At JEDI we believe that students should have a sense of belonging at University, and they need to trust their home institution that their authentic views and voices will be heard and valued. Students are at the heart of what we do, all students should have a fair opportunity to belong, and feel welcomed to the Wolverhampton community. It must be equitable and not tokenistic. We believe that Equality should be experienced by all, and we want to build that platform with you to have the opportunity to have conversations about self-identity, race, discrimination and micro-aggressions. At JEDI your voice matters, it will be heard.  

Students will not be marginalised because of accents, heritage languages and preconceived notions of ethnicity and class. The time for the change in narrative of race has passed, we are already too late, words can now longer just be words in a hypothetical framework. JEDI is the action we desire and deserve. It is time to belong, this is your home, your University of Opportunity.  

Whoever you are, all we ask is that you are Authentically You.  

We have all heard of those “Old Boys Networks” to refer to social and business connections of white male-only elite schools. JEDI is here to smash those preconceived notions. JEDI will provide you with the opportunities you need to connect with other students and employers that understand you.  

The next generation of CEOs of global businesses are current students, so it is not useful to know Jeff Bezos but maybe it is useful to know your fellow students and build your network of future leaders.   

Our Networking Pillar encompasses Events and Conferences, Student Union Societies and Black and Global Majority only events. Our networking events are designed to make you feel comfortable, safe and at ease to build a network with individuals and businesses who have the same lived experience as you.  

JEDI is designed to unlock student talent by reconnecting with disadvantages groups in the hyper-local and regional communities, JEDI will ensure that academic ‘language’ and microaggressions are decoded so that outsiders can feel like insiders. JEDI is a safe space for students to discuss strategies to improve workstreams and overcome systematic barriers.

As part of JEDI, we have a bespoke module designed to explore the understanding of self, the understanding of place and a sense of belonging, whilst developing key critical academic skills, from writing to presenting your own ideas. This module is only available to Black and Global Majority students. We will cover critical conversational topics such as Post-Racial Resilience, The Colonisation Black Beauty and Black People and Mental Health.  

 Alongside the JEDI module we will have one-off workshops to explore library and financial skills. Launching in Autumn we will also have an Entrepreneurship Hub, designed to give Black and Global Majority students an opportunity to explore business ideas with industry professionals, with the possibility of launching the next big business.  

You have arrived at University, you are here because you belong here. You are not broken, you do not need to catch up to learning, you do not need to learn new skills to belong. You already possess these skills, it’s time to unlock your potential.  

Mentoring at JEDI provides you with career support from an industry professional or a career coach. JEDI’s mentoring is an innovative, positive-action talent programme for Black and Global Majority students. 

Black and Global Majority is a collective term that first and foremost speaks to and encourages those so-called, to think of themselves as belonging to the majority on planet earth. It refers to people who are Black, African, Asian, Brown, dual-heritage, indigenous to the global south, and or, have been racialised as 'ethnic minorities’. Globally these groups currently represent approximately eighty per cent (80%) of the world's population, making them the global majority now, and with current growth rates, notwithstanding the Covid-19 pandemic, they are set to remain so for the foreseeable future.

With many British Black and Global Majority students reaching University without having had any formal education covering their own racial and cultural history. Many students have suppressed their inner self-identity, they have been told they can’t succeed, people like them don't belong, and that they should not be at University. Black and Global Majority students carry more weight on their shoulders than just a backpack full of books.  

You can use JEDI to overcome racial trauma and hidden identities to unlock the true you through critical conversations with experienced professionals with our Identity Coaching and Employer Mentoring opportunities.  

You can stand tall, proud of yourself, feel and be YOU with JEDI.