‘Get In Cambridge’ campaign to increase diversity shortlisted in Asian Media Awards

The latest phase of the campaign – to encourage more students from underrepresented backgrounds to apply – features a series of films and videos aimed at the UK Bangladeshi and UK Pakistani communities, two of the most underrepresented groups at the University. The targeted social media videos, launched in 2020, were created in partnership with Cambridge undergraduates and student societies to reach teenagers from those communities and break down misconceptions that might put them off applying.

In the films, 10 Cambridge students, who went to state schools in London, Manchester and Bradford before arriving at Cambridge to study subjects including English, History and Classics, compare the perceptions they had of the University as sixth formers with the reality of their lived experience. The films follow them in lectures, prayer spaces and at University cultural and religious society events, as they make it clear that concerns over cultural barriers can be overcome at Cambridge, religious practices can be observed, and people don’t have to change who they are to fit in.

The series – funded philanthropically by alumni – also includes six ‘Myth vs Reality’ videos which, among others, challenge the myth that Cambridge is more expensive to study at than other universities, and highlight the opportunity to choose a women-only college.

Alongside the ‘Get in Cambridge’ films, the University supported the inaugural South Asian Heritage Month (SAHM) in 2020, by sharing the experiences of our students. To mark the month in 2021, we dedicated our first ever Twitter space with geneticist Professor Sadaf Farooqi to SAHM. We also actively promoted our PhD student and alumnus Bobby Seagull who co-hosted the official SAHM quiz and who in 2021 became an official patron of SAHM. We additionally reached out to all our South Asian student societies and shared images and video content from those who were able to take part including Bangla, India, Sri Lanka and Tamil societies.

The ‘Get In Cambridge’ campaign is shortlisted in the ‘Creative Media Award Category’ of the Asian Media Awards 2021, which recognises the work of journalists, writers, broadcasters and bloggers from across the UK. It also highlights the contribution of media professionals in the creative and marketing industry.

Finalists in the Creative Media Award section are:

• ‘Football and Me’ – The Football Association & Rubika Shah, Smoking Bear Productions
• ‘Get In Cambridge’ – University of Cambridge
• Same Voices Unite: West End Stars Raise Awareness for India Covid Relief – Irvine Iqbal
• #StrongerRoots : Every Strand Tells A Story – Ethnic Reach for Vatika UK
• #TakeTheVaccine : Vaccine Hesitancy Campaign for Ethnic Minority Communities – Media Hive

Winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester on Friday October 29, 2021. More information here.

‘Get In Cambridge’
Cambridge launched social media campaign ‘Get In Cambridge‘ in 2019 to help increase diversity in the undergraduate body. Cambridge alumna and YouTube vlogger Courtney Daniella fronted the first phase of the ‘Get In Cambridge’ campaign, and in five films described her journey to Cambridge from her single-parent family on a North London council estate.