SEMS EDI Committee

At SEMS, we are committed to ensuring that every voice is heard and represented. As part of this commitment, our EDI committee structure is evolving to better reflect the diversity of our community. The newly formed EDI Steering Group leads this transformation—serving as a platform to empower, support, and amplify the voices within SEMS.

Our goal is authenticity. We understand that sharing personal experiences can be difficult, but we believe that open, honest, and non-judgemental conversations are essential to driving meaningful change—both within the university and in the wider engineering profession.

The EDI Committee at SEMS comprises the following members of staff:

Role Name EDI co-lead (staff engagement and wellbeing) Wellbeing champion Mental health first aider Maria Crespo-Ribadeneyra EDI co-lead (student engagement and employability) Centre for Sustainable Engineering EDI Representative Sara Hajikazemi EDI Committee Member #1 EDI Data analysis lead Yamin Abdouni EDI Committee Member #2 Centre for Bioengineering EDI Representative Stefaan Verbruggen EDI Committee Member #3 School manager Jackie Dawes PhD Student Representatives Mia Crowther Jesus Vazquez Chavez Julia Sylvia Evans New Starter Champion Ana Sobrido Queen Mary Engineering School (China) Representative Li Wang QMES Rep and EDI Representative for Black and African Diaspora Communities Adijat Omowumi Inyang  Professional Services team Representative Human Resources representative for EDI Angela Jones Sonia Bansal Research laboratory technician team Representative Mental health first aider Stefano Ahluwalia Post Doc Representative Esme McPolin-Hall Centre for Intelligent Transport EDI Representative Xinwei Wang EDI Education Champion, CAISE Liaison Member and CREME EDI Representative Rehan Shah Staff Survey Champion Elena Moreira

Our 2023–2028 SEMS EDI Action Plan, outlines our strategic priorities:

1. Maintain sustainability of the EDI governance process with balanced representation 

2. Improve School’s representation of women in engineering from Lecturer to Professor

3. Improve gender balance of the School’s UG, PGT and PGR student population

4. Build inclusivity – a community of best practice and culture within the School

 As we improve transparency in our data, we continue to challenge norms in education, research, and industry, and provide clear, actionable guidance on advancing equality, diversity, and inclusion in engineering.