REVIEW OF THE YEAR 2008/09 2008/09 REVIEW OF THE YEAR

THE ENGAGED UNIVERSITY

Public engagement at includes all the ways in which University staff and students Engaged University Forums Kathy Sykes, Professor of Sciences and interact with members of the public, encompassing talks, debates, festivals, performances, The Engaged University Steering Group, Society, was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s which oversees this area of the University’s Birthday Honours and has contributed to widening participation, research with, and driven by, communities, volunteering, lifelong work, has organised a series of forums to national strategies on science engagement learning, action research and engaged learning. The Centre for Public Engagement works enable external organisations to play a part by advising funders, government, learned in setting the institution’s engagement institutions and others. She also co-authored alongside colleagues throughout the University to support, reward and celebrate engagement strategy. Three key areas in which the city of a report on the use of dialogue and public activity. Here we cover some of the vast array of such activity that took place in 2008/09, Bristol excels – sustainability, creativity and consultation in shaping government policy. ideas, and connectivity and digital media – to the mutual benefit of the public and the University. have been identified as potential areas for Responding to community needs further engagement work. In May 2009, the The University continues to encourage Engaged University Forum on Sustainability members of staff to take part in volunteering The University’s priorities in this Involving the public This annual event, which involved more than brought together representatives from the activities in Bristol communities by awarding area are to: The University is committed to sharing its 60 Bristol neuroscientists this year, gives University (research staff, support staff and an extra day’s annual leave for the purpose. teaching expertise and research findings the public the chance to meet experts students) and from external organisations, Students, too, have always made a huge • support and promote dialogue with members of the public. One of the in the field, try their hand at interactive including Bristol City Council and the Green investment in the well-being of the local area between staff/students and ways it does this is through organising or neuroscience activities and learn about Capital Momentum Group, Sustrans, through volunteering and more details of their the public; promoting an extensive programme of free new research at Bristol; , Bristol , Wildscreen and the activities can be found on p15. public events. In 2008/09, these included: University of the West of England, to identify • play a leading role in setting • a series of informal ‘Twilight Talks’ held The Centre for Sport, Exercise and Health areas where the University might add value the national agenda on public • a series of lectures to celebrate the just after work where members of the is involved in a wide variety of community to current work in the sustainability arena. engagement in higher education; University’s centenary, featuring renowned public met academics to hear about and projects. Among the year’s highlights was the Outcomes included proposals to develop speakers such as Jonathan Kestenbaum respond to their latest research. Festival of School Sports and Culture. The multi-partner research bids, training for • respond positively to on innovation, Leonard Susskind on three-day event, held at the Coombe Dingle undergraduate and postgraduate students in community needs; Darwin and the cosmic landscape and Leading role for CPE Sports Complex and involving 18 Bristol sustainability-related skills and shared visions Will Hutton on the shifting global economy; The University’s Centre for Public secondary schools, aimed to celebrate sport • play a positive role in the affairs of Bristol as an eco-city. Engagement (CPE) went from strength to participation and achievement and provide of the city, region and nation; • a major exhibition of photographs of life strength in 2008/09, co-ordinating efforts to pupils with a positive experience of sport. in China at the Grant Bradley Gallery in Setting the national agenda • nurture relationships with alumni ensure that engagement is embedded in the Bedminster. The five-week Picturing China The University continues to play an active The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and other friends of the University; University’s culture. As well as organising 1870-1950 exhibition was accompanied part in the activities of the National Co- and Children is engaging further with the engagement events in partnership with • behave responsibly as an institution. by a series of evening talks about China ordinating Centre for Public Engagement local community by turning participants others, it gave presentations to departments past, present and future, a schools (NCCPE). The Centre, which is funded by from its Children of the 90s study into young and faculties throughout the year, and to outreach programme to primary and the Higher Education Funding Council for researchers themselves. It has set up a Top: Participants in the Children of the 90s study Court and Council, outlining the ways in Bottom: Brain Awareness Week secondary schools involving more than England, Research Councils UK and the Teenage Advisory Panel, which provides a which it can support academics in sharing 500 local children and a Chinese New Wellcome Trust, is working to embed public forum for the young people to contribute their work with wider audiences. It also Year celebration in conjunction with the engagement across the higher education their views on the study and inform its Excellence 2009. It was judged to be organised the University’s first Engage City Museum; sector. Its steering group is chaired by the future direction. making a strikingly positive and sustained 2009 conference, providing an opportunity Vice-Chancellor. The University’s own Centre impact on the community through its strong • a series of ‘citizen science’ activities for staff and postgraduates to hear from The University maintained its involvement for Public Engagement represents Bristol on schools outreach programme. This is the co-ordinated by researchers in the School national figures in public engagement, share in the Merchants’ Academy in Withywood, the NCCPE project group, which provides first Big Tick ever awarded to a university of Biological Sciences (during National experiences and ideas, and find out about South Bristol, which has completed its first valuable opportunities to share learning, department for outreach activities and is Science and Engineering Week and at the the range of public engagement activity at year of operation. As co-sponsor with the propose joint work and co-ordinate with also the first awarded to an educational ) that involved hundreds of the University. Another new initiative, aimed Society of Merchant Venturers, the University counterparts at the University of the West of programme in the chemical sciences. schoolchildren in the task of identifying and at helping staff to capture and articulate the played a significant role in the establishment England. Joint work during 2008/09 focused recording invasive moths and their pest- value of their public engagement activities, of the Academy, including its education on training for public engagement and on the controlling parasites, bringing the issue of was the creation of a public engagement strategy. Three members of staff at the research impact agenda, which asks biodiversity alive for thousands of people; stories website (www.bristol.ac.uk/ University continue to serve as governors. academics to articulate the economic and publicengagementstories). • Brain Awareness Week, hosted by Bristol societal impacts of their work. This learning Bristol ChemLabS, one of the University’s Neuroscience and supported by The will be shared across UK higher education two Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Physiological Society and the Biotechnology with a view to securing the culture change Learning, won a prestigious Big Tick award and Biological Sciences Research Council. sought by funding bodies. in Business in the Community’s Awards for

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