Conclusions and recommendations:
EDI was integral to the student empowerment stream from the outset and informed the development of the workpackages, fostering an inclusive approach. EDI principles informed the structures and processes used to develop and deliver the workpackages. These measures certainly will have contributed to greater inclusivity, although this is difficult to measure. Certainly, the stream raised awareness of inclusivity, particularly partnership approaches and increased the opportunities for dialogue. The evidence, while limited, does suggest that the key student engagement activities performed well in terms of students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds but less well in terms of engaging students with disabilities. Male students were underrepresented overall. Further work, particularly qualitative evidence, is needed to explore this and identify ways to promote engagement from an EDI perspective. While the evidence is limited, there are indications of greater student diversity in the fellowship scheme than among the Student Champions. This would not be surprising as the
number of student partners was very much greater than the number of Student Champions (1800 vs 98) and, in some cases, included entire class groups.