Diversity opens the door to a broader range of talent, encouraging the sharing of new ideas and experiences, and providing insight into the needs and motivations of an increasingly multicultural world. For these reasons and more, the Graphene Flagship recognised the true value of diversity from the very beginning.
Our diversity-positive attitude is reflected by our Women in Graphene initiative – a series of events tailored to women scientists in the Graphene Flagship. Women in Graphene ran every year and sought to encourage women and girls to study and work in science.
But in 2020, we decided that our initiative had the potential to be even more inclusive. So we expanded and rebranded Women in Graphene to become Diversity in Graphene – a broader initiative to celebrate diversity, build a welcoming community and raise awareness for all underrepresented groups in all STEM fields, but in particular those in the graphene and layered materials community. The initiative officially kicked off during the Graphene For Research, Innovation, Collaboration online event in September 2020. Notably, Diversity in Graphene continues to support gender diversity and commemorates the many achievements of our women scientists.
During Graphene Week 2023 in Gothenburg, the Diversity in Graphene event on Tuesday 5 September will feature an open session about healthy work culture. Furthermore a career coach will be available for 1-to-1 career coaching sessions for Graphene Week participants on Wednesday and Thursday, 6-7 September afternoon.
Highlights of "The road to diversity and inclusion" panel discussion, September 2020.
| Aitor Villafranca Velasco |
IO-CSIC; Alcyon Photonics; PRISMA |
Spain |
| Alba Centeno / Amaia Zurutuza |
Graphenea |
Spain |
| Stefania Vitale |
ESF |
France |
| Beata Szydlowska |
Bundeswehr University Munich; University of Heidelberg |
Germany |
| Camilla Coletti |
IIT |
Italy |
| Letizia Diamante | University of Cambridge | UK |
| Mar Garcia Hernandez |
CSIC |
Spain |
