C4 - Professional development through Public Engagement
Day 2 at 11:00 - The Knowledge Exchange in Design (KED) scheme, funded by AHRC, centres on providing development opportunities for PhD and early career researchers through their involvement in short, focused projects with partners outside the academy. Projects include problem-solving exercises, contributions to planning or delivery of specific projects, and development of future strategy. The only stipulation has been that the project produce a tangible output, for example a report or presentation to the partner organisation. Four universities are currently involved in the scheme, and partners include museums, galleries and commercial organisations. The project has been supported throughout by a mentoring forum that allows participants, both researchers and external partners, to reflect on their experiences and share thoughts on the project. KED addresses the professional development and public engagement agenda of RCUK, whilst also building links between participating institutions and external partners which can form the basis for further engagement. This workshop discussed experiences to date, plans for further development, and provided an opportunity for participants to discuss the relevance of the approach to their own subject disciplines. Strand - All Researchers (practice).
| Day | Day 2 |
|---|---|
| Session | C |
| Start time | 11.00 |
| Strand | All Researchers (practice) |
| Code | C4 |
| Presenters | Dr Anne Boultwood - Coordinator for Researcher Education and Development, Birmingham Institute of Art and Design Ms Jayne Sharples - Professional Coach and Mentor, University of Birmingham Dr Zoe Millman - Postdoctoral Researcher, Bimirngham City University |
Topics covered:
- developing a scheme to address career development in PhD and early career researchers
- addressing institutional aspects of public engagement through knowledge exchange
- use of a peer mentoring forum to support researchers working with external organisations
- skills developed through knowledge exchange with non-academic organisations
- outcomes and future developments of a Knowledge Exchange scheme.
Workshop outcomes:
Participants:
- explored novel ways of addressing career development for new researchers
- gained an insight into institutional approaches to public engagement
- considered the use of peer mentoring in researcher development programmes
- identified concrete ideas for applying these approaches to their own area.
Format:
Information, interaction, discussion.
