UCL #computerscience doesn't yet have a presence here, but here's an opening for someone looking for #PhD position - #Robotics and #AI (September 2023 intake)
Find out more at http://tthuruthel.com/opening/phd/
(via @Deisenroth@mastodon.social on birdsite)
Also worth pointing out UCLCS are offering fully funded (Home fees only) scholarships for prospective undergraduate from Black or mixed Black ethnic backgrounds who wish to study CS or Robotics & AI. More info at
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/computer-science/study/scholarships/aspire-award-undergraduate-scholarship
@davoloid I mean I’m not new to the concept of underrepresented groups. I just think it’s on shaky grounds because most underprivileged groups experience a lack of opportunities not because they’re of a specific racial group, but rather because they’re poor.
But even without all this, affirmative action precedents in the U.S. ban race being the sole reason for admitting/rejecting an applicant. So yeah, that won’t pass
@daeyoung I take your point, and at the same time there are targeted campaigns for such groups (e.g. white working class), to give them educational, mentoring opportunities and provide that financial net which means university is not as scary an option.
E.g. my kids school (inner city) had a programme run with a Uni where they connected with PhD students for their own personal research projects. For many of those kids, and their parents, University is another... well, Universe away.
@davoloid It's true that there are many other organizations that provide financial aid for certain groups that they intend to represent—e.g., Jewish Assistance Fund or Grants for Asians Provide Valuable College Funding. These organizations collectively form an exhaustive support network in a society. Meanwhile, I haven't seen a financial aid program for white people only, and if those things did exist, I'm 95% confident that it would be perceived as being problematic at best and probably racist. Such organizations will 100% be labeled as "white supremacist".
Anyhow, even if the program is well-intentioned, I don't believe the state (as UCL is a public university in the UK) should be allowed to single out a racial/ethnic group at the expense of all others. Positive discrimination is still discrimination
@daeyoung It's fairly common policy, rationale being:
Recognition that minority students are underrepresented
Often down to reduced opportunities throughout education, but also institutional, cultural and societal reasons for this.
Scholarships such as this tend to provide an opportunity for someone who is qualified but would otherwise be unable to take a place. Paired with mentoring this can have great impact.
There are still many *many* barriers to being able to discriminate positively e.g. in quotas in applications.