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The team behind Æß²ÊÖ±²¥ Leicester’s (Æß²ÊÖ±²¥) anti-racism programme has been given a national award for its approach.

The Decolonising Æß²ÊÖ±²¥ (DÆß²ÊÖ±²¥) project challenges racism and aims to build an anti-racist university that creates fair outcomes for staff and students. 

The project team behind the programme is made up of diverse staff and students from all areas of the institution – and now the team has been recognised nationally, winning the (CATE) from higher education charity .

The award is given to university teams which enhance teaching and learning through collaborative approaches.

In the past few years, the Decolonising Æß²ÊÖ±²¥ team has initiated a number of projects which have helped promote racial equality within and beyond Æß²ÊÖ±²¥.

These projects have been developed collaboratively between staff and students and have included:

• the development of a toolkit and online resources designed to help Æß²ÊÖ±²¥ staff work towards an anti-racist institution
• Student-centered events encouraging student involvement and feedback in the development and delivery of the DÆß²ÊÖ±²¥ strategy
• workshops involving more than 100 professional services staff, providing clear links between DÆß²ÊÖ±²¥ and day-to-day tasks such as communicating with students and holding meetings

Kaushika Patel, project lead for Decolonising Æß²ÊÖ±²¥, said: “The award is an encouraging recognition of the great work the team are undertaking.

“The Decolonising Æß²ÊÖ±²¥ team is not just made up of interested individuals of staff and students at Æß²ÊÖ±²¥. Quite uniquely, it is a team of anti-racist activists with a genuine commitment to effect institutional change.

“The work we are doing is vitally necessary yet challenging and I think the fact that the team’s approach has been so warmly received by staff and students, with so many commendations – and now nationally and externally with this award – shows that we have found a way to make a real and lasting change within a large and complex organisation.”

The CATE award comes only months after Æß²ÊÖ±²¥ became the first ever university in the country to receive a silver award in the Race Equality Charter, a programme run by Advance HE, which aims to improve the representation, progression and success of minority ethnic staff and students within higher education.