Nifemi Onadele
TMU Black Scholars’ Digital Guide
Biography
Hi, my name is Nifemi, and I’m a class of 2025 graduate from Toronto Metropolitan University with a BA in Professional Communication. I am passionate about experience & human-centered design strategy, creative technology, and business innovation. I am currently interested in the use of digital solutions to drive innovation and create meaningful experiences. I look forward to working on projects that address real-world challenges and enhance how people interact with and benefit from services, products, and digital platforms.
My interest in this research began when I supported TMU’s Black Scholarship Institute (BSI) Welcome Ceremony for the inaugural cohort of Black postdoctoral fellows as a volunteer. Seeing the university’s commitment to Black flourishing sparked a strong desire to participate in initiatives that promote equity, create opportunities, and prioritize inclusive excellence while also applying my skills from ProCom to connect research, digital strategy, and advocacy.
During my time at TMU, my extracurricular involvement has allowed me to grow my skills in student leadership, coordination, event planning, and community engagement, having organized initiatives that promote networking, mentorship, and skill development on campus. My leadership experiences have allowed me to actively support and guide fellow students, helping them navigate their academic journeys and develop personally and professionally.
The BSI is the owner of this project and I am so grateful to have helped work towards bringing such a great initiative to life. I want to thank Dr. Grace-Camille Munroe, the Director of the Black Scholarship Institute (BSI), for her support throughout this project. Her guidance and mentorship have been invaluable in my academic journey and in my personal growth and success.
Connect with Nifemi on LinkedIn.
Details of Project
In collaboration with the TMU’s Black Scholarship Institute, this research suggests the implementation of a Black Scholars Digital Guide at TMU to act as a centralized hub designed to amplify the visibility, representation, and impact of Black faculty at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). This initiative addresses Black scholars’ systemic barriers to academic recognition by providing an accessible platform to showcase their research, expertise, and contributions. It also addresses the feelings of isolation and sense of not belonging for Black students reported by students in TMU’s Anti-Black Racism Climate Review Report. The Guide aims to build connections among Black scholars, students, and the wider academic community.
This research explores how digital platforms can be designed to support diversity and inclusion. My findings were supported by a literature review, an environmental scan of peer institutions, and an observational study of TMU’s faculty platforms. A document and content analysis of publicly available sources highlighted how Black faculty achievements, research, and career milestones are typically presented. At the same time, secondary data from reports and initiatives such as TMU’s Anti-Black Racism Campus Climate Review, the Scarborough Charter, and the Black Scholarship Institute (BSI) Internal Consultation provided insights into Black faculty’s challenges, needs, and experiences in academia.
As part of the research project, I developed prototypes based on my analysis of TMU’s web design layout and the data I had collected from secondary sources mentioned above, including the BSI’s vision and mandate to illustrate what the website could look like to provide a strong foundation for its development if implemented.
