I work in university widening participation, aiming to open doors to university education for young people from all backgrounds. As Outreach Evaluation and Research Manager for Imperial College London, I support a better understanding of the impact that Imperial has on increasing access to STEM education for underrepresented and disadvantaged young people. I want to help keep students at the heart of outreach and evaluation, which means understanding that data alone never tells the whole story, and that supporting students doesn't stop when they enter university.

I have been awarded my Fellowship to travel to New Zealand and the USA to explore different approaches to linking outreach for underrepresented students with the support available after they start their course. I will look at what works in terms of the format and focus of support, approaches to targeting and methods of evaluating complex initiatives. I aim to bring what I learn back to the UK higher education sector, contributing to our understanding of best practice for developing, delivering and evaluating whole student life-cycle approaches to widening participation and student success.