The UCL Diversity Forum (ucldiversity.com) is an online platform created by PhD student Audrey Zhang, Prof. Peter Howell, and Dr Fjorda Kazazi to encourage diversity and inclusion at UCL. Here, students can anonymously chat about their academic or personal lives, sharing insights and connecting with others.

Launched in 2019, the Diversity Forum has become a place for students of all racial and gender groups to speak their minds openly. From academic stress to international news, a wide range of topics has sparked engaging and meaningful conversations. Research on the forum’s users has shown that students from different racial groups feel more connected and engaged with the UCL community.

The Diversity Forum has also reached out to underrepresented student groups, especially those experiencing mental vulnerabilities such as high stress and low mental well-being. Their posts and comments offer essential insights, helping university administrators create inclusive and personalized curricula.

Looking ahead, the UCL Diversity Forum plans to broaden its impact from the division level to the entire faculty. This expansion will enable researchers to better understand diverse students’ perspectives on external issues like international crises and internal matters such as tuition fees, ultimately improving students’ sense of belonging at the university.

The Diversity Forum is committed to addressing UCL’s grand challenges on EDI by actively listening to the experiences and suggestions of both staff and students. This project fosters a culture of accessibility and inclusivity for all identities and groups while developing a workload model for effective communication.

We are actively seeking to expand the impact of the UCL Diversity Forum and welcome collaborations. If you’re interested in partnering with us, please don’t hesitate to contact zhongyao.zhang.19@ucl.ac.uk. Let’s join forces to make our university community even more amazing together.