Dr Rehan Shah (SEMS Academic Lead), in conjunction with Michael Woolley (former SEMS Outreach and Recruitment Manager) spearheaded the QMUL Levelling Up Maths 'Making Diversity Count' Showcase Event, held in collaboration with the both the School of Mathematical Sciences (Prof Claudia Garetto) and School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science (Dr Iran Roman) on 2 July 2025 funded by the Inclusion and Diversity grant awarded by the London Mathematical Society (LMS) and the Heilbronn Institute for Mathematical Research.

The event brought together Year 12 A-Level school students from all three participating cohorts of the Levelling Up Maths programmes that commenced this year in Feb 2025, along with QMUL undergraduate and PhD student tutors and academic and professional services staff involved.

The event was aimed at inspiring A-Level school students from diverse backgrounds (female and Black students) to continue with studying mathematics and related STEM disciplines (physics, engineering, etc.) at university level, in alignment with QMUL School EDI priorities, to motivate more women to study engineering and related STEM disciplines at university.

The programme commenced with an introduction by Levelling Up Maths founder, Dr Tony Hill, who set the scene for the event by highlighting the three key themes of inclusion, collaboration and sustainability that motivated him to launch this scheme. This was followed by inspiring talks delivered by the two specially invited guest speakers, Dr David Mguni (Lecturer in Computer Science at QMUL) and Dr Juliet Ojiako (University Mathematics Teacher at Loughborough University), who reflected on their own personal journeys and experiences of pursuing STEM subjects at university level.

While David begun with a research-focused, yet fun-filled talk entitled 'Play, Learn, Cure, Drive' that touched upon the mathematical and AI-related aspects of playing recreational games, Juliet emphasised the importance of widening participation and breaking barriers by drawing on examples from her pioneering work in STEM outreach and engagement activities with students. Both talks were truly empowering and inspiring for the female school students, who were able to ask insightful questions to each of the speakers.

After the informal networking over tea and coffee, the final session was led by Dr Shah who presented an overview of this year's pilot implementation of the Levelling Up Maths for Engineering programme within SEMS featuring 32 students from 19 different London-based schools, while also drawing on verbatim feedback and testimonial comments received from the 6 SEMS undergraduate student tutors reflecting on what they had gained so far from their involvement in the programme.

It was truly heartening to hear from our SEMS undergraduates who highlighted how "this experience was a great opportunity for me to improve my tutoring skills. I learned how to run online sessions with confidence and received excellent feedback from students, who were engaged, responsive, and interactive. It felt meaningful to be part of a programme that supports other young women in STEM". The day concluded by the QMUL student ambassadors leading the school students around QMUL to give them a tour of the facilities of SEMS department and its laboratories.

The Levelling Up Maths programme will recommence its second phase starting Oct 2025 through to April 2026 featuring involvement from the same set of SEMS undergraduates and secondary school students and will be led by Dr Shah and Holly Barrett (SEMS Student Recruitment and Marketing Manager), who will take over Michael's old role.