What is IDChem?
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The Challenge
The Challenge
Building an inclusive and diverse workforce in STEM fields is critical for advancing discovery, and tackling the many challenges in STEM education experienced by equity-deserving groups is the very first step towards that goal.
Today, underrepresented students — including female, rural, BIPOC, socio-economically disadvantaged, and first-generation students — continue to face many barriers to pursuing a career in STEM. In Alberta, considerable work is still needed to remove the systemic issues that continue to affect the attraction, retention, and long-term success of underrepresented students in STEM fields:
• Career path consideration for rural, Indigenous, and low-income students are influenced by limited exposure to extracurricular science activities, lack of supporting mentors and role models, and systemic biases that contribute to feelings of self-doubt about succeeding in a STEM career.
• Students who have left their communities often feel isolated and overwhelmed by the need to balance their academic and financial obligations, which undermines their well-being and academic success.
Tackling these challenges and inequities requires a comprehensive approach at the very start of the post-secondary journey to support these students as they reach their full potential and contribute their unique perspectives to build a better and healthier world for all.
The opportunity: Inclusivity and Diversity in Chemistry (IDChem)
The opportunity: Inclusivity and Diversity in Chemistry (IDChem)
IDChem was developed with the goal to reduce barriers for underrepresented students to access learning resources, experiential opportunities, and mentorship support to help them advance and successfully complete their STEM programs. IDChem aims to ensure underrepresented students experience an inclusive environment that recognizes the value of their perspectives, develops skills to continue advancing on their career path, and builds a network for future employment.
Chemistry courses can play a critical role in bridging the inclusivity and diversity gap still present in STEM careers and professions:
• Chemistry courses are the gateway to many STEM majors, including biology, pharmacy, medicine, and engineering.
• Recent data shows that poor performance in chemistry courses has a disproportionately negative impact on underrepresented students compared to their peers and likely contributes to the lower diversity in STEM fields. Conversely, good performance has a disproportionately positive impact: when underrepresented students pass their introductory chemistry courses, they are more likely to continue to more advanced chemistry courses and eventually succeed in a STEM major than their peers from more-represented groups, even when their final grade is identical (Harris et al., 2020).
IDChem is underpinned by three Strategic Inclusivity and Diversity Pillars:
IDChem is underpinned by three Strategic Inclusivity and Diversity Pillars:
Equitable Learning: Graduate Teaching Assistants (TAs) will provide comprehensive tutoring support in General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry to students who are struggling to complete their Chemistry requirements to successfully continue their STEM program. In addition to the academic support, a diverse representation of TAs will foster deeper connections with hundreds of underrepresented students who are just beginning their university journey and help them envision a similar future attainable for themselves.
Experiential Learning: Summer and annual studentships in chemistry research labs will ensure students from equity-deserving groups who have the drive to advance in their career path can earn a fair income while developing the competitive skills needed to succeed in the global marketplace.
To learn more about studenships available with the Department of Chemistry, please see the Department's page below:
https://www.ualberta.ca/en/chemistry/undergraduate-program/summer-employment-opportunities/nserc.html
Mentorship and Capacity Building: A collaborative and inclusive space for students, early career scientists, and experienced professionals, the IDChem Lounge will provide a centralized point for visiting speakers dedicated to EDI, academic and career workshops, and STEM-focused grassroots organizations (UAWIC, UA-WISE, and WISER) to share experiences and build their collective capacity.
The project’s core initiatives have been strategically selected to leverage each other and build momentum with the ultimate goal of accelerating the development of a new generation of more diverse STEM talent.
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