Last week staff and students from across the University came together for the annual Faculty of Health and Life Sciences’ Public Engagement Showcase. Held at Novotel Paddington, the showcase was a celebration of the many ways we share our science with the public.
Laura Winters, Faculty Public Engagement Officer provided the highlights from the past year, which included the Faculty’s Public Engagement strategy, flagship events such as Pint of Science, Meet the Scientists and FameLab, as well as upcoming opportunities at Ness Gardens, Eureka Science + Discovery and the Bees: A Story of Survival exhibition at the World Museum. This was followed by talks from Dr Rebecca Geary, who showcased the exciting public engagement activities linked to the C-GULL project, and Dr Emily Rempel shared the brilliant collaborative work from the Civic Data Cooperative.
There was also a series of short talks, covering topics ranging from the Cheltenham Science Festival, widening participation and impact to embedding equality, diversity and inclusion in public engagement.
The guest speaker was David Chapman, Public Engagement Lead for UKRI, who shared UKRI’s public engagement strategy as well as giving advice on best practice when working with audiences outside of the University.
David Chapman commented: “It was fantastic to see the range and quality of public engagement work happening in the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences. Public engagement is increasingly being used to enhance the impact, relevance and significance of research across all disciplines and it was great to see a thriving culture for this work at Liverpool. The day also highlighted the importance of dedicated professional service support and academic leadership for public engagement.”
The event concluded with the Faculty’s Public Engagement Awards, which were presented by Professor Francine Watkins, Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor – Education (Health and Life Sciences). The awards were as follows:
Outstanding Contribution to Public Engagement – Team
Winner: At the EQUATOR Team, Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology
Runners up: Life Sciences Outreach Society
Joint highly commended teams: The Return Project team and the Liverpool Autism Hub
Outstanding Contribution to Public Engagement – Individual
Winner: Dr Clarissa Giebel, Institute of Population Health.
Runner up: Dr Muhammad Awais, Institute of Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology
Joint highly commended: Ieva Andrulyte and Bethany Facer, Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology
Please contact the HLS Public Engagement team at HLSEngagement@liverpool.ac.uk if you would like to get involved in any future events or would like any advice on public engagement.