Who We Are…

We are the next generation of Black British academics of Caribbean descent at the PhD and Post-doctoral level of the research pipeline. Owing our foundation in this country to the Windrush generation and those who emigrated from the region more recently, we build on that legacy as academic researchers.

We are aware and don’t shy away from the lack of representation in our domain. Only 30 students from our background received academic funding out of a possible 20,000 studentships (over a 3 year period) from the UKRI. This needs to change.

The few of us that do make it to this level often find ourselves as the pioneers, ambassadors and only people of our backgrounds in our department, leading to difficulties in progression and an isolated journey that leads to a lack of retention which ultimately perpetuates the cycle of underrepresentation.

We call for a new way. A collective that lifts each other up, celebrates success, supports through struggles and moves together through academia as a cohesive group.

We champion community, in the same way those who came before us did, choosing connection and a collective set of pride in our heritage, celebrating our differences and advocating for a more equitable future within our sphere.

Join us on this journey, follow and support our progress as the African-Caribbean Research Collective grows.