EDI Challenge

Three students travelling across campus, one student is in a wheelchair

Join us for this year’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Challenge, which gives you a chance to explore innovative ideas to drive EDI, develop EDI solutions for our campuses, and build essential employability skills.

Throughout November 2025, you’ll develop and pitch your ideas while gaining insights from EDI experts.

Your next steps

Applications for this years challenge have now closed.

Got a question?

What does the challenge involve?

The EDI Challenge is designed to encourage you to create solutions or ideas for our campuses. You will work in a small group with students who have similar interests to you.

The EDI Challenge will give you the opportunity to:

engage with EDI issues on campus

build problem-solving, teamworking, pitching, and presentation skills

interact with graduate employers

gain experience to enhance your CV
gain a digital badge as recognition for your work

What are some areas I could be working on?

You can chose to work on any EDI issues impacting communities on campus. Below are some example topics provided by the Students Union equality, diversity and inclusion manager:

Race
Sex
Disability
Sexual orientation (lgbtqia+)
Age
Pregnancy or maternity
Religion or belief
Social class
Neurodivergence

Important dates

The EDI Challenge will take place over four Wednesday afternoons in November (2 – 4pm). You must be able to commit to all four dates and they will be in-person not online.

Session one  - The first session will introduce EDI efforts at Nottingham, with insights from the Student’s Union and the EDI team. Additionally, a guest employer will present on idea generation, offering advice on how to brainstorm innovative EDI concepts.

Session two – In this session, you will continue to develop your ideas from the previous week. One of our employer partners will present on business innovation and how to pitch EDI ideas effectively. You will then be matched with students with similar concepts to yours to build on these, refine your recommendations, and craft a persuasive pitch.

Session three - This session is dedicated to refining and finalising your EDI ideas. Teams will work together to develop their concepts further, with the support of key stakeholders.

Session four – In the final session, teams will present their EDI solutions to a panel of experts. You’ll benefit from valuable feedback and networking opportunities with EDI professionals.

What will I get out of the challenge?

By participating in our EDI Challenge, you will have the opportunity to apply your knowledge and skills in EDI to real-world challenges. This is a unique chance to:

gain practical work experience by working on EDI projects that have the potential to impact the university campus

collaborate with like-minded individuals who are equally passionate about EDI

receive guidance and feedback from industry experts and professionals in the field of EDI

expand your professional network through connections with employers and EDI advocates
gain a digital badge to display on platforms like LinkedIn

FAQs

Do I need to have an idea to apply?

There is no requirement to have an idea, we just need enthusiasm and a demonstrable commitment to EDI and to attend the four sessions.

Do I have to undertake work outside the four sessions?

There is no obligation to work on your idea outside the organised sessions but you may want to use your spare time to help shape your idea and pitch.

Careers and Employability Service

University of Nottingham
Portland Building, Level D
University Park
Nottingham, NG7 2RD

email: careers-team@nottingham.ac.uk