As part of our ongoing commitment to strengthen our department’s knowledge, understanding and practice of important Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice principles, we are pleased to announce a new partnership with the University of Rhode Island. 

Beginning in the fall of 2021, we offer current BCS graduate students and Building 46 postdocs a unique opportunity to participate in the Diversity and Inclusion Badge Program (DIBP), an online micro-credential program offering graduate-level professional development workshops that emphasize the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed for cultural competence in a variety of environments.

To obtain the micro-credential, participants must complete a minimum of 5 two-hour workshops. The program is self-paced, and workshops will be offered in the fall, spring and summer terms. There is no deadline to complete the program. In addition to the required Fundamentals of Diversity: Power, Identity and Privilege workshop, topics include Creating Inclusive Spaces in Scientific Research, Recognizing and Valuing Disability as Diversity, Understanding the Unique Needs and Strengths of Trans and Nonbinary College Students, White Accountability Conversations, and many more. 

To read more about the program and its offerings, visit their website. The program's founder, neuroscientist Alycia Mosley-Austin, Assistant Dean of Graduate Recruitment and Diversity Initiatives and Associate Director of the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program at URI, gave a BCS colloquium on the program in 2020.

If you are BCS graduate student or a postdoc affiliated with any lab in Buiding 46 and you are interested in completing the microcredential, please contact DEIJ Officer Farrah Belizaire: Farrahab@mit.edu.