New toolkit launched on Embedding engagement in higher education

The National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) has launched a number of new initiatives to encourage academics to take the next step in engaging with the public. It has a manifesto for engagement which universities can sign up to, a new toolkit which provides practical advice and support, as well as opportunities for universities to share case studies and ideas. For example, you can read about a campaign at Kingston and Greenwich universities to engage the older (65+) UK community in debate about sustainable living, or about the Open University’s ‘Evolution Megalab’ which asks for citizens to participate in research by identifying the snails in their gardens.

The NCCPE was set up in 2007 to create a culture within UK Higher Education where public engagement is formalised and embedded as a valued and recognised activity for students and staff. According to Michael Warton, Vice Provost of University College London.

“As the value of knowledge transfer has become increasingly recognised, there has been an important shift from the notion of research dissemination and knowledge transfer as one-way communication to a growing sense of the importance of dialogue and the collective creation and development of knowledge... The biggest lesson we have had to learn is how to listen and how to allow non-specialists not only to challenge our ideas and question the significance of our discoveries, but also to contribute to the knowledge with which we are working.”

Higher education has a crucial part to play in embedding public engagement around new science and technologies. It is increasingly important that academic research is conducted with public views fairly at the front of mind. Equally, there is a formative role for citizens in creating a new generation of scientists who see dialogue as a core part of their work, wherever they take their skills after university.