Societal Engagement Reading Group

Join us as we discuss papers and articles exploring current thinking around public engagement, schools outreach and other related areas. Meeting regularly throughout the year (every 6 weeks), this reading group is open to all members of Imperial staff and doctoral students.   

Engagement and outreach practitioners and those who are keen to embed public engagement within their research may find this group particularly useful, as it’s an opportunity to reflect on the evidence base for engagement and outreach and draw from research to inform our practice.  

• We meet online via Teams, with occasional meetings in-person with invited speakers. 
• Readings are shared at least a month before each meeting but if you don’t have time to read it all, you are still welcome to join us and take part in the conversation. 
• Group members are encouraged to suggest readings and are welcome to volunteer to facilitate discussions (if they would like to). 

If you would like to join the group and be included in calendar invites and Teams links for upcoming meetings, please complete this short form.

If you have any questions or would like to know more, please contact us.

Upcoming meeting dates (15:00-16:00)

• Wednesday 8th January 2025 where we will be discussing Scientist encounters: Igniting parental aspirations to support young scientists, a pilot study undertaken at the Lancashire Science Festival to explore the impact of interacting with a scientist on parents´ attitudes towards their child pursuing a career that involves science.
• Wednesday 26th February 2025
• Wednesday 2nd April 2025
• Wednesday 7th May 2025

Previous readings we have discussed 

• Eco-Citizen Science for Social Good: Promoting Child Well-Being, Environmental Justice, and Inclusion
• Teenagers learn through play too: communicating high expectations through a playful learning approach | The Australian Educational Researcher (springer.com)
• Innovating public engagement and patient involvement through strategic collaboration and practice | Research Involvement and Engagement (springer.com)
• The impact of out-of-school science activities for primary school children on science knowledge, interest and later academic choices: an evaluation study – UCL Press (scienceopen.com)
• Fun moments or consequential experiences? A model for conceptualising and researching equitable youth outcomes from informal STEM learning
• Transforming tradition: how the iconic Christmas Lectures series is perceived by its audiences
• Family-focused campus-based university event increases perceived knowledge, science capital and aspirations across a wide demographic
• Researchers’ Public Engagement in the Context of Interdisciplinary Research Programs: Learning and Reflection from Boundary Crossing 
• Enhancing community engagement, public involvement, and social capital through researchers’ participation in community dance projects: unexpected outcomes in underserved communities