Last year, Aviva, a leading general insurer in the UK and one of the University’s strategic partners, asked Cambridge for help with an important issue: how could it cultivate a more neurodiverse workforce? And, specifically, how could it develop a data science placement programme that would attract and retain more neurodiverse employees?
This is not a straightforward task. Some neurodiverse individuals find aspects of a conventional recruitment process challenging, from the way advertisements are phrased to the questions that are asked in interviews. Once in the workplace, navigating the new environment and connecting with colleagues can be fraught with difficulty. For example, noisy, open-plan workspaces and large meetings can be problematic for people with sensory sensitivities. Many of the cultural and social norms that neurotypical employees take for granted, such as when to take breaks, may need to be made explicit. Aviva asked Cambridge to help it understand the latest research in this area, review best practice from around the world, and seek input from neurodiverse individuals, both within and outside Aviva. From this work, they sought to devise a practical plan for implementation.
ThinkLab, as part of the University’s Strategic Partnerships Office, was the perfect fit for the task. ThinkLab is a programme that brings together Cambridge doctoral students from different backgrounds and disciplines to solve a societal challenge that needs urgent action. I am an engineer working in energy research; as a ThinkLab participant, I was working alongside PhD students specialising in fields ranging from neuroscience, sociology and medicine to chemistry, bioinformatics, and geology. We all brought different skills, knowledge and experience to the project, but the one thing we had in common was a desire to have a direct impact on a real-world problem.
Tapping into global expertise
We were fortunate to receive mentoring from two leading neurodiversity experts: Dr Temple Grandin, a global spokesperson in the field of autism and Professor Amanda Kirby, an academic and CEO of a company that helps organisations adopt a person-centred approach to recruitment. To establish the factors influencing employment of neurodiverse individuals, we met with the University’s Careers Service and Auticon, a multinational IT consultancy that exclusively employs adults on the autism spectrum. Critically, we also sought direct input from neurodiverse individuals to help us understand the kinds of unique challenges they face in their work and to identify any blind spots we might have missed on our own.
ThinkLab in action
We were initially split into teams to brainstorm, collect data and explore best practice principles in neuroinclusive workplaces. During this period, we had regular meetings with Aviva decisionmakers and the teams that would facilitate the placement programme. These interactions were vital for helping us frame practical solutions that would work in the real world.
Having laid the groundwork, we entered the ‘storming’ phase. During the process of close discussion and collaboration with our Aviva partners, it became apparent that the information compiled by the three teams overlapped considerably. This forced us to think critically about our respective contributions to the brief. The ThinkLab model emphasises flexibility so halfway through the process, we decided to redefine the core tenets of the project around the key actions Aviva would need to take in order to implement its new neurodiversity internship programme:
- Recruiting neurodiverse individuals
- Supporting neurodiverse individuals
- Educating the colleagues of neurodiverse individuals.
This pivot equipped us with clear objectives, enabling us to shift from divergent brainstorming to convergent problem solving. In turn, Aviva was better able to understand how our recommendations could be enacted in practice.
This ability to refocus is central to the ThinkLab approach, which demands adaptability and agility from its participants. A ThinkLab project sets out to transform a quite abstract brief into concrete deliverables. It does so by treating project goals as organic, evolving entities which come into sharper relief as the project develops. From an insider’s perspective, I found this both exciting and nerve-racking – akin to laying tracks for a hurtling train!
Change of any kind in a large organisation is challenging and complex, requiring input from many stakeholders. ThinkLab carefully balanced input and challenges from Aviva stakeholders along with the research and best practice we had unearthed along the way. The programme culminated in a discussion of our findings with partners and directors of Aviva’s global data science practice, Aviva Quantum. This was a rewarding experience in presenting our research to the people that would put our recommendations to fruition.
A rewarding experience
Overall, I gained a great deal from my experience with ThinkLab. It was a privilege to be able work on a project which, we hope, will make a real difference to people who are neurodiverse, both those who are able to take advantage of Aviva’s placement scheme directly and those who might benefit from greater awareness and wider changes as a result of Aviva’s approach.
On a personal level, I benefitted enormously from participating in this ThinkLab project and collaborating with researchers from such diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise. The experience exemplified the impact of interdisciplinary collaboration in aid of societal challenges.
Find out more about ThinkLab.
Dante McGrath, Department of Engineering
October 2021
