guest blog written by Professor Janine Natalya Clark I spent a year in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) in 2014-2015, doing research with men and women who had suffered sexual violence during the Bosnian war. When some of the female interviewees (but interestingly none of the male interviewees) talked about the verbal abuse that they had faced from … Continue reading “Reflections on my IAA grant: An Unfinished Journey”
Category: Think: Public Engagement
Do we have a duty to be beautiful? Heather Widdows at the Book to the Future Festival
Written by guest blogger George Dibble Research Development Officer, Departments of Philosophy and Theology & Religion It’s not surprising that the way we look matters in an increasingly visual and virtual world. Whether you get ‘likes’ or make a good first impression matters and the pressure to be perfect is something which young men and … Continue reading “Do we have a duty to be beautiful? Heather Widdows at the Book to the Future Festival”
Consultation on REF2021 draft guidance and panel criteria: What does it say about public engagement?
In July 2018, draft guidance and panel criteria for REF 2021 were published for consultation. This follows the Stern review, which made the following recommendation about public engagement: “Recommendation 7: Guidance on the REF should make it clear that impact case studies should not be narrowly interpreted, need not solely focus on socioeconomic impacts but should also include impact on … Continue reading “Consultation on REF2021 draft guidance and panel criteria: What does it say about public engagement?”
Lapworth Lates – a ROAR-ingly successful pilot…?
For a while I’d been thinking about how the public engagement with research (PER) team might create a novel platform event to bridge arts and science research / practice together in a creative, entertaining and educational way… I’m a big fan of the revamped Lapworth Museum of Geology (re-opened in June 2016 following a £2.7 … Continue reading “Lapworth Lates – a ROAR-ingly successful pilot…?”
Big ‘Push’ for new Yoga for Bump Sessions!
Guest post by Dr Magdalena Skrybant, Patient and Public Involvement Lead, CLAHRC West Midlands Traditionally, it has been challenging to involve and engage pregnant women in research. Most pregnant women have many competing demands on their time and there are logistical and practical issues to be considered when engaging/involving women in research (I feel like … Continue reading “Big ‘Push’ for new Yoga for Bump Sessions!”
STFC launches Interact 2017 Evaluation Report in partnership with UoB
University of Birmingham, together with STFC, Institute of Physics and SEPnet are proud to launch the evaluation report from Interact 2017. Interact 2017 was a symposium whose aim was to cultivate a community of engagement practitioners within the physical sciences who develop high quality STEM engagement and encourage a culture of strategic and reflective practice. The symposium was a success with over … Continue reading “STFC launches Interact 2017 Evaluation Report in partnership with UoB”
REF 2021 Public Engagement Workshop
On 6th February 2018, the HEFCE REF Team convened a meeting to discuss issues associated with the assessment of how impact derived from Public Engagement with Research (PER). Attendees included a mix of public engagement staff (both academic and professional services), sub-panel chairs, advisers and secretaries, and institutional REF people (again, both academic and professional … Continue reading “REF 2021 Public Engagement Workshop”
PERspectives: ENCOMPASS – Notes from the project kick-off meeting
Piece by Derren Cresswell, ENCOMPASS Research Fellow As we waited for the primary school children to finish up their session in the education room, it was clear that the network that is being created by the ENCOMPASS project was well under way. People introduced themselves as they filled out name tags and chatted about bits of public … Continue reading “PERspectives: ENCOMPASS – Notes from the project kick-off meeting”
PERspectives: Encounters in Art and Science at Think Corner, Helsinki
Piece written by: Melissa Grant, Senior Lecturer in Biological Sciences, School of Dentistry, Institute of Clinical Sciences, University of Birmingham I recently had the pleasure of visiting Think Corner (or Tiede Kulma in Finnish*) in Helsinki for the launch of the Encounters Across Art and Science events courtesy of the Finnish Bioart Society. The idea for the … Continue reading “PERspectives: Encounters in Art and Science at Think Corner, Helsinki”
PER case studies: Fossil Forensics – UnEarthed 2017
Written by Jonathan Hall Earth Science PhD students Jonathan Hall and Jack Richardson, and MSc Applied and Petroleum Micropalaeontology graduate Rebecca Walley travelled to Edinburgh in mid-November (17-20th) to showcase Fossil Forensics at the Natural Environmental Research Councils’s (NERC) annual science public engagement event, this year titled UnEarthed. Fossil Forensic team members: Rebecca Walley, Jonathan Hall and Jack Richardson Created by … Continue reading “PER case studies: Fossil Forensics – UnEarthed 2017”