Marshall are excited to announce that following the launch of their EDI in Higher Education training programme for Irish University staff in April 2021, the IUA Vice Presidents for EDI, who have been mindful of the issue of race equality, have signed on for a new Irish edition of their popular "Let's Talk about Race" course. Within this version, the content has been tailored to fit an Irish context, as different countries will naturally have different cultural contexts, laws, and dynamics with regards to race.

The "Let's Talk about Race" equality training course has been designed to teach learners that racism is not just about explicit racist language, abuse, or discrimination, but it can take the form of inequality and inadvertent bias ingrained in the way organisations and society is run.

David Marshall, the company’s founder, said, "We're extremely happy to see so many universities in Ireland see the value of a course tailored to the Irish context. It's really important to us that our content is relevant for the people taking the course, and this is a great example of that."

The course is kicked off by some great insight from Professor Philomena Mullen, an assistant professor of Black Studies at Trinity College Dublin, who clearly outlines the difference between "individual acts of racism" and "structural racism". Marshall feel it's noteworthy to see an expert in the field give personal views regarding such key issues.

The company also finds it really pleasing to see that the Irish Universities have come together to partake in this course, as it will help learners to

• understand what unconscious racial bias is
• describe what is meant by white privilege
• list the differences between "in groups" and "out groups"
• recognise racial micro aggressions
• describe how an organisation can either reverse or perpetuate racial bias, depending on its actions/inactions.

Dr. Marie Connolly, Director of Human Rights, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion from the University of Limerick, is someone who they have worked alongside to put the course together. She says "We are very pleased, following the culmination of many months work in collaboration with our eLearning provider, Marshall E-Learning, to commence the roll-out of the online training programme 'Let's Talk about Race in Ireland’s Higher Education Sector'.  This programme for staff and students is a key initiative in building the intercultural understanding and competence required to achieve systemic change. 'Let's Talk about Race in Ireland’s Higher Education Sector' will complement the universities’ existing race awareness and education activities."