People Involved – Success for Black Engineers

PEOPLE INVOLVED

This page highlights the key individuals leading the Success for Black Students programme.

Professor Kawal Rhode:

Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Head of Education, School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences

Project Co-lead and Lead for Outreach Workstream

I am very pleased to be able to contribute to the Success for Black Students Project at King's College London. I am the project lead, and I help to tie together all parts of this project. My desire to work in this field stems from my lived experience as a member of a minority. I really want our young generation not to have to undergo the same struggles that I went through because of bias. I have been working in race equality at King's for more than 10 years and I continue to do so because I can see that the work that has been done has had impact and visible change. I do feel that King's is a much more diverse community and that our staff and students embrace this and harness its advantages. Projects like Success for Black Students will pave the way to the society that we all hope for.

Dr. Ernest Kamavuako:

Reader in BioSignals and Sensors, Department of Engineering, Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences

The Success of Black Students project is rooted in my passion for inclusive education. As the NMES faculty's Inclusive Education Staff Partner, I champion student development to close the awarding gap between Black and White students. My vision extends beyond the traditional awarding gap metric by considering how to increase awareness of soft skills among our students. Mentoring stands strong among different approaches to student development and self-awareness. Mentoring is most often defined as a professional relationship based on mutual trust in which an experienced, respected and enthusiastic person (the mentor), shares his/her knowledge and experience with a less experienced colleague (the mentee) in developing his/her knowledge, learning, work-based skills, well-being, personal and professional development.

I am responsible for the mentoring workstream, focusing on three dimensions: peer mentoring, academic mentoring, and industry mentoring, all of which contribute in synergy to bring out the best in our Black students. I see our Success of Black Students project model becoming an inspiration for many institutions worldwide.

Lead for Mentoring Workstream

Sophie Rust:

Since March 2023, my role has been to manage all aspects of the project and coordinate all our internal and external stakeholders, including student workers and volunteers, industry professionals, and community groups. I am very proud of having been able to secure over £200k of fundraising for the project since I joined the team, enabling the project to continue and expand past the initial two-year pilot period.

I’m incredibly passionate about the project because we can already see the positive impact on Black students at school and university. I was also able to set up a new project based on our outreach model, for digital skills, called Success for Digital Futures. We hope that these two projects can be used as blueprints for other departments and institutions to tackle the awarding gap, increase representation and support Black students better. I’m very excited to share that we have put together a How-To Guide for the Success for Black Students project to enable this.

Project (EDI) Coordinator

Dr Mandeep Gill Sagoo:

Reader in Anatomy and Inclusive Education, Faculty Lead for Inclusive Education, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine

I am delighted to contribute to the Success of Black Students project, which is focused on closing the awarding gap between Black and white undergraduate engineers. This initiative puts into action key recommendations from the Hamilton Commission Report (July 2021), particularly in the areas of inspiration and engagement, accountability and measurement, and support and empowerment.

As the lead for the evaluation workstream, I am responsible for assessing the impact of the project’s outreach, teaching, and mentoring initiatives. My role involves exploring how students recognise and develop their knowledge and skills, and using these insights to shape future phases of the project. The longer-term goal is to ensure that students are better equipped with the confidence and competencies needed to succeed in their careers and navigate the demands of employability.

My broader work ethos is rooted in inclusive, innovative, and globally collaborative education. This project aligns deeply with my commitment to equitable access, pedagogical innovation, and collaborative impact in higher education.

Lead for Evaluation Workstream