The Institute for Management and Innovation is committed to the advancement of an inclusive, open, supportive environment for students, staff and faculty. IMI endeavours to create a safe space to engage in learning, studying and working, and strives to foster a culture of engagement.
IMI's Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee
This Committee strives to advance IMI's work in EDI centrally, and across our Programs and Units. In alignment with UTM's Strategic Plan, with its emphasis on equity, diversity, inclusion, transparency, sense of community, student support and impact, IMI's Committee serves to:
- Facilitate guidelines and policies/practices at the Institute
- Engage in hands-on initiatives and programming, including events and workshops
- Provide and analyze research, data and annual reports
2023-2024 Committee Timeline
2023-2024 Committee Goals & Focus Areas
In due course, the Committee will share a detailed plan and framework here, including main areas of attention and key projects for the year, along with a project tracker to share transparency in our progress. Please check back in the coming weeks for these details.
In brief, the Committee is focusing on three main sub-group working areas for the inaugural year:
- Research & Teaching
- Student Development & Support
- Institute Culture & Programming
2023-2024 Committee
Marius Zoican, Faculty
Martina Simmonds, Staff
Damian Maddalena, Faculty
Afrodite Cruz, Staff
Ann Armstrong, Faculty
Ryan Cerrudo, Staff
Sarah Ogbiti, Staff
Ignacio Mongrell, Staff
Nazeem Shamsuddin, Staff
Soo Min Toh, IMI Director
Michael Marin, Faculty
Claire Westgate, Staff
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives in IMI's Programs
IMI
- Equity-based recruitment: IMI and its Programs/Units work extensively with HR at UTM to ensure that there are EDI-related interview questions, and that the hiring process is transparent
- EDI Committee: launched in 2023, the EDI committee strives to advance IMI's work.
- Centralized course outlines include extensive statements on EDI and supporting resources for students.
ICUBE
- ICUBE's EDI Statement: ICUBE's dedication to promoting diversity in our teams includes a commitment to ensuring every cohort accurately reflects the UTM community, welcoming folks of all gender identities, sexual originations, races and ages, and actively creating space for marginalized change-makers and under-represented disciplines. All creators, entrepreneurial thinkers, and leaders are encouraged to apply. Read more »
- Health-Focused Start Ups: Mastercard Foundation, H2i, The African Impact Challenge: ICUBE is currently supporting the work of the African Impact Challenge. It is partnering with the Bridge at UTSC, and H2i to support Health Entrepreneurship in Africa. This is part of the multi-year relationship between the University and the Mastercard Foundation. We expect soon to learn more about ICUBE’s specific and ongoing African university partnerships.
- Additional EDI Initiatives
MScSM
- Awards: MScSM Program Director Shashi Kant recently created the UTM Equity & Diversity award, which launched in January 2022. Read more »
- Works with MUI to offer a joint session for students on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion annually
MUI
- Emphasizs Equity-based language in syllabi
- Encourages all instructors to include EDI statements
- Works with MScSM to offer a joint session for students on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion annually
MMI
- Innovation Essentials Coaching: EDI: MMI offers a session for graduate students focusing on how lack of openness to EDI can hinder innovation, and offers advice and training on working to open channels for diversity in the workplace. The session will examine how EDI has become increasingly important in professional and academic settings and encourages students to think about how to take real action to make EDI a priority – not just new buzz words.
MMPA
- EDI Staff & Student Training: The Program hosts an EDI training session for all MMPA students and staff in the Fall term and all students/faculty/staff sign a “Statement of Expectations & Commitments” upon joining the program.
- The Program includes EDI statements in all course outlines
Resources and References