Written by: Savannah Fort
A diverse and inclusive environment is one that makes everyone feel equally involved in and supported within the team. Bringing together individuals with diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives allows for a greater sense of collaboration. The Mississippi State University EcoCAR team values diversity and has 67 members with 10 majors and eight countries represented.
Jessika Chin Quee, the Equity in Mobility lead, explains the importance of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) to the team and how all the members work together towards the same goal.
“Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is important to our team because it fosters an inclusive, safe, and comfortable environment that encourages collaboration and creativity. It also encourages better teamwork, communication, mutual respect and understanding among team members. Additionally, when diverse perspectives are considered, decision-making tends to be more comprehensive.”
The Equity in Mobility team aims to support the academic and professional success of team members while upholding the values of safety, integrity, diversity, and excellence. Dedication to fostering an environment that encourages subteam members involvement and collaboration remains a guiding principle for the team.
The team envisions continuous learning, data-informed insights, leadership for inclusion, accountability, and transparency. The EiM team and Project Management team are working together to create more inclusive team policies for better subteam experience and involvement. The team prides itself on having core values that positively benefit its members in achieving personal growth and personal and academic success.
The team plans to develop interactive DEI workshops throughout the semester. The EiM subteam developed several DEI strategies and tactics that will focus on the team’s internal DEI efforts. These strategies will be implemented throughout the semester with team leads, faculty and general members’ support. An example of how the EiM subteam has helped in fostering an inclusive environment was by hosting an Inclusive Problem-Solving workshop where members were assigned roles and were given problems to solve together. This has helped everyone to bond more while also having fun.
Follow the Mississippi State EcoCAR team on social media (@msuecocar) for the latest updates and insights as the team continues to make progress towards innovation.
