Pathways to Impact Award : University of Southampton
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Southampton
Department Name: Faculty of Engineering & the Environment
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Philip Arthur Nelson (Principal Investigator) |
| Description | This University of Southampton report covers the activities funded under the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council's £450k Pathways to Impact Awards grant, which ran between September 2010 and March 2011. In total the University of Southampton has funded twenty distinct projects; sixteen individual projects by small academic teams (one or two academics as PI/Co-I), three Faculty-wide activities, as well as support towards the University's presence at the Southampton International Boat Show. These projects cover a broad spectrum of activities, ranging from schools outreach activities, workshops, seminars and networking, to the installation of audio-visual facilities in our Faculties to enable permanent and rolling exhibitions of research conducted for the benefit of a variety of audiences. These impact areas built on pre-existing connections which individual academics had with companies, schools, colleges, public bodies etc. Through the PIA funds the benefits of these connections were maximised and the PIA funding has acted as a catalyst to set up annual events (e.g. Professor Oreffo's 'LifeLab' project with various local schools). Projects were determined by the University's EPSRC Knowledge Creation and Transfer (KCT) Board through a competitive process designed to ensure that the awarded activities achieved maximum impact in key sectors of EPSRC's remit. Following the first call for applications, two exemplars of model projects were chosen, namely those by Dr Earl (Archaeology, Digital Humanities) and Dr Waterson (Civil Engineering and the Environment, Delivering and Demonstrating the Impact of Road Transport Research), and a decision was made to adapt their approaches to a broader Faculty-level scale. Both had made extensive use of public display audio-visual equipment in their academic units in order to demonstrate the societal impact of their research. The broad appeal of this approach was recognised and the University's three main EPSRC aligned Faculties, Physical and Applied Sciences, Engineering and the Environment, and Natural and Environmental Sciences, were provided with resources to enable the development of similar public AV displays using the proposals of Drs Earl and Waterson as templates. |
| Description | Art, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine: A Public Showcase |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Patients, carers and/or patient groups |
| Results and Impact | Professor Oreffo's work with Professor Kathleen Turner on their project 'Art, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, A Public Showcase/Exhibition', looked to create a number of installations and displays that integrate concepts form Regenerative Medicine and related biotechnologies to provide an accessible exhibition for the public and early career researchers that is displayed in the Faculty of Medicine and available for use in the public arena. This outreach work has generated numerous outputs that include further research and development opportunities; artistic outputs and a design and branding prototype. Further speculative outputs include a public installation, gallery exhibition, conference paper and illustrated published articles within a specially designed on-line journal. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| Description | Blood on the Stage Door |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Dr Steve Dorney's (institute of Sound and Vibration Research) 'Blood on the Stage Door', a science-based murder-mystery challenge took place during National Science and Engineering Week at the University of Southampton's "Family Day", Saturday 12th March 2011. The event was co-ordinated by the University's Institute of Sound and Vibration Research and the School of Education, with contributions from the Nuffield Theatre, INTECH Science Centre and Planetarium, Southampton General Hospital Pathology Unit, the School of Electronics and Computer Science, the LifeLab health sciences education and outreach initiative and co-ordinated by a team of Student Ambassadors who managed the complex logistics as the various groups of 'detectives' move around campus. This event was over-subscribed and proved to be a great success with those able to participate bringing together a number of overlapping scientific themes. In particular this networking event enabled a learning environment to be created through the medium of enjoyment and fun, appealing to all ages and abilities in order to strike a good balance between the 'wow-factor' and substantive learning based on real examples of scientific research. The flexible 'mystery' framework allowed teams of researchers, existing UoS public engagement projects, and external partners to work together in a new way. The 'mystery' framework also allowed researchers with limited public engagement experience to be mentored and supported by more experienced teams and individuals. A number of labs, test facilities and research units across the University campus were involved, providing an opportunity for the public to experience close interactions with the University's research base. This was viewed by the visitors as uniquely rewarding and a highlight of the event. . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | Development, Regeneration and Life Long Health - LifeLab, engaging the next generation of Researchers: a Schools Outreach and Publication Programme |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The initial step in this project was to produce both student and teacher resources, which incorporated a student booklet, lesson plans - linked to the National Curriculum, PowerPoint's for all lessons and related worksheets. Three schools were recruited for the pilot study, and a teacher professional development session was arranged. This was an opportunity to engage the teachers with the health research driving the LifeLab project, and to talk them through the resources available and how they might be deployed in schools. To date, around 180 students have attended sessions at LifeLab with a further 150 students working through the pre lessons. Clearly, engaging, encouraging and supporting the next generation of EPSRC researchers is an important role which the University plays in the education sector in the local area. Through projects such as Professor Oreffo's the University is able to demonstrate the societal impact, as well as the excitement of new technologies and scientific thinking, of our research to those who might one day continue our work. Engagement with the local community is a vital function of the University of Southampton, not least of which are our local schools and colleges. The PIA funding has allowed us to not only assist, support and inform scientific curricula in schools, but also provides us with the ability to hold specific and targeted events designed to showcase our research. . LifeLab is an innovative, cross-community educational intervention that develops, delivers and evaluates a number of educational programmes tailored to school students (11-18) that demonstrate the importance of diet, development and impact on Lifelong Health across a number of areas (cardiovascular, diabetes, osteoporosis) based on our world-leading research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| URL | http://www.southampton.ac.uk/medicine/outreach/index.page |
| Description | Digital Humanities |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | One of our most exciting projects which enables closer working between the Humanities and EPSRC core themes, is that being undertaken by Dr Graeme Earl (Archaeology) entitled 'Digital Humanities'. Through the installation of digital visual display facilities within the Faculty of Humanities, Dr Earl has devised models to exemplify the University's strengths in cultural heritage data capture (computed tomography, laser scanning, polynomial texture mapping, marine and terrestrial geophysics) and cultural heritage data management and presentation. In particular the project showcased the new RCUK (EPSRC and AHRC) funded PATINA project and the completed EPSRC musicSpace, both partnered by the British Library which is currently running an exhibition on digital technologies and research. As well as stimulating new EPSRC projects and developing industrial partnerships, the project has helped to link activities which will enhance impact across AHRC and EPSRC. . Through the installation of digital visual display facilities within the Faculty of Humanities, Dr Earl has devised models to exemplify the University's strengths in cultural heritage data capture (computed tomography, laser scanning, polynomial texture mapping, marine and terrestrial geophysics) and cultural heritage data management and presentation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| URL | http://digitalhumanities.soton.ac.uk/ |