:
- Attending diversity training workshops as a leadership team
- Building a framework for a student advisory board for our program
- Developing new connections to faculty and industry mentors who better represent the diversity of student innovators
- Outlining a deeper plan of action to elevate the voices and accomplishments of students innovators who identify with the Black community, the Indigenous community, and the Hispanic and Latinx community.
- Developing training materials for all of our practicum and iTeam students, instructors, and student leaders about how to work with a diverse cohort
- Specifying regular conversation and feedback points throughout the academic year schedule to talk about bias and inequality
We invite our community members and partners to join us in our continued work towards building a stronger platform for rising Innovators from underrepresented groups in the sciences and entrepreneurship. If you have ideas and feedback for the Inventors Program’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, we want to learn from you at inventors@cns.utexas.edu.