Tag Archives: dialogue

A shared purpose for engaging research

Trevor Collins • March 7, 2014

Dr Richard Holliman, OU Champion for Public Engagement with Research

Leadership; Mission; Communication
Champion’s blog; star date 2014.03.10 (in effect, an update on the first post on this blog, 'An open research university').

Nearly two years of the mission completed; 14 months of funding left. "Where do we boldly go from here?"

I was interviewed late last year by Lucian Hudson, the OU's Director of Communications, to explore this question. We also discussed progress with the core mission of the OU's Public Engagement with Research Catalyst.

You can see the results of our discussion in the video below. If you'd prefer to read the text of the interview, select transcript.

...continue reading →

The Open University and the development of a researching public

Dan Weinbren • March 3, 2014

The Open University is over 40 years old. To celebrate this anniversary the university decided to document the rich social history of the OU.

As a social historian I was delighted to be given the opportunity to lead this project. Below I document some of the contributions Open University students have made to an open research agenda.

Constructing distributed publics of learners
Since it was opened to students in 1971 The Open University’s structures and pedagogies have shifted the notion of public research. A ‘public’, Michael Warner argued, is formed when texts (in the broadest sense) circulate among strangers and enable those people, through those texts, to organize together and to have experiences in common. ...continue reading →

Biology Week – a celebration of the biosciences

Ellie Dommett • October 28, 2013

I was recently involved in the organisation of an event for local secondary school pupils for the Society for Biology’s ‘Biology Week’ initiative supported by The Physiological Society. The purpose of Biology Week is to celebrate all aspects of the biosciences. We set up a series of interactive displays and lectures and a dedicated online resource available through OpenLearn.

...continue reading →

Engaging opportunities: a research café on ‘smart drugs’ • 2 Comments

Ellie Dommett • October 3, 2013

I recently took part in a Research Café at Denbigh School in Milton Keynes as part of the Engaging opportunities project. I’d been invited to take part as members of the project team were aware of my public engagement with research work.

The structure of the café was similar to the Café Scientifique events held across the country but instead of engaging members of the general public in scientific debate over a latté in the local coffee shop or bar, this event was held at the school with an audience of Year 12 students, sipping coffee and eating biscuits.

...continue reading →

Engaging Research

An Open Research University: Embedding public engagement within the research culture of the OU

Tag Archives: dialogue

A shared purpose for engaging research

The Open University and the development of a researching public

Biology Week – a celebration of the biosciences

Engaging opportunities: a research café on ‘smart drugs’ • 2 Comments