Airbus, the global leader in aeronautics, space and related services and the Global Engineering Deans Council (GEDC), the international organisation for leaders of schools and colleges of engineering, invite you to enter the 6th global Airbus GEDC Diversity Award for engineering education.
This award aims to shine a light on successful projects that inspire students from all profiles and backgrounds to study and succeed in engineering.
The 2018 award will be given to the project that demonstrates the best use of technology to enhance diversity in engineering education. Alongside the significant global visibility and recognition the shortlisted projects receive, a financial reward will go to the winning project.
Together, Airbus and the GEDC want to recognise good practice in diversity and inclusion around the world and inspire others to replicate successful initiatives in their own institutions. The long-term aim of the award is to increase diversity and inclusion among the global community of engineers so that the engineering industry reflects the diversity of the communities it supports, and the wide-ranging work that engineers do.
The 2018 Award
The award will be given to the project which:
- Has had the most impact – relative to the resources available – to encourage more diverse students to study and succeed in engineering.
- Has led to a measurable increase in the diversity of the engineering student or graduate body.
- Has the potential to become a mechanism for ongoing and scalable change. A project which has not yet generated measurable results would not be eligible.
- Demonstrates the best use of technology to enhance diversity in engineering education.
Based on The American Society for Engineering Education definition, diversity is the inclusion of individuals that represent variations in gender, race, ethnic background, disability, sexual orientation, age, socio-economic status, nationality and other non-visible differences resulting in an environment rich in intellectual variety and respect for the individual, and optimally suited to address the technological, business and societal needs of the future. Projects addressing any kind/s of diversity are welcome.
What is the Required Project Time Frame?
The project should have run for long enough to have provided measurable results. The project can be ongoing, but if it has already ended, some activity should have taken place in the 2017/18 academic year. The use of technology does not need to have been in place from the start of the project, and could have been introduced recently
Who Can Enter?
- Award entries should come from individuals or teams working with or in an engineering faculty, or a school or college of engineering (including Information Technology).
- The entry should come from a university representative, even if other organisations – including private businesses – are involved in or support the project in some way.
- Projects supported by Airbus are eligible, as long as Airbus is not the only supporting business.
- Students are not eligible to make award entries, nor are Airbus staff.
- One main point of contact is required for each entry – this person should complete their details within the entry form as ‘Project Representative’. The form also provides space to mention additional team members working on the project. The Project Representative will be contacted to provide the supporting letter and referees if needed. If the entry is selected as one of three finalists the Project Representative will be invited to join the WEEF-GEDC Conference (12 to 16 November in Albuquerque, USA) to present to the Jury and attend the Award Ceremony, or nominate a replacement to do so.
- A Dean may be part of the project team mentioned, but may not submit an entry themselves.
- If a project is selected for the shortlist, a supporting letter will be requested from a Dean of
Engineering. See GEDC website/bylaw III for a description of ‘Engineering Dean’. This information is not required until projects are shortlisted, however, entrants may choose to name a supporting Dean or institutional representative at the time of entering the award. No preference will be given to candidates providing this information in advance. Note, if the Engineering Dean is part of the project team, we would like the supporting letter to come from a senior representative of the institution involved (e.g. Provost, President, Vice Chancellor or Rector). Entrants will have at least 2 weeks to provide the supporting letter. The same Dean or senior representative can support more than one project.
- When completing the entry form please keep in mind that the aim of the award is to recognise specific successful initiatives rather than a history or career of work in this field, however admirable.
- Projects submitted for the award should not have been previously recognised at an international level.
- If the project submitted for the award was part of a previous entry, the entry form should state what is different in the 2018 entry. 2017 Diversity Award finalists should wait at least one year before submitting a new entry.
How to Enter?
- Entries should be submitted by 12 Midday GMT on Friday 7 September 2018 online at https://entry.airbusgedcdiversityaward.com
- If for any reason, you are not able to complete the online form, a word version can be obtained by emailing info@airbusgedcdiversityaward.com
- Entries can include a maximum of 2 appendices which could be either written text (no more than 2 pages in font size 11) or other formats, e.g. photo or video are also encouraged.
- The appendices should provide supporting evidence for any claims within the entry; please ensure that their relevance is clearly stated within the entry form.
- Brief resume details for the Project Representative should be included in the space allowed within the entry form, rather than as an attachment.
- Two referees should be included in the entry form, who may be contacted if the project is shortlisted. The referees should include at least one person who can validate the material provided about the project and another who should be a character reference for the Project Representative.
Evaluation Criteria
We encourage potential entrants to review the entry form to fully understand what the Award Committee is looking for. This includes:
- Description of the initiative(s), including the origin, approach, implementation, the use of technology and stakeholder involvement.
- Documented evidence of what was actually done.
- Clear explanation of the roles of the Project Representative and any team members.
- Impact of the project, relative to the resources available with qualitative and quantitative examples of how the impact has been measured and description of how technology has been used to help achieve those results.
- Transferability, including how the project could be leveraged for greater scope or reach, or transferred for use in another environment.
- Evidence of the potential to continue and develop the work further.
Note: the use of technology can be a recent addition to the project and does not need to have been part of the project from the start.
Previous Entries
To find out more about the shortlisted candidates, finalists, and the 2013-2017 award recipients, please visit www.company.airbus.com/diversityaward
Selection Process and Recognition
Entries should be submitted by 12 Midday GMT on Friday 7 September 2018.
− Following the deadline, up to ten entries will be shortlisted based on the evaluation criteria mentioned above by an Award Committee made up of representatives from Airbus and the GEDC from around the world.
− The Project Representative for each shortlisted project will be asked to provide a letter of support for the project, and referees may be contacted.
− Three projects will be selected from the shortlist as finalists and the Project Representative (or a replacement nominated by them) will be invited to attend the WEEF-GEDC Conference, held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA from 12 to 16 November 2018 as a guest of the GEDC and Airbus. Note, Airbus and the conference organisers can provide supporting letters to obtain a visa if required, however the responsibility for obtaining the visa remains with the Project Representative – steps should be taken as early as the individual feels necessary. Please contact info@airbusgedcdiversityaward.com if you need support for this.
− All results will be communicated by early October at the latest. All three finalist Project Representatives will be invited guests for the conference, with the related costs covered by the funding provided by Airbus. Other team members will be welcome to attend at their own cost.
− At the conference, the projects will be presented by their representatives to a distinguished jury who will make the final selection.
− During the WEEF-GEDC conference, the winning project will be announced, with a prize of 10,000 USD awarded to the project team to support the continuation of their work. The two runner-up projects will receive 1,500 USD each to support further communication about their initiatives.
− The finalists may be asked to provide a very short video to help communicate about their project (this is not part of the evaluation process and guidance on content and form can be provided if needed).
− Following the award announcement, several visibility and dissemination activities will be arranged, with the participation and consent of all finalists, to share good practice and encourage other initiatives supporting diversity in engineering education.
Summary of Timing
- Call for entries will be open until 7 September 2018.
- All project representatives to be informed of their status by 5 October 2018.
- Presentations, Q&A with the Jury and the Award Ceremony will take place at the WEEF-GEDC Conference, held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA from 12 to 16 November 2018.
- Completed entry forms and all supporting material must be received by the organisers, either via the award platform or via email to info@airbusgedcdiversityaward.com by 12 noon GMT on 7 September 2018. A confirmation email of receipt will be sent.
- Contact info@airbusgedcdiversityaward.com with any questions, we endeavour to respond in less than 24 hours.
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