Surrey-led GENIUS project highly commended at the British Diversity Awards 2025
The Generating Neuro-Inclusive Selection (GENIUS) Project, run by Dr Alison Callwood at the University of Surrey, was a finalist at the British Diversity Awards 2025.
Dr Alison Callwood, left, at the British Diversity Awards 2025, with her colleague at Sammi-Select, Vicki Perry.
The star-studded event was held at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House London on Wednesday 19 March and attended by over 1,200 guests. Dr Alison Callwood received the highly commended accolade for the GENIUS project, coming second in the Diversity in Tech (Disability) category. The British Diversity Awards are held annually and recognise individuals and organisations who strive to make workplaces and society more inclusive.
Dr Callwood is the co-founder and CEO of Sammi-Select, a University of Surrey spin-out company which aims to change the recruitment landscape for diversity hiring.
The GENIUS Project aims to promote equity and inclusivity in candidate selection processes. The innovative project primarily focuses on neurodivergent individuals, who often face systemic barriers in traditional hiring practices.
Crucially, individuals with lived experience of neurodivergence actively collaborated in the development of recruitment tools and processes for the project. This allows for accessible and meaningful solutions, rather than making adjustments to an inherently exclusionary hiring system.
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