Dr Ana Ros Camacho wins Champion for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the Enriching Student Life Awards
23 May 2022
Dr Ana Ros Camacho, Lecturer in the School of Mathematics, has been recognised for her contribution to enhancing the student experience with an award for Champion for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the recent Enriching Student Life Awards.
The Enriching Student Life Awards are an annual event, created to recognise the fantastic staff and students who contribute to the Cardiff student experience. The award for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion recognises a student or staff member that has worked to reduce or remove barriers to participation, as well as being a role model for and within marginalised groups.
Ana's EDI activism started years ago. Prior to arriving in Cardiff she spent 3 years in Utrecht (The Netherlands) where she launched some new initiatives including the creation and management of the Mathematical Institute Spanish-Speaking Students and Staff Association, which aimed to help with the integration of this particular minority in the academic life of The Netherlands. She also have participated in two of the "Women in Noncommutative Algebra and Representation Theory” workshops and, inspired by this experience, launched “Women in Mathematical Physics” workshops. Because of her work, Ana was awarded a Westerdijk Diversity Award in 2019.
Ana continued this activity after arriving to Cardiff in January 2020. She organised the first “Women in Mathematical Physics” workshop in September 2020, and secured the second one to happen in BIRS-Banff (Canada) in August 2023. Joint with research student Tasarla Deadman, she launched the Special EDI-tion Colloquium, a once-a-semester colloquium about EDI issues in the math academic environment. In a joint venture with Dr Kirstin Strokorb, Ana also created the "TEASER: Teaching and Supervision foRum Exchange", a monthly meeting for staff to discuss about our teaching and supervision practices, and made sure that EDI plays an important role there. Ana has also supported the local Women in Maths Society by attending some of their meetings and giving a talk reflecting on her own personal experience as a female mathematician. In January 2022, she accepted the role of Chair of the local EDI Committee, and from there she is coordinating many actions to improve EDI in the School of Mathematics, students to staff.
Ana said: "I feel so happy to win this award and very, very thankful. It gives me further motivation to continue on this path and ensure that we have the best school possible for our students and staff. Mathematics thrives with EDI!"
Postgraduate student Tasarla Deadman was also nominated as Student Champion for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and undergraduate student Naomi Wray was nominated for the President's Award for her work as President of the Deaf Society.
Head of School Dr Jonathan Thompson said "It is great to see the important work being done by Ana, Tasarla and Naomi being recognised in this way. Huge congratulations and thanks to them for their hard work."
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