Volunteering opportunity in public engagement in health sciences - 22 July 2013

The University of Bristol Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research (bris.ac.uk/blackwell) is a new organisation that will deliver innovations desperately needed to tackle many of our pressing health problems. The official launch will highlight Elizabeth Blackwell’s life and her pioneering work in public health in the UK, include a panel discussion focusing on the use of cutting-edge engineering technologies in health monitoring, and will be followed by a reception.

The event will take place on Monday the 22nd of July 2013, between 5:30 pm and 8 pm at the Wills Memorial Building.

We would like to recruit University of Bristol student volunteers to help us ensure the event is a success.

Duties will include stewarding; looking after speakers, VIPs and Elizabeth Blackwell’s relatives; manning the registration desk, answering guests' enquiries and facilitating questions and answers session. Volunteers will have the opportunity to attend the event and meet participants. It will provide volunteers with very valuable experience in public engagement which can be used in prospective job and research grant applications.
For further information about this exciting event please visit this website:
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/blackwell/events/2013/7.html

If you are interested in this opportunity, please get in touch with
Sonia Vougioukalou at s.a.vougioukalou@bristol.ac.uk as soon as possible.

Engagers’ Digest 14/05/12

In this edition:

University of Bristol engagement

1.    Volunteering at Know your Bristol events

2.    Volunteering (and paid work) at Bristol Festival of Nature

Events

1.    Workshop on student involvement in STEM communication activities: 25 May 2012, Bath

2.    Science cafe - Making blood: 28 May 2012, Bristol

3.    Community Partner Summit: 25 – 26 June 2012, Bristol

4.    NCCPE Engage 2012 conference – call for contributors and session convenors

Other news

1.    RCUK research career case studies

2.    Outreach opportunity – looking for keynote speaker: Skirting Science

Volunteers for Discover 2010 - 11-13 March

Calling all volunteers!

We are recruiting volunteers to help with Discover, an exhibition and programme of activities celebrating research across the University of Bristol. Discover website

The exhibition is a three-day event, from Thursday 11 to Saturday 13 March, in The Mall Bristol in Broadmead and Cabot Circus. We anticipate over 3,000 people attending Discover over the three days, including several hundred school children. The festival is open to the public from 9am until 6 pm and we need people throughout the day.

This is a great opportunity to be involved in a high-profile event and to meet people from across the University.

You can help in any number of ways, including guiding Bristol schools around the exhibits on Thursday or Friday, talking about your university experiences, explaining our work to the public, or helping out with the event organisation on any of the three days.

We are planning this free event to be interactive, educational and fun, and the experience in public engagement and working with children will look great on your CV. You'll be given refreshments throughout the day and you can take home the T-shirt. This is also a great way of meeting people from all sorts of backgrounds including researchers, teachers, pupils, professional communicators and fellow students.

For staff and postgraduates:

Please contact Dane Comerford, Centre for Public Engagement; tel: 0117 331 8315 (internal 18315), email: dane.comerford@bristol.ac.uk. We will hold briefing sessions on Monday 8 March at 1pm and 5.15 pm.

For undergraduates:

Please contact Rachel Miller, Community Engagement Co-ordinator; tel: 0117 954 5768 (internal 45768), email: rachel.miller@bristol.ac.uk. We will hold briefing sessions on Monday 8 March at 1pm and 5.15 pm.

Graduates needed at Coexist

Coexist, housed in the bustling and vibrant Hamilton House on Stokes Croft, is calling for help from new graduates, or people with some time to contribute to their fantastic projects:

Coexist would like to invite all those graduates that have finished their degrees and
are now busting with enthusiasm and knowledge but are lacking something to get
their teeth into. We have several projects within the Coexist project that need
your help. We are forming crack teams to support the existing management here at
Hamilton House in a drive to capitalise on all the hard work that has gone in to
date. So get in touch if you are proactive, energetic and feel motivated by the
core Coexist principle of working openly together for the benefit of the whole.
Email us at info@coexistuk.org immediately and tell your friends!

City of Sanctuary 2010

Bristol is aiming to establish itself as a "City of Sanctuary" in 2010, contributing to the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion. Organisations and individuals are asked to pledge their support, and contributions from University of Bristol staff and students would be welcomed.

From the City of Sanctuary site:

Bristol - once known as a city of slavery - is growing now into a city of sanctuary. For years Bristol has offered a welcome to people whose lives were in danger in their own countries. The Bristol City of Sanctuary Group is spearheading efforts to see this culture of welcome and hospitality extended to include people seeking sanctuary (asylum seekers and refugees) in our city. City of Sanctuary is a movement to build a culture of hospitality for people seeking safety in the UK. So far only Sheffield has been named City of Sanctuary in UK. In order for Bristol to achieve this status the city needs to achieve certain essential goals.
Our Steering Group invites all organisations, local groups, religious groups, schools, universities, businesses and individuals to join us and help make Bristol proud to be a place of safety.We hope to stimulate opportunities for those seeking sanctuary to participate fully in the life of this city.
The Group is working towards an official launch at Council House, College Green on Thursday 20, May 2010, the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion.

Contact Forward Maisokwadzo

Engagers digest

Welcome to another Engagers digest, this one featuring opportunities for student volunteering, arts collaborations, influencing the future of public engagement and running an event at the prestigious Dana Centre, amongst other things.

vinspired students Pilot Fund. Deadline 14 October 2009
The National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) and v, the young people's volunteering charity, have launched a pilot fund to explore innovative student volunteering. Grants are available up to £10,000 and the closing date is 14 October. Visit the NCCPE's website for more information.

Festival of Nature Director. Deadline 24 October 2009
The Bristol Natural History Consortium is seeking to appoint a Director for the Festival of Nature, Bristol's celebration of the natural world. Check their website for more information.

AHRC collaborative and partnership working workshop. 5 November 2009
The AHRC will host a workshop on collaborative and partnership working with commercial partners and the cultural and heritage sectors at Paintworks in Bristol from 11 am to 5 pm on 5 November.

National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement Open House. 25 November 2009
The NCCPE is holding an Open House at its offices in the Watershed, Bristol, from 11 am to 4 pm. There will be presentations from Paul Younger (Newcastle University), Gerry Kelleher (MMU) and Kathy Sykes (University of Bristol), and case studies from the Beacons for Public Engagement. To register your interest, e-mail NCCPE Enquiries. For more news and events from the NCCPE, visit their news page.

Run an event at the Dana Centre
The Science Museum's Dana Centre in London is giving people the opportunity to run an event for ages 16+ about science, technology, medicine, design or enterprise, with a free venue and technical support.

NCCPE draft framework for public engagement
Have your say on the NCCPE's draft framework for public engagement, which aims to describe what public engagement is, how and why universities do it, and how its impact can be measured. You can read the document and comment on their website, or through an online survey.

Impact! World
EPSRC has launched Impact! World, a new website featuring films and case studies showing the ways that EPSRC-funded research is helping build the world around us.

National Science and Engineering Week/ESRC Festival of Social Science
Finally, a reminder that applications for funding of up to £2,000 to run an event for National Science and Engineering Week or the ESRC Festival of Social Science (both 12-21 March 2009) close on 2 November and 9 October respectively.

Paul Manners from NCCPE presents the Beacons for Public Engagement

The National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement

View more presentations from cpebristol.

The Beacons for Public Engagement initiative aims to create a culture within UK higher education where public engagement is formalised and embedded as a valued and recognised activity for staff and students at all levels.

It is a four-year strategic project that looks at culture change within a number of university-based partnerships, the Beacons. The project is coordinated by the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE), which synthesises the work of each Beacon, drawing out the lessons learned and good practice from their varied experiences and looking at the conditions required for public engagement to be embedded within an institution. The newly-launched website provides further detail on this project and sets out a framework for public engagement, to which the team encourages feedback and contribution.

The NCCPE has identified 'triggers' for embedding engagement:

• It is part of the strategy and promoted through leadership;
• It is recognised and rewarded, and staff involvement supported;
• It is coordinated, learning is shared;
• It involves the public in governance and through ongoing dialogue;
• It includes and involves students;
• Public engagement success is celebrated through communication.
  

(NB: There was some discussion in plenary about whether the word 'trigger' is appropriate, and Paul encourages people with different views to get in touch with them).

As well as drawing learning from the experiences of the Beacons, the NCCPE is also involved in some specific projects, such as its Student Volunteering Initiative, which looks at the role, contribution and impact of student volunteering. The Centre is also working with the Leadership Foundation to embed public engagement.

The NCCPE wants to state the case for public engagement and why it matters by sharing strong messages about its benefits. Visit their website for further information and get involved.