Explorathon 2022-2023 - European Researchers' Night Scotland
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Aberdeen
Department Name: Public Engagement with Research
Abstract
European Researchers' Night Scotland - an exciting pan Scotland showcase of research and researchers! Our project brings together key Universities in Scotland and will inspire audience and communities with the latest, cutting edge research. We will demonstrate the relevance of research to everyday lives, bring researchers into schools, allow researchers to share their stories and promote research as an enviable career path. Our project follows the priniciples of Responsible Research and Innovation and will deliver inclusive events to a diverse set of audiences and reflect the diversity of researchers working in Scotland today.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Christopher Paul Croly (Principal Investigator) |
| Description | Our award aimed to do 5 key things: 1. To give researchers from research institutions across Scotland the opportunity to build their confidence and develop and apply skills in public engagement, through a targeted programme of training, support, and facililate participation in NIGHT events in 2022 and 2023. We achived this by creating events accross Scotland and providing training for researchers. Our training sessions had significnat uptake and our events ran through both years eraching just under 10,000 members of the public in a variety of differnet ways. 2. To foster positive attitudes amongst the public towards research institutions by delivering digital and face-to-face public events that are accessible, enjoyable and that challenge perceptions of universities and research, during September 2022 and September 2023. All of our events brought researchers together with the public in paces that were convenient for the public as well as brining the public into research institutions. All of our training sought to ninstill in researchers the ethos of challenging perceptions and we alsways aimed to make this two-way: so that the public could come to understand us and we could come to come to a better understading of the public and their perceptions of us. We successfully sought to breakdown barriers and create understanding of what reserch is and who is a researcher. Conversely researchers came ot understand the significant levels of public interst in research as a career and in research itself. 3. To bring research to the public, particularly those who don't usually engage with universities, by specifically targeting underserved communities, delivering events in partnership with non-academic groups and using non-traditional venues and methods to promote inclusivity in 2022 and 2023. All of our events were curated to take place in venues and a times that were accessible for as many members of the public as possible. The removal of all barriers was seen as key to our success in Explorathon. We met with the public across Scotland in shoppng cnetres, online, in community centres and in many other non-traditional places. The success of this was refelcted in the amount of non-traditional audiences that we engaged with. 4. To raise interest of young people in research careers and research taking place through a bespoke programme of engagement events for schools and teachers in 2022 and 2023. Our bespoke programme of school activity brough researhcers into schools accross Scotland - in all cases researchers were trained be able to speak to school students in an engaging way and to help demostrate to them the viability of research as a meaningful career path. 5. To raise awareness of the collaborative nature of modern research by developing events that showcase our European partnerships and research networks in 2022 and 2023. We created a bespoke series of events that ran accross two year s and showed the importance of the European Commission to the collaborative nature of modern reserch. In short we successfuly made Research Real for the public accross Scotland. |
| Exploitation Route | The learning from our project has driven forward a new application to the run the project with a new Scottish consortium in 2024 and 2025. We will seek to engage with new Universities and new audiences to ensure that the impact of this project carries on beyond 2023. |
| Sectors | Other |
| Description | The results of this project were to bring researchers and the public together to foster greater understanding breakdown barriers. The resulst of the project have been used by researchers accross Scotland to undertake innovative public engagement activiites that have continued to push at barriers and create greater understanding. In addition more members of the public have attended our events and other University organised events. In total we reached over 15,000 members of the public over two years and our evaluation surveys have shown that a significant proportion of the audience were new to engagement events and that they had been inspired to find out more about research and research careers. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
| Sector | Other |
| Impact Types | Societal |
| Description | A CAIRNGORMS JOURNEY WITH MERRYN GLOVER |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Merryn Glover, award-winning writer and the first Writer in Residence for Cairngorms National Park, in conversation with Alison Lumsden about her newest book, The Hidden Fires: A Cairngorms Journey with Nan Shepherd. In a journey separated by time but unified by space and purpose, Glover follows in the footsteps and contours of The Living Mountain. This was intended to awaken interest in literature, in Nan Shepherd and in nature. Feedback from the audience was highly positive showing a desire to read more on the topic. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.explorathon.co.uk/events-programme/a-cairngorms-journey-with-merryn-glover/ |
| Description | ABERDEEN WOMEN'S ALLIANCE - 'BRINGING LIFE TO ABERDEEN' WALKING TOUR, TALK & BOOK LAUNCH |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Aberdeen Women's Alliance led a walking tour and talk exploring the history uncovered in their new book about Aberdeen maternity services, Bringing Life to Aberdeen. This event was to inspire people about the role of women in Aberdeen and to engage the audience with the crucial narratives of women in today's society. Audience feedback showed that they were keen to learn more and to purachse a book on the subject - as well as planning visits to archives and locations of commemorative plaques. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.explorathon.co.uk/events-programme/aberdeen-womens-alliance-bringing-life-to-aberdeen-wa... |
| Description | ACE VOICES INTERGENERATIONAL CHOIR |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Greatly inspired by their involvement with Aberdeen International Youth Festival and with the Madison Youth Choirs with whom they were able to work, ACE Voices gets its name from the Airyhall Choral Ensemble from which they had their original impetus. The ethos of the choir is that 'everyone can join in at their own pace, and in their own way that's best for them. Friendships can be nurtured between people no matter their ages.' The aim is to make the choir as inclusive as possible, and in the first gathering, there were people who didn't think they could sing, were very nervous about social interaction, are autistic, experiencing brain injury, are dyslexic, have Down's Syndrome, communicate using Makaton, and have ADHD. These are sometimes joined at by people living with dementia, and all decades from 0-10 to 60-70 are represented so far with people in their 80s-90s due to join after the summer. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.explorathon.co.uk/events-programme/ace-voices-intergenerational-choir/ |
| Description | Aberdeen Science Centre - research showcase |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | For this event we took over the award winning Aberdeen Science Centre and made it free for the day. Over 10 different research groups came to the science centre and made differnet events and activiites available for families. Our feedback showed that as a a result amilies were keen to take part in more activiites like this. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Bright Club |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Our comedy night, Bright Club brings together researchers and the public in a relaxed social environment to hear about the latest research in the form of a stand up comedy routine. This seeks to demystify researcha nd researchers and our feedback revealed that this was the case with members of th epublic wanting to udertake more activiites, attend more events and learn more about research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | CAFE SCI - MRI RESEARCH IN ABERDEEN: THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Researchers from the University of Aberdeen were at the forefront of developing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) which would go on to transform medical investigations and resulting treatment, saving lives across the world. In this Cafe event esearchers from the University of Aberdeen's MRI Technology Research Group discussed the pioneering work in the 70s and 80s, how the technology has benefited patients today and how new research is developing new types of MRI scanner, to provide earlier, more reliable diagnosis and better monitoring of responses to treatment. This event for the public was held as part of the annual meeting of the British and Irish Chapter of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, hence drew an international audience. This event generated lively discussion, a sharing of memories between clinicians and patients and provoked discussion about the future. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.explorathon.co.uk/events-programme/cafe-sci-mri-research-in-aberdeen-the-past-present-an... |
| Description | Cafe Sci - Rewilding and natural habitat expansion in Scotland |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The conflicts and challenges associated with rewilding werwe explored for an audience that contained professionals as well the general public. We sought to challenge veiews and to inform about biodiversity. Ourfeedback revealed that people felt their views were challeneged and thta they were keen to seek out new information. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Mesolithic Morning |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | As part of an international archaeological confernce we put on a family based set of activites to show hoe people lived in the mesolithic period. This included living re-enactments. Our feedback showed that the professional audience as well as the general one were enthusiastic about the topic and wnated to learn more. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | PERIODIC SUCCESS |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Material scientist Dr Jamie Gallagher engaged families and oung children with the mysteries of the periodic table and tales of romance, murder, greed and wonder. Families reported renewed interest in the periodic table and in science in general. Feedback for this session was very positive. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.explorathon.co.uk/events-programme/6758/ |
| Description | RARE BEASTS O SCOTLAND: KIDS STORYTELLING AND CRAFT WORKSHOPS WITH DORIC BOOKS |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In this session for children and families Aaron Gale and Jackie Ross read from Doric Books tales of some of Scotland's rare animals. This family session included tales of flapper skates, wildcats, bees and other endangered Scottish wildlife. There was also a chance to create their mask of a favourite animal. This session inspired the children to be intrested in nature as well as in the Docir dialect of the North East of Scotland. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.explorathon.co.uk/events-programme/rare-beasts-o-scotland-kids-storytelling-and-craft-wo... |
| Description | Research Showcase and Hall of Mayhem |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | We brought over 15 different ersearch groups together in a showcase event aimed at families. We ran this in Aberdeen Music Hall - a large popular city centre venue. The idea was to take engagement off campus to bring researchers to a place the public were comfortable with. Our aims were to demystify research and researchers. Our evelauation of the event showed that the majority of the audience had not atteneded one of our events before but cetrianly would afterwards demnstrating a potential chnage in attitudes. Research groups on the day represented almost all academic disciplines, from Education to Medical Sciences. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Science in the Community - Awesome AI & Brilliant Bodies |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | For this event we partnered with award winning North East STEM festival providers, TechFest. It consisted of free, drop-in event, children of all ages and families tried out hands-on activities which explored how technology, specifically technologies labelled "artificial intelligence" or AI can be used in medicine to benefit our health through quicker diagnosis and appropriate treatment of disease. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Soapbox Sience |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | We worked with Aberdeen's multi-cultural Mela Celebration to bring Soapbox Science to the public in an unexpected place. This format invites female, female identifyinga nd nonbinary scientists to stand on their soapboxes and engage the passing public with their research. This proved to be very popular with lots of specific interactions and many people had not expected t speak to scientists at the event - in this was we reached new audiences. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Techfest - Astronomy Discovery Day |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | We partnered with Techfest - Aberdeen's leading STEM Festival provider to bring an astronomy open day to campus for families. This helped to engage familes and young children with the science of astronomy. Our feedback showed that this event inspired children and families ot find out more and be curious about astronomy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Techfest - Family Fun Day |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | We partnered with Techfest - Aberdeen's STEM Festival providers to showcase one of our leading science facilities and our latest research. We opened the Science Tecahing Hub to familes with a series of research groups presenting the atest STEM related research. This helped to bring people onto campus, to demystify where researhc happens and also who a researcher is. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Therapeutic Photography |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This event was run in conjunction with the WAYWORD literary festival. In it the public, cancer patients and their families took part in an interactive workshop interactive workshop which introduced attendees to the possibilities of therapeutic photography and helped them to understand the value and benefits of connecting words and images. Attendees were helped to take and use photographs and to use words to explore feelings, their sense of self and a variety of other topics. The feedback was that this helped epopel in difficult situations and that those who took part wated to see more events like this. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |