Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
EDI at the Heart of the CERC
Carlos Silva and his leadership team support the idea that scientifically diverse research group, according to lived experiences and training paths, provides more robust and innovative research outcomes.
The CERC implements actions and develops structures to become an inclusive environment where each individual can reach their full potential.
Four Pillars of Our EDI Work
Enable Change
The CERC aims to foster change for EDI in its actions, but also in the values associated with the scientific and research community.
Humility
The CERC team recognizes that it does not have all the solutions needed to provide a discrimination-free scientific environment. The CERC team recognizes that the vocabulary used to describe situations of discrimination may evolve and will adapt accordingly.
Shared Responsibility
The CERC team will support its actions on research by and for people who have been marginalized by the culture and the structure of research and science fields. The EDI engagement of the CERC rests on a teamwork that includes the management team.
Impact
The CERC team wishes to have an impact on the culture of science fields, in particular in sharing tools and knowledge on the topic of EDI in research and science fields.
Our EDI Coordinator
![](https://silvascience.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Fines-Neuschild_Mirjam-Team-Members-300x300.webp)
Mirjam Fines-Neuschild is the Senior Coordinator in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion for the CERC on Light-Matter Interactions in Photonic Materials led by Prof. Carlos Silva. After completing a bachelor’s degree in physics and a master’s degree in physics at the Université de Montréal (UdeM), Mirjam completed an individualized PhD in physics and communication, focusing on the under-representation of women in physics and on ways to foster diversity and inclusion in this field. During a post-doctoral fellowship at Concordia University as a Horizon Scholar, Mirjam led a research project on EDI in the scientific and research communities. She also worked for two years as a facilitator for the American Physical Society Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Alliance and as a contract worker for the Réseau interuniversitaire québécois en équité, diversité et inclusion (RIQEDI). Among her other involvement in EDI, Mirjam co-founded the Diversity Committee of UdeM and the Parité sciences project. All these experiences enable Mirjam to articulate an understanding of university research in physics and its issues related to EDI. This makes her the ideal person to lead the CERC’s EDI projects.
Research interests:
-Identities and inclusion in STEM
-Discourses on EDI and decolonization by STEM researchers
-Intersectionality and power relations
-Funding agencies EDI practices
-Ethnography, interviews and qualitative studies
![](https://silvascience.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Fines-Neuschild_Mirjam-Team-Members.webp)
Mirjam Fines-Neuschild is the Senior Coordinator in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion for the CERC on Light-Matter Interactions in Photonic Materials led by Prof. Carlos Silva. After completing a bachelor’s degree in physics and a master’s degree in physics at the Université de Montréal (UdeM), Mirjam completed an individualized PhD in physics and communication, focusing on the under-representation of women in physics and on ways to foster diversity and inclusion in this field. During a post-doctoral fellowship at Concordia University as a Horizon Scholar, Mirjam led a research project on EDI in the scientific and research communities. She also worked for two years as a facilitator for the American Physical Society Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Alliance and as a contract worker for the Réseau interuniversitaire québécois en équité, diversité et inclusion (RIQEDI). Among her other involvement in EDI, Mirjam co-founded the Diversity Committee of UdeM and the Parité sciences project. All these experiences enable Mirjam to articulate an understanding of university research in physics and its issues related to EDI. This makes her the ideal person to lead the CERC’s EDI projects.
Research interests:
-Identities and inclusion in STEM
-Discourses on EDI and decolonization by STEM researchers
-Intersectionality and power relations
-Funding agencies EDI practices
-Ethnography, interviews and qualitative studies
EDI in Action Through Parité Sciences
The CERC is supporting the work of the project Parité Sciences (PS) which aims to achieve gender parity across all science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields by providing training to Cégep and high-school STEM teachers and educators throughout Québec. This training presents 10 simple strategies that teachers and educators can adopt in the classroom and that have been shown to significantly boost confidence and interest for STEM fields.