A presentation I gave at the School of Public Health Education Day conference at Imperial College London on 15th June 2023. I proposed a collaborative inter-disciplinary initiative (GPS-HE) to reflexively examine the positionality of Imperial College as a powerful STEMM- and biomedical-focussed institution with explicitly global ambitions. Drawing from ethnographic principles and methods we should seek to understand the sociocultural and economic impacts of our global engagements – including the intended, unintended and the unimagined – from the perspectives and lived experiences of those potentially (and actually) affected. A set of ethnographic skills, grounded in core anthropological theoretical frameworks, should be integrated into policy-making and into our educational provision to equip graduates with the tools to critically and qualitatively examine the nature and extent of the local, regional and global impacts of change-making or problem-solving endeavours.

1. GPS-HE
Global Positionality in STEMM
Higher Education
Dr Mark Anderson
m.anderson@imperial.ac.uk
15th June 2023

2. Our aim for our graduates is that they will:
(2) Work effectively in multi-cultural, international
teams and across disciplinary boundaries
(4) Innovatively apply their skills to tackling
complex real-world problems
(5) Understand and value different cultures and
perspectives …”
(Imperial College London, 2017: 05)

3. “Imperial College London is a world-changing
global powerhouse that is truly distinctive. We
have tremendous strength and focus on
business, engineering, medicine and science. We
are known for innovation, entrepreneurship,
impact and societal benefit; and we are based in
London, one of the greatest cities in the world.”
(Imperial College London, 2023).

4. • What are the dominant discourses and assumptions
underpinning STEMM education internationally?
• Who do these discourses serve and how?
• What are the existing power dynamics within and around
STEMM, and how does STEMM education reproduce and
perpetuate and impose these dynamics?
• What opportunities exist or could be created within
programme curricula at Imperial to integrate a reflexive
awareness of Imperial’s global positionality and its
implications?
Key questions:

5. • Create a community and resource hub to collate, integrate and
share ideas, experiences and expertise in this space.
• Foster interdisciplinary, inter-institutional and cross-cultural
collaboration and partnership to explore lived experiences,
perspectives and impacts of STEMM-based initiatives on
communities – drawing from ethnographic approaches, principles
and methods.
GPS-HE – a collaborative project between CHERS and School of
Public Health with a goal for wider collaboration across College
Goals:

6. • Develop a ‘centre’ for education, training and research in culturally
reflexive approaches to global challenges that could be integrated
into programme curricula.
• Seek opportunities to contribute to, and help shape, institutional,
academic and educational policies.
• Enhance the profile of Imperial as a culturally reflexive and
responsible agent of collaborative change.
GPS-HE – a collaborative project between CHERS and School of
Public Health with a goal for wider collaboration across College
Goals:

7. Thank you
Dr Mark Anderson
Centre for Higher Education Research and Scholarship
(CHERS)
m.anderson@imperial.ac.uk