New Engagement Café launched

Left to Right: Professors Nigel Scollan and Richard Marggraf Turley

A new series of meetings to discuss public engagement is being launched to help co-ordinate experience and activities across the Institution.

The first of the new Engagement Café series will take place on Wednesday 4 February 2015, 1-2pm, in Hugh Owen D54.

Planned for the first Wednesday of each month, the Cafés will be an opportunity to discuss public engagement, share experience and connect our activities.

The format is for one or two colleagues from across the University to give short presentations on recent public engagement in which they’ve been involved, followed by an open discussion.

The first session will feature presentations by Dr Hannah Dee from the Department of Computer Science and Dr Chris Beedie from the Department of Psychology.

Engagement Café has been created by Richard Marggraf Turley, Professor of Engagement with the Public Imagination, Nigel Scollan, Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and Dr Rhodri Llwyd Morgan, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Welsh Language and Culture, and External Engagement.

Professor Richard Marggraf Turley said; “Public connection is something AU has traditionally been very good at, and these cafés represent a relaxed venue to connect and share that wealth of experience. We hope colleagues from across academic and service departments will come along to what we think will be animating opportunities to build on, and enhance, public engagement culture at Aberystwyth.”

Professor Nigel Scollan said; “Public engagement culture is changing across the sector. This timely innovation will enable us to share and learn from a wide range of experience, and we hope will inspire other colleagues to take advantage of the many engagement opportunities at Aberystwyth.”

Tea, coffee and sandwiches will be provided. To give an idea of numbers, we’d be grateful if you’d RSVP to Mrs Sharon Evans (ppe@aber.ac.uk ). Please direct any other queries to Richard Marggraf Turley (rcm@aber.ac.uk) or Nigel Scollan (ngs@aber.ac.uk).

Dr Hannah Dee is Senior Lecturer in Computer Science. Hannah’s research areas are computer vision for the analysis of human behaviour; the detection of shadows and reasoning about shadows; and student attitudes to the study of computer science. Hannah is deputy chair of BCSWomen (the British Computer Society's group for women) and runs the BCSWomen Lovelace Colloqium, the UK’s main event for women undergraduates.  She’s also a Science Champion on the GOWS (Get On With Science) project, and is involved in programming workshops for children and their parents in Wales and across the UK.

Dr Chris Beedie is Reader in Sport & Exercise Psychology and has taught Psychology, Sports Psychology & Skill Acquisition, Health Psychology and Research Methods at several UK universities. He also has extensive experience of teaching in industry, where he has led large-scale education programmes centred around the principles of applied psychology and health science. In February 2014 his work on how placebos can improve sporting performance featured on the BBC’s Horizon programme. A report co-authored by Chris for ukactive into physical inactivity in England received widespread press coverage in the autumn of 2014.

AU54514

Share