University of Birmingham launches the UK’s first institute researching Superdiversity

Despite politicians' best efforts to reduce immigration, Britain has already entered an era of superdiversity that is here to stay. The UK's population is more complex than ever before. One in eight people now living in England and Wales were born overseas. In a bid to help come to terms with and understand this shift in population the University of Birmingham is set to launch the Institute for Research into Superdiversity (IRiS) on Thursday 13th June. It is the first institution in the UK, and one of the first globally, to focus on superdiversity. Dr Jenny Phillimore, Director of IRiS, says: "Politicians talk about migration and immigration but these discussions overlook the fact that society is changing at a greater speed and scale than ever before. Diversity is being replaced by superdiversity.