SOLARNET Public Engagement Training Workshop
This workshop is currently postponed and will be rescheduled
To support SOLARNET outreach and public engagement efforts we’re organising two training workshops. Aimed at both early career and senior researchers, the workshops will build confidence, skills and perspective for a wide range of communication activities and situations. In addition, the first workshop (in 2020) will be loosely themed around engagement with schools, with the second workshop (in 2021) having elements of collaboration masterclass.
While researchers are welcome to attend either workshop, we hope that some activities developed at (or in response to) the first workshop will be shared for discussion and further development in the second.
The
workshops will be facilitated by highly experienced and award-winning public
engagement professionals, who’ve worked with researchers of all levels,
internationally. Their combined expertise spans primary school teaching,
science broadcast, education leadership, and public engagement project
management. They’ve run children’s film competitions and summer camps, built
media strategies for learned institutions, and coached hundreds of academics in
performance skills.
Workshop 1: 31st March – 1st April 2020, Northumbria University, Newcastle, UK.
This workshop will introduce the range of opportunities through which public engagement can occur, and some of the key issues:
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Why do we want to ‘engage the public with science?’
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Designing for evaluation, pathways to impact, and writing engagement into
research bids.
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Contexts & approaches: the range of opportunities available for science
communication.
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How to talk to people. Understanding your audience, and the ‘communication’
part of ’science communication’.
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Unconscious bias: implications and mitigations.
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Empty vessels to science capital and co-creation: developments and trends
within public engagement.
Workshop 1 will also step through several worked examples, with a particular emphasis on working with schools. We’ll discuss in detail the how we go about understanding the needs of teachers; structuring workshops and activities for classroom use; and techniques for engaging young people. The lessons will be applicable in a wider range of engagement contexts, however we also expect the workshop will spark the development of new classroom activities.
Workshop 2: Details to be confirmed.
The second workshop will welcome newcomers to the group while also continuing and building on the ideas introduced in workshop 1. We’ll cover some more advanced aspects of practice, present further examples of best practice, and delve more deeply into evaluation, writing engagement into grant proposals, and building strategies for impact.
The second workshop can also be steered to meet the interests of the group. It could focus to a greater or lesser extent on media skills (including interviews and video production), performance and presentation, formal education support, or even deeper into impact and evaluation. We also hope to draw on examples from across the community, sharing practice and building collaborations - perhaps those initiated by the first workshop.
Attendance of the workshop is free and open to anyone who considers themselves a member of the Solar Physics research community.
If you would like to attend the first workshop, please register your interest here: https://forms.gle/C5w8Hbw9HY6Wbrrg6
While
there is no current limit on places, depending on the level of interest we may
have to cap attendance.
Information about accommodation and reaching the venue will be available shortly.
Any
questions please email Richard Morton: richard.morton@northumbria.ac.uk
Travel Support
In order to support attendance of the event, we would like to provide financial help for young researchers to attend. Depending upon the number of people requesting assistance, we may not be able to cover all travel/accommodation requests, but will try to provide at least partial support. If you would like assistance in attending the event, please send an email to Richard Morton (richard.morton@northumbria.ac.uk) with estimated costs for your travel and accommodation.
Travel to Newcastle
Air Travel
Newcastle has an international airport that is connected to major hubs (e.g. Schipol and Brussels). So if a direct flight does not exists, hopefully you can go via another major European airport.
Getting to/from Newcastle Airport:
* It is possible to get the local Metro
system into the city centre. Tickets cost around £3 one way and the journey is
20-30 minutes.
* Taxis are also available at the airport,
with the journey taking around 15-20 minutes and costing between £15-£20.
Train
You can get a train direct to Newcastle from most major UK train stations.
Accomodation
There are plenty of hotels in Newcastle City Center and surrounding Northumbria. Here are a few suggestions
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Holiday Inn, Jesmond (~£50 per night)
Jesmond Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE2 1PR
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Grey Street Hotel (~£80 per night)
2-12 Grey Street, Tyne and Wear, Newcastle,
NE1 6EE
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Travelodge (Basic ~£42 per night)
Riverview Buildings 32 Close, Newcastle
upon Tyne NE1 3BE
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Hampton by Hilton (~£60 per night)
Neville Street Baron House, Newcastle upon
Tyne NE1 5EN
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Hotel Indigo (~£70 per night)
2/8 Fenkle Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 5XU