Author: Clarissa Gardner

Breaking down barriers to access academia

Last year, we proudly launched our Julia Anderson Training Programme, a paid internship scheme for people who have little or no work experience, as we know how difficult it can be for people to get that first foot in the door. This programme is the first of its kind at Imperial, giving people the opportunity to boost their skills while working on an impactful programme of work at IGHI. Our first trainees, who you can read about on our website, worked on a range of topics including education, digital health, and data science.

Now open for its second round of applications, Clarissa Gardner, Research Assistant at the Institute Global Health Innovation, who led the creation of the programme, gives her thoughts on why now, more than ever, these placements are needed. 

#ForUsByUs – co-designing a mental health solution owned by the Black community 

Growing up in a Caribbean family that had experienced various traumas and challenges, I had some awareness of how mental illness impacted myself and my relatives. However, it wasn’t until I attended a masterclass last year on Black mental health hosted by BAME in Psychiatry & Psychology and the Centre of Pan African Thought that I realised the nuanced challenges faced by members of the Black community.