🏆 We won! Last week we were delighted to attend the Engineering Talent Awards, where our Pathways to Engineering programme was named Inclusion Programme of the Year. Since 2020, the programme has supported more than 500 young people to explore engineering careers and access opportunities ⬇️

Internships offer a chance to experience the workplace and are often a vital first step into competitive professions. But when a role is unpaid, internships aren’t accessible for those who don’t have the “bank of mum and dad”. Our recommendations on tackling unpaid work ⬇️

🚨 In England, pupils eligible for free school meals are around 20 percentage points less likely than their peers to enter higher education by 19. This gap has not narrowed in two decades. Much more needs to be done to improve access and outcomes for disadvantaged students ⤵️

💬“If we are serious about building a fairer society, we must also confront the enduring link between where you come from and how you experience life itself.” We found that there’s a ‘happiness gap’ between people born into different socio-economic circumstances ⬇️

📣 Today, we published a best practice guide on how universities can better support disadvantaged students. As part of this work, we spoke directly to students from low-income backgrounds. They discussed different challenges they’ve faced, including ones with academic staff ⬇️