It was an exhilarating day filled with exciting discoveries for eight Berkeley graduate students affiliated with the Inclusive Excellence Hub. The Hub sent this cohort of masters and doctoral students from a variety of disciplines to take part in the Scientific Engagement and Emerging Discovery Sciences (SEEDS) Symposium organized by Merck Research Laboratories in South San Francisco.

As a vital component of the Hub’s industrial partnership initiatives, Merck Research Laboratories extended a warm invitation to graduate students eager to explore the realm of industry research experiences. Our gracious hosts, Saswata Talukdar, Sharon Jensen-Cody, PhD, and Oscar Ekpenyong,  offered an insightful tour of the laboratories and a sneak peek into the life of an industrial scientist.. The students left the symposium intrigued by the possibilities of pursuing a career in industry and expressed sincere appreciation for considering the hosts as newfound mentors.

The Inclusive Excellence Hub serves as Berkeley’s first  dedicated space designed to foster Increased Diversity and Belonging for graduate students. By enhancing diversity among graduate students, we aim to inject greater diversity into the leadership of tomorrow. Innovative offerings like “the Hub” are part of the mix that drives retention and career success for these students. 

The Inclusive Excellence Hub houses transformative programs that set national standards for inclusivity and belonging. Serving as a vibrant home for current students, the Hub’s programs also attract highly qualified prospective graduate and undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds. These programs play a pivotal role in showcasing Berkeley’s mission as a beacon of opportunity for promising students from every background.

This academia-industry collaborative effort to promote diverse leadership in science is just one among the many pioneering programs housed at the Inclusive Excellence Hub. Learn more about programs and events at the Hub.