Students in public / First steps / Aims

Aims

Aims for linking student research to public engagement

The outputs of public engagement activities are most impactful when they resonate with the public environment to which they are addressed. A universal aim can be the showcasing of student research by making authorship explicit to a number of stakeholders such as the users of the product/activity, prospective students and prospective employers. Students in Public can be a powerful marketing tool for alumni and for the University.

Some aims relate directly to specific engagement formats and platforms such as consultancy and resource development for a particular client. Advocacy and policy is best disseminated through externally-recognized channels in order to have high impact.  On the other hand, informing and entertaining can take many forms of writing, exhibition and performance that might be disseminated face-to-face, in print or online. Styles of presentation need to mediate between audience needs and content; they might be formal and technical for a professional audience, artistic and visually engaging for an exhibition, and conversational and comical for school children.

For example, Tom speaks about the development of social cohesion as a critical aim of the museum exhibit he was preparing for a course on Religion, Migration and Diaspora.

Hannah explains how the output from her course unit supports her application for professional training.

 

The list below provides examples of different types of aims in the linking of student research to public engagement.

Informing/educating

 

Consultancy

Resourcing

Advocacy/policy

Entertaining

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