EDI champion hopes to make “big impact” after graduation

An equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) advocate, who promoted disability in sports and worked to decolonise the curriculum, is graduating this week as part of the Class of 2024.

Nils Rehm will graduate from the MPhys Astrophysics programme at Cardiff University’s School of Physics and Astronomy.

A keen athlete, Nils has an upper limb disability that restricts the mobility of his arms causing muscle weakness and spasms when overworked.

At the start of his third year, he began working with Olivia Evans and Georgia Spry, both Vice Presidents for Sports and Athletic Union Presidents, to promote uptake of disability sports across Cardiff University.

He said: “I was always part of the Athletics Club as a T47 long jumper and sprinter but hadn’t realised that I was one of only a few disabled students participating in sports until I started working with Liv and Georgia.

“The DisAbility Sports campaign we ran tried to change this by helping remove barriers for students with disabilities and encouraging sports clubs to get involved.

“As part of the campaign we ran the first disability sports stall at the Freshers’ Fair, organised and ran a disability sport week and set up a disability sport podcast too.”

The experience was only the start of Nils’ advocacy work.

During the summer between his third and fourth years he secured an internship working with Senior Lecturer and Science Made Simple founder Wendy Sadler.

The project aimed to improve EDI in the School of Physics and Astronomy by seeking out best practices and incorporating them into the School’s operations.

Nils attended the National Astronomy Meeting and the International Conference for Women in Physics as part of the internship, learning about under-represented groups, decolonisation of the curriculum and inclusive teaching.

He said: “I helped communicate these ideas across the School by producing posters on microaggressions, delivering presentations on institutional discrimination and fed into the development of an Instagram account to reach students more effectively.”

Nils’ advocacy work saw him shortlisted for two Enriching Student Life Awards this year – the President’s Award and Champion for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion categories.

“I'm proud to have been nominated for two awards and it's nice to know I've had a noticeable, positive impact on the University,” he said.

Looking ahead to life after graduation, Nils plans to enjoy the summer and do some travelling, before starting the job hunt.

He said: “My experiences here in Cardiff have really helped. I’ve made good connections through my internship and developed problem-solving skills and my communication skills especially, which are important for the type of career I want to get into.

“I would love to work in an EDI role for a major educational or scientific institution – somewhere I could have a big impact by making these organisations more of a level playing field.”