Training and Development
Staff and students are at the heart of our public engagement effort. We are committed to fostering a campus community that is confident and skilled in championing innovative and thought-provoking public engagement. Our suite of public engagement training includes transferable skills open to all across campus, as well as modules tailored for specific groups such as early career researchers or PhD / pre-doc students. Many of our courses link to follow-through engagement opportunities enabling new skills to be put into practice.
Upcoming courses are listed below. All take place in the Discovery Zone, Sulston Building unless otherwise stated. For further details, visit the booking links.
Become a STEM Ambassador
Tuesday 18th September 2018, 10:30 - 12:00 (followed by lunch and networking)
This induction session is open to all staff and students at the Wellcome Genome Campus who want to bring STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) to external audiences. This can be either as part of our campus public engagement programme, or through the suite of opportunities offered by our regional STEM Ambassador partner ConnectEB. In this session you will find out about what is involved in being a STEM Ambassador, be introduced to some of the opportunities both on and off campus and have the opportunity to network with other new Ambassadors. The session is led by Fran Gale and Michael Norman of the Wellcome Genome Campus Public Engagement team. All attendees must have registered as a STEM Ambassador here.
Engaging with Schools
Friday 5th October 2018, 10:00 - 16:30 (lunch included)
Are you interested in engaging with young people in schools and colleges? This course is designed specifically to develop your knowledge, skills and confidence in designing and delivering successful engagement activities in schools. The course will cover:
- expectations of schools and pupils
- working in partnership with schools
- planning your own schools activities
- how to pitch things at the right level.
This training will be delivered by Dr Ceri Harrop, a freelance public engagement professional who currently works with The Royal Society, The Francis Crick Institute and The University of Manchester. Ceri has extensive experience of supporting scientists to engage the public in their work, with a particular emphasis on schools engagement. Ceri co-designed and delivered training for the RCUK’s Schools-Universities Partnership Initiative.
Capacity: 24 places
Planning your public engagement
Tuesday 16th October 2018, 10:00 - 12:30 (followed by lunch)
Are you interested in engaging people with your research but don't really know where to start? Do you have some ideas for a project but need some help to get it off the ground? This workshop is just for you then!
This course will explore different approaches to public engagement and get you thinking about what you want to get out of engagement with your research. We will then work together to develop a plan for your public engagement ensuring you leave with clear next steps to make your ideas happen.
This training will be delivered by Dr Steve Scott from the Wellcome Genome Campus Public Engagement team.
Capacity: 20 places
Science storytelling
Monday 29th October 2018, 10:00 - 16:30 (lunch included)
Stories are how people understand the world, and they weave together fact and emotion. They can also be a powerful way to connect with the public to share your research and what it's like working in science.
In this workshop, the internationally acclaimed Story Collider will combine their hard-won stage experience in storytelling to help you understand how narrative can enrich your science engagement. You'll be introduced to a combination of creative techniques and empirical science to gain a new appreciation of narrative, but most importantly, you'll work under the guidance of the team to brainstorm, develop, and refine your own stories.
The skills you learn will not only be useful for engaging the public with your science, but will also help you flourish in presentations to peers. Participants will be encouraged to share their stories on stage at the Cambridge Junction in February 2019!
The training will be delivered by Story Collider executive director, Liz Neeley, who has a background in marine biology and science communication, and artistic director, Erin Barker, a writer and experienced storyteller.
Capacity: 40 places
Location: This workshop will take place in the Howard Building, Downing College, Cambridge. CB2 1DQ
Social Media training
Thursday 15th November 2018, 10:30 - 12:30 (followed by lunch)
This session is intended for early career researchers working at the Wellcome Genome Campus interested in enhancing the profile of their academic research through social media interactions. It will help you maximise the benefits of digital and social media. We will discuss how you can use these tools to network and grow your career and how you might integrate and use social media as a public engagement tool within research projects. We will cover top-tips to get the most out of networks like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. Even if you don't have an account on these networks you can still reap the rewards of connecting with wider audiences.
The course is led by Dr Heather Doran, a previous Winston Churchill International Fellow who has explored the use of social media in science and research settings around the world and provided expert opinion pieces for the LSE blog and Association of British Science Writers.
Lunch will be provided afterwards from 12:30
Capacity: 30 places
Public Engagement Masterclass
In addition to our courses for campus staff and students, we also deliver an annual Public Engagement Masterclass in partnership with Wellcome and the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE). This intensive and immersive 3-day residential course is open to newly independent and mid-career researchers across the UK on a competitive application basis. Plans for 2019 are in development but you can explore the programme for previous courses.