BCIT seeks to foster a climate of collaboration, understanding, and mutual respect between all community members and ensure an inclusive, accessible working and learning environment where everyone can succeed. In recognition of this, BCIT is embarking on designing and creating an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) strategy that will be finalized and shared with the community.
All individuals have unique abilities, backgrounds, experiences, and identities that make up our diverse community at BCIT. To ensure that all these voices are being considered in the design process of the EDI strategy, VEZA Global, a third-party consultant, will host various focus groups and surveys to hear direct feedback and input from the BCIT community.
The Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Belonging (IDEA+B) Executive Summary
The results from the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Belonging (IDEA+B) audit highlight that BCIT is committed to, and has taken important steps towards, embedding inclusivity within the Institute’s culture. This report is designed to support BCIT in continuing to foster an inclusive workplace and educational setting where staff, faculty, and students feel psychologically safe and have a sense of belonging.
The focus of this report is:
1. Creating an inclusive campus that fosters belonging;
2. Attracting and retaining diversity of thought amongst staff and faculty; and
3. Supporting innovative and inclusive teaching and scholarship.
The basis of the recommendations and next steps are grounded in Indigenization and Decolonization. The implementation of these recommendations will need to be an Institute wide initiative as IDEA+B is most meaningful and impactful when embedded into how managers engage with their teams, students engage with staff and faculty, and faculty members teach.
A key recommendation to support these initiatives is for BCIT to continue this work through the Respect, Diversity and Inclusion office through the development of the strategy report that will ideally be adopted at a departmental level through implementation plans by departmental committees.