WARWICK INSTITUTE OF ENGAGEMENT
Annual August 2023
A message from the Directors
It is a great pleasure to share Warwick Institute of Engagement’s third Annual Report. The last year, between August 2023 and July 2024, has been a hugely exciting mix of continuity and change.
This is the first Annual Report since Professor Helen Wheatley took over from Professor Michael Scott as WIE Academic Director in January Much work has been done during the year to ensure WIE fully supports the delivery of both the University’s Strategy Refresh and its Values and Behaviours, as well as continuing to build Warwick’s reputation as an ‘Engaged University’ To drive this forward, WIE has set out clearer strategic objectives around its vision and mission. Our vision places innovative and inclusive public engagement at the heart of all we do as a university. Our mission is that Warwick will engage with the public centring on curiosity, creativity and collaboration. You can read more about the Warwick Engages strategy on pages 21 and 22 of this report. There will be further changes to strengthen links between WIE and the three Faculties in the coming years, with Professor Rachel Edwards seconded part-time as the first Faculty Public Engagement Lead (for the Science, Engineering and Medicine Faculty)
We have also maintained a continued focus on building capacity for engagement activities, delivering a major public events programme and leading a pan-university approach to public engagement. WIE has expanded its student engagement activities in line with the university’s new Education and Student Experience Strategy, supporting engagement internships and URSS projects as well as the MASc in Community, Engagement and Belonging and the numbers of academics, professional services staff and students signed up as WIE Fellows continues to grow.
Our public events programme has expanded with recognised ‘brands’ such as Resonate Lates, the Resonate Festival of Science and Technology, our new Resonate Festival of Arts and Culture and our ongoing collaboration on the ESRC Festival of Social Science. These popular, high quality public engagement events have created a showcase of Warwick’s world-class research for local audiences and provided a plethora of opportunities for the public to get involved in all that we do here in the university.
Finally, we continue to support collaborative work with communities close to campus and all around the world We held our first Partnership event this year and we continue to look for ways to make collaboration easier and more successful for Warwick staff and students and their external partners
Our thanks go to the core WIE team and Fellows for their hard work, ingenuity and commitment. Together with the wider University and our regional partners, this has made possible the exceptional activities and outcomes we celebrate in this report and which are summarised in the graphic overleaf. We look forward to working with you all next year.
Professor Helen Wheatley Academic Director
Dr Andrew Todd Co-Director
4068 visits to our online training resources
56
Students
URSS students supported with Public Engagement 282 282 62 students enrolled on our IATL modules paid internships with local organisations 6
Fellows
180 9
Fellows placed in learning circles
883 883 attendees to training sessions collaborative projects with
16,000 16,000 attendees at partners
56 Warwick collaborators with events organised by 353 353 36 external organisations
27 nominations resulting in
7 7 awards for excellent public engagement
4 public engagement module development projects Funding
11 11
26
249 249 audience members
Data based on August 2023 - July 2024.
30 organistions engaging
The WIE Team
2024 started with Helen Wheatley’s appointment as Academic Director. Helen Luckhurst welcomed her daughter, Emma, in early 2024 and her role is being covered by Charlotte Pearce who will be with us until March 2025. Aniyah leaves us as she heads off to get married and moves to France, while we welcomed Abbie in July who will take on the baton of supporting us on the administrative side Finally, we ’ re delighted that Rachel Edwards started
WIE People
Our Regional Fellows
We have been joined by two new members of our Regional Fellows Board this year Our Regional Fellows are selected to help us build and strengthen links into the region and benefit from their wide-ranging expertise. We introduce our new Regional Fellows below:
Jet Jones is Director of Transforming Communities for the Coventry Diocese and Founder and CEO of the charity ‘Together for Change’. Jet has established significant grass-roots community projects in the most deprived communities across Coventry and Warwickshire, ranging from refugee and migrant support, work with the elderly and isolated, young people at risk, while also fundraising for capitol regeneration initiatives She is passionate about partnership working and bringing communities together to make a big impact for good
Sheila Bates has been involved with engagement activity since moving to Coventry in 1989 She is Chair of the Coventry & Community Empowerment Network, which ensures community groups had a voice both locally and regionally. Since 2003, Sheila has worked at Coventry City Council as the Children’s Champion. The aim of the post is to support children and young people to have a say in decision making which impacts their lives; this could be at an individual level and/or relate to citywide issues.
Three of our Regional Fellows Board have stepped down this year: we offer our heartfelt thanks to Paul Edmondson (Shakespeare Birthplace Trust), Eilis O’Donnell (IntoUniversity), and Abbie Vlahakis (Millennium Point)
Dr Vita Dumanska
Vita Dumanska, WIE’s first IAS-funded International Visiting Fellow, has a D in Economics and over seven years of progressive organisational ership and management experience She has a strong foundation in erstanding complex systems, driving strategic initiatives and pioneering en engagement. She is the CEO of the esteemed NGO CHESNO vement. Her organisation boasts a wealth of experience in the elopment of innovative civic tech tools, along with conducting impactful rmational and engaging campaigns aimed at increasing political icipation, particularly among first-time voters
Over the last year of working together Vita has supported teaching at Warwick, with two guest lectures for students taking WIE’s Engagement Modules, as well as sessions for colleagues in WBS. In May, CHESNO and the University of Warwick brought together politics experts from five countries to discuss the threats and opportunities of online political campaigning. A range of countries and case studies, from Ukraine and the UK to Ghana and Kenya, were explored. A few of the topics covered included reflecting on the abuse of state resources in political campaigns, the complex social media ecosystem, the ethics of political campaigning whilst a country is at war and the use of personal data in politics You can view a short video synopsis of the event in the link below.
We’ve been delighted to host Vita over the last year, and we ’ re even more pleased to see that she is taking forward the legacy of WIE in her new initiative, the launch an Institute of Engagement in Ukraine. The Institute will focus on assisting with citizen engagement during Ukraine’s reconstruction, starting with a project with Kyiv School of Economics We wish her well with the launch of the new Institute and hope we can continue to work together in future A huge thank you to IAS for their support
View the synopsis of the online campaigning workshop
1 Clare Wightman, CEO of Grapevine
2. Hardish Virk, Consultant and Director of Jaivant Patel Dance and Coventry Artspace
3. Jet Jones, Director of Regeneration and Community Transformation, CEO of 'Together For Change'
4. Johnathan Branson, Projects and Development Manager (Arts Section) Warwick District Council
5. Laura Elliot, Creative Director of the Coventry Belgrade Theatre
6. Marguerite Nugent, Culture and Creative Director at Culture Coventry
7. Dr Nor Aziz, Member of the Board of Directors for Culture Coventry and Founder of Uniting Communities
8 Sarah Windrum, Future Mobility Cluster Lead at Horiba MIRA
9. Sheila Bates, Chair of the Coventry & Community Empowerment Network, Children's Champion
10. Sue Frossell, Public Health Consultant, Coventry City Council
16,000 16,000 events attended by
1,000online 56 56
The Resonate programme has developed in exciting new ways this year. Welcoming over 15,000 individuals in person and nearly 1000 people online, involving work by 127 staff and 226 students, the programme has grown to reach new audiences, support new facilitators and feature new topics The structure of the programme has also been evolving, with our first three-festival year and fully hybrid event, enabling even more people to get involved and share their ideas. Here we ’ ve shared a few of our highlights: External Partners
Planting Roots
Organised by:
127 127 Warwick employees 226 226 Warwick students 36 36 15,000 in person
This collaboration between Foleshill Community Centre, Warwick Arts Centre and WIE was a joyful celebration of community and sustainability. Bringing together the arts and science, this 8-month project involved a series of creative workshops, a visit to the Warwick Innovation Campus, a Harvest Festival and a Planting Roots Festival day at Warwick Arts Centre attended by hundreds of local visitors
Resonate Lates
The Lates programme offers the opportunity for fascinating conversation in community spaces, from celebrating technical staff in a local music venue to discovering social sciences in a co-working space! Hear a highlight from our new events coordinator Kate Laister-Smith, who joined the team in September 2023 and leads on the Resonate Lates programme:
“The Lates programme has welcomed over 250 members of the public at six events this year. Hosting our first ever hybrid event was a personal highlight of the year for me. I brought together a local historian, a professional services staff member and an academic, all to discuss local history. It was great to bring a walking tour and varied panel discussion to an audience in Chapelfields, and those further afield by live streaming ”
Resonate Festival of Arts and Culture
Our first Festival of Arts and Culture was a great success, being attended by over 600 members of the public and supported by over 200 students, staff and community partners. Here we celebrated our theme of world culture together through dance, language activities theatre and more.
Feedback from event attendees who answered “agree” or “strongly agree” in our online feedback
I enjoyed today’s event
I have learned something new at this event
I would use or share information learned at the event
This event has given me a positive feeling about my community
This event has given me a positive feeling about The University of Warwick
Rated inclusivity as good or very good
1 1 3 3
A third of event goers were attending a University of Warwick event for the first time
“Fun, friendly, creative space. Somewhere kids can be themselves and explore new experiences. Thank you.”
The Resonate Pledge
We ended this year by drafting our Resonate Pledge. Thanks to feedback from our participants, we have highlighted key elements to address in our planning and programming going forward, which we have shared with our Resonate attendees. We are striving to build a more inclusive and accessible programme, that is meaningful to our community
Read the Resonate Pledge here
“We
have attended many Resonate events and always enjoy and learn something!”
“Thank
you all for sharing your knowledge
and experiences with me. I really enjoy the gifts of finding something new and different.”
Our work with Students
TaughtModules
This year we ’ ve been delighted to work with a record 62 students across three interdisciplinary modules. The modules all cover similar themes and we encourage our students to develop an understanding of engagement, why it matters, and the skills needed to communicate effectively. Our UG students worked in groups to design interactive hands on activities to share key messages about sustainability at Warwick. They shared these with the almost 1,000 people visiting Warwick Arts Centre for the Warwick Christmas Lectures as part of Resonate’sLiveLabs.
Our PG students are given the freedom to design an activity based around their own interests. They ran 25 activities as part of the Resonate Festival of Art and Culture, with stalls exploring everything from our perceptionsofgender,anexplorationofArabicculture,andhowwecan encouragebiodiversityinthewildlifevisitingourgardens
“This module has been great in engaging me in a topic I had little knowledge in, but to my surprise could gain so much value in. Excellent module for boosting skills in confidence and project management.”
Internships
Followinglastyear’ssuccessfullaunchofthesummerinternshipprogram,this summereightWarwickstudentsparticipatedinsix-weekpaidpublic engagementinternshipswithcommunitypartnersandspecialistWarwickteams Herearethestoriesofourtwointernships:
IdaSlavina-PublicInvolvementAssistantatHealthDeterminantsResearch Collaboration(HDRC),CoventryCityCouncil
Ida’s internship was spent supporting the development of a new Public Involvement Advisory Group, ensuring the voices of local people are heard and contribute to the research into reducing health inequalities and improving the healthofCoventryresidents
“I had an exceptional internship experience. I was welcomed by an incredibly supportive team and deeply passionate about their work This environment provided me with a unique opportunity to dive into a subject area that was initially unfamiliar to me. Through the guidance and collaboration with my colleagues, I developed a thorough understanding of the topic and experienced professional and personal growth.”
Ju-Eun Kang and Joss Wozencroft - Learning and Engagement Assistants at Culture Coventry Trust
Working with the Learning and Engagement team across the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry Transport Museum and Lunt Roman Fort, Ju-Eun and Joss supported with the development and delivery of the summer activities for families.
My experience with this internship has been positive, I was able to experience how the museum engages with the local community as well as seeing how it attracted people that weren’t local. It has heavily influenced what I want to do as a career, and I am very grateful for the whole experience” - Ju-Eun
“Working for Culture Coventry through WIE has been a great experience Everyone I have interacted with has been kind and helpful, and it has been an amazing opportunity to connect with new and interesting people in a new field”- Joss
Undergraduate Research Support Scheme (URSS)
In the summer of 2024, WIE supported 10 students working on 8 different public engagement-focused URSS projects. Details of all 8 projects will be available on the WIE webpages when the projects and their evaluation is complete, but we’d like to highlight Louis Samarasinghe’s project that took place early in the summer:
Louis Samarasinghe traversed across the North of England prior to the General Election, conducting his own interviews/vox-pops in an effort to gauge public opinion and understand how 14 years of Tory rule has affected the minds of voters. He took inspiration from the book Broken Heartlands written by @sebastianpayne in the aftermath of the shock results of the 2019 election. Louis visited nine seats across the country asking the public their voting intentions, the most salient issues and what message they had for the incoming Prime Minister.
Starting in Hartlepool, a seat that unexpectedly turned Tory in a 2021 by-election, he sought to understand whether the Conservatives had any chance of keeping this seat or whether Labour could win it back given the rise of Reform and the sense of apathy Hartlepool has for Westminster.
The Faculty of Arts and WIE
Collaboration and Co-Production Fund: South Warwickshire Silver Denarii Coin Hoard Project
Our Collaboration and Co-Production fund has enabled Paul Grigsby and Campbell Orchard (Classics & Ancient History) to develop an ongoing collaborative project with Warwickshire Museums’ Market Hall Museum across two academic years (2021-22 and 2023-24). This exciting project has showcased two Roman coin hoards and brought their multi-layered stories to the public. The funding has enabled the cataloguing and digitisation of the coins with the aim of creating an online exhibition The published information will then form the basis for future collaborative public-facing projects
Activities, workshops and public engagement events
Colleagues in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures have played an active part in the development of our public engagement events. This has included a whole hall of activities for the Resonate Festival of Arts and Culture in June 2024, including Chinese calligraphy, foreign language slogan t-shirts, the production of German greetings cards and the design of a variety of engaging language-based games As a result of these activities, in summer 2024, Federica Coluzzi (Italian) has been working with Coventry Libraries on a series of workshops to introduce children to Dante.
Public engagement projects
We have also enjoyed supporting Faculty of Arts students in their public engagement projects. For example, Ruyi Wang (Global Sustainable Development) was awarded public engagement URSS funding for the ‘Walk to School’ project (supervised by Gioia Panzarella) in 2023 Ruyi developed a series of podcasts for parents and carers discussing the safety barriers that prevent pupils from walking to school, seeking to change children's patterns of commuting behaviour, and promoting walking to school as a form of sustainable transport.
Module Development Fund Project: Communicating Mathematics
WIE’s Module Development Fund supported Helena Verrill (Maths) in the development of the new third year undergraduate module “Communicating Mathematics”. This module has been designed to train students in various public mathematical communication activities, and give them the skills, confidence, and opportunity to put this into practice This includes developing activities for the Royal Institution Masterclasses in mathematics, which are aimed at year 9 students, and creating videos and other social media mathematics presentations. Students on the module work in groups and on solo projects and deliver a two hour in person public engagement event.
The Collaboration and Co-Production Fund: Youth Support Programme
Asima Iqbal and Freeha Azmat (WMG) worked with community leader Naima Qureshi to develop the Youth Support Programme (YSP): A Transnational Partnership for Developing 21st Century Skills with funding for our Collaboration and Co-Production Fund Excitingly, this was the first C&C Funded project to work with a community internationally – in this case a community of unemployed young people in Lahore, Pakistan. Their holistic short-term programme equipped unemployed youths in Lahore with transferable skills, functional and digital competencies, and global citizenship skills aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Public Engagement Events: Resonate Lates Behind the Scenes with Science Technicians
This year, we ran our first public engagement event focusing on the work of colleagues from the Professional Services ‘Behind the Scenes with Science Technicians’ at the Tin Music and Arts in Coventry in March 2024 focused on the work of science technicians from across campus This included Electron Microscopy Technician Tom Moore, who introduced a fascinated audience to materials engineering and Daisy Ashworth, Research Technician in Chemistry, who offered a whistle-stop tour of the history of scientific glassblowing before showing what her job as a scientific glassblower involves.
Public engagement internship programme
Students in the Social Sciences have benefited greatly from our public engagement internship programme For example, in the summer of 2023, Bel Govier (Economics and Global Sustainable Development), undertook an internship in community organising and digital campaign building with Grapevine, a charity committed to strengthening people, sparking action and shifting power across services in Coventry and Warwickshire. Bel reported that the internship “made me feel optimistic about the future of sustainability… and changed my understanding of what it means to have an impactful career and work in a team. I could not have predicted the extent to which I would be impacted by my time with the Connecting for Good team and Coventry residents "
Expanding our Fellowship
We have seen a marked increase in applications to become WIE Fellows from the Social Sciences this year People getting involved in our events and training programmes will often apply for WIE Fellowship after a positive experience of working with our team This was the case for Georgiana Mihut, Associate Professor in the Department of Education Studies and a higher education researcher. Georgiana spoke at one of the events we hosted for the ESRC Festival of Social Science in 2023, attended our training and rehearsal sessions for the event, and is now a Fellow of WIE. We’re glad to welcome Georgiana and all our new Fellows from Social Sciences and encourage others to get involved
Events and Activity Fund
Our Events and Activities Fund enables staff and students from across the university to stage their own public engagement activities For example, this year Ana Alverti (Law) received funding to support the event African Voices in the UK Asylum System: Care, Bureaucracy and the Hostile Environment, a documentary short film screening and panel discussion about experiences of the UK asylum system at Common Ground in Coventry. The event featured a film produced by Inini Filmmakers Group in collaboration with artist-filmmaker Duncan Whitley (then a Filmmaker in Residence at the University of Warwick). Ana chaired a panel at this event including Andrew Nyamayaro, Loraine Masiya Mponela and Last Mafuba whose diverse expertise and experience covered lived experience of the asylum system, law, activism, mental health and community organisation. The conversation explored some of the issues faced by people seeking Leave to Remain, and the dehumanisation of the asylum bureaucracy.
We couldn’t host our events programme without the support and expertise of the professional services and technical teams at the University.
From hosting talks and activities to making festivals possible on campus, there are too many to thank individually. But, we wanted to share particular appreciation for a few teams this year.
The Portering Team
For working with us to find creative solutions to challenges on and off campus, and enabling us to utilise these spaces in new ways.
The Cleaning Teams
Ensuring the safety and positive experience of members of the public when they visit campus, and always supporting the Resonate Crew on the day.
The Sustainability Team
From creating new activity to new collaborations, this team have been brilliant partners as we work towards our focus on sustainability
Warwick Food and Drink
For helping us develop innovative ways to work with vendors and create a better visitor experience for our event attendees.
Engaging across the disciplines
WIE has worked collaboratively throughout the year with staff from departments that support interdisciplinary innovation across the university. For example, we work with the Institute for Advanced Teaching and Learning on delivering teaching on the theory and practice of public engagement, co-hosted our International Visiting Fellow, Vita Dumanska, with the Institute of Advanced Studies, and share a Learning Circle and some training that supports promotion applications with our colleagues in the Warwick International Higher Education Academy. Along with colleagues from the Academic Development Centre, we have a total of nine fellows from these centres of interdisciplinary excellence across the university.
The WIE Learning Circles
Our Learning Circles provide an interdisciplinary space for discussion of a variety of topics relating to public engagement They are our guides to deciding what the Institute should do, and how, and how engagement is developing at Warwick. One of their strengths is found in their interdisciplinarity: practices and approaches of public engagement that develop in particular disciplines are shared with the wider community
Find out more about our learning cirlces
Interdisciplinary Research Spotlights
This year the university introduced six new Interdisciplinary Research Spotlights, which aim to develop interdisciplinary research capability at Warwick and promote a vibrant interdisciplinary research culture In this table, we have indicated how these themes were represented in our events programme for 2023/24.
Find out more about the Interdisciplinary Research Spotlights
Our Vision and Mission
Our Vision is for innovative and inclusive public engagement to be at the heart of all we do.
Warwick Engages
refers to an exciting programme of events and activities that engage the public, as well as a suite of training and support to enable all staff and students to get involved in public engagement and more fully embed it into our culture at Warwick.
Creativity
refers to the fact that both our university and our region are founded on creative thinking, approaching everything from vehicle design to the composition of performance, art and literature with fresh ideas and agile, open minds. Our public engagement should reflect these traditions, particularly seeking opportunities to bring the arts and research together.
Our Mission is that Warwick engages through curiosity, creativity and collaboration. curiosity, creativity
Curiosity
refers here to public engagement that reflects the full spectrum of Warwick’s innovative research and teaching cultures. Public engagement should mirror the ways Warwick research and teaching points the way ahead and tackles many of the most pressing issues the world is facing.
Collaboration refers to our commitment to creating opportunities that involve communities near and far in the work of the university. We will take an approach to public engagement that emphasises exchange, whether through participation or partnership.
From our vision and mission are derived 8 commitments overleaf
Inspiring Experiences
Resonate Festival on and off campus will inspire and enthuse, contributing to the university’s placemaking activities.
Engage and Involve
The public will have multiple opportunities to shape and get involved in PE at Warwick.
Support Innovation
Staff will be supported to design PE into their curricula and students will know how to make their innovative PE plans happen.
Raise Ambitio
Effective suppo departments and mean an increase income for ambitio
Go Further
We will develop our digital offer and take PE to the wider world. We will expand our own teaching of public engagement as a set of practices.
the Field
Warwick will play a leading role in shaping the field of PE, producing new PE research and connecting the leading voices in PE.
Increase Collaboration
We will make it easier for staff, students and community collaborators to work together on PE projects.
Demonstrate Excellence
All these changes will enable PE to play a significant role in excellent REF, KEF, and TEF returns.
Partnerships
Our partnerships are key to delivering our mission. Working together, collaboratively and strategically with a variety of partners enables knowledge exchange and shared perspectives. You will find here a few highlights from partnerships we have formed this year.
Our Partnership Event
In January 2024 we organised our first Partnerships Event, an opportunity for people, businesses, charities and organisations from across the region to hear about WIE and the about potential opportunities to work with us and with the wider university with our support It was an important opportunity to hear about the current work going on in the city and also about people’s prior experiences of working with universities and researchers. We learned a lot about how we can make collaboration easier/more successful and are looking into ways to bring researchers into contact with potential partners more regularly as a result.
Coventry Biennial
successful partnerships in 2019 and 2021, WIE coh Warwick Research Executive and the Sustainable a partnership with Coventry Biennial. This took the jor commission for the 2023 Biennial which brought the work of Graeme Macdonald (ECLS) and the ed painter Paul Lemmon, imaging the climate future a new, large-scale painting and accompanying future s was a significant and exciting opportunity to bring niversity of Warwick research, contemporary art and ocal communities. Our collaboration with Coventry ontinue into the next iteration of the festival in 2025. More news on this to come soon!
Culture Coventry
was created - the torch was designed as part of a schools competition, with the winning design submitted by a pupil from Finham Park School being redeveloped and manufactured at WMG, on the University of Warwick campus, by members of their technical team and four T Level students from Rugby College. The celebration started with an Olympic-themed dance led by the Royal Opera House, after which the 700+ pupils and teachers paraded their way to the Sports Hub for a Flame of Friendship 'closing ceremony ' . The event celebrated friendship, team work, sports and international collegiality. View the highlight video and photos on the Flame of Friendship website here:
WIE has been delighted to develop an ongoing partnership with Culture Coventry, the organisation that manages the city’s major museums. This is a multifaceted partnership which has ranged from staging events in the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum and Transport Museum, supporting bids to develop new work across their sites, providing funding and support for summer internships which in turn have facilitated parts of Culture Coventry’s programme for families and young people, and benefiting from the knowledge and expertise of Marguerite Nugent, Culture Coventry’s Director, who sits on our Regional Fellows Board
The Collaboration and Co-Production Fund
The Warwick Institute of Engagement’s mission is to support staff and students at Warwick to engage with the wider world.
One of the ways we do this, is through the Collaboration and Co-Production Fund. Awards of up to £3,000 are made to help current staff and students to develop ongoing collaborative relationships with local, national and international partners, groups or organisations The fund runs twice yearly and you can see below a summary of our achievements to date.
Since starting the fund in 2021, we have funded 43 collaborative projects, involving 140 students, 121 Warwick staff, 108 partners and artists form 64 external organisations, engaging 1489 event participants. Below is a sample of the stories from the projects we have funded You can read more about the projects we funded and the impact they are having by following the link below
Organised by
Warwick employees121 121
43 43 1489 1489
140 140
Warwick student co-creators
event participants projects funded engaging
75 75 127 127 external organisations
partners and artists form
Engaging with Young Carers - Michael Wyness, Fiona McCallum & Warwickshire Young Carers
Michael Wyness (Education Studies) and Fiona MacCallum (Psychology) worked with Warwickshire Young Carers in developing research on young carers and education within the context of Covid-19 and beyond They built a relationship between a group of academics and a small group of young people from Warwickshire young carers to foster a more collaborative research focus and approach. As a result of this funding in 2021, a paper has been published on this project and its innovative approach to involving young people as advisers/researchers and a further external funding bid to extend the work is in the pipeline
Find out more about the awarded projects here including videos and photos
Memory Lane Café - Kate Owen & The Syndi Centre
The Collaboration and Co-Production Fund supported Kate Owen (WMS) and students from Warwick Medical School to work with the Sydni Centre in Leamington to produce the Memory Lane Café, a safe and welcoming space for older adults with memory loss in the community who may be isolated and lonely The café (supported by two years of Collaboration and Co-Production funding) helped to improve health outcomes for people with dementia through the cognitive stimulation gained from attending a group, meeting people, chatting, and engaging in activities. It explored the value of social prescribing to the NHS, helping to improve patient health outcomes through non-clinical support in the community
Rebecca Briggs, Student at WMS (pictured here on the left) was also awarded a 2024 Warwick Award for Public and Community Engagement in the student category for her involvement in the project.
Creative cultural connections to the history of St Vincent - Kate Astbury & SV2G
In 2022/23, Kate Astbury and Abigail Coppins (SMLC) and Jacquline Roberts (CEO St Vincent and Grenadine Second Generation Heritage group) received funding to develop their partnership, creating opportunities for members of the Vincentian community in Britain (and by extension the Garifuna diaspora worldwide) to engage with their own history. Involving communities in the research and exhibition of this history enables them to have agency over this story and create a legacy whereby other Vincentians better understand their history Co-production has been essential to avoid replicating colonial power imbalances. Kate and Abigail facilitated research visits to the National Archive for this group and they subsequently produced a collaborative exhibition which has been developed for display in St Paul’s Cathedral and adapted into teaching materials for teachers in St Vincent The partnership continues to produce new and exciting outcomes having received a second award of funding for 2024/25.
What can WIE do for you?
Browse the full range of what WIE has to offer using the interactive version of this graphic on our website, by following the link below. We’ve also provided you with some highlights over the next couple of pages.
Advice and feedback for research grant applications
Collaboration and Co-Production Fund to grow relationships with community groups
Support with writing promotion cases
Toolkits and funding to embed public and community engagement into teaching
Fellowship opportunities within WIE
Skills-focused online resources and interactive masterclasses
Warwick Awards for Public and Community Engagement Personal Development Fund
Promotion of your public events
UG and PGT modules in public engagement with IATL
MASc in Community, Engagement and Belonging with Liberal Arts
Public engagement internships with partners
A programme of funded events to engage the public
Expertise in developing collaborations with community groups
Public engagement URSS projects
Points for the
GetInvolved
JointheWIENetwork
Receiveregularemailupdatesaboutupcomingeventsand opportunities.
BecomeaWIEFellow
HelpdriveforwardpublicengagementatWarwickasa Fellow.YouwilljoinLearningCirclesdiscussingkeyissuesin publicengagement,supportotherstodeveloptheir engagementpractice,andnetworkwithpeopleacrossand outsidetheUniversity.Thecallforthiswillopenin2025.
TakepartinourResonateevents programme
Werunfestivalsandeventsoncampusandaroundtheregion foradults,childrenandcommunities.Getaccesstofunding andsupporttorunyouractivitiesaspartofthisprogramme.
Taughtstudentsparticipatingcanearnpointstowardsthe WarwickAward.
DopublicengagementwithyourURSS
project
WeworkwithStudentOpportunitytohelpstudentsengage thepublicwiththeirUndergraduateResearchSupport Scheme(URSS)projects.Wecanhelppairupstudentsand supervisors,giveadviceandguidance,andconnectstudents withcommunitiesthroughpartnershipsandevents.
Applyforapublicengagementinternship
Ourpaidsummerinternshipprogrammeprovidesstudents withworkexperienceinorganisationsintheWestMidlands, learningaboutandsupportingtheirpublicandcommunity engagement.
Gainskills
PublicEngagementMasterclasses
Attendfreeskills-basedtrainingsessionswithexpert facilitators,coveringtopicslikepresentationskills,creating infographics,evaluationmethods,anddevelopinghandsonactivities.
SkillsFestival
Accesstoonlinelearningresourcesandtemplateswhich makeplanning,delivering,andevaluatingpublic engagementeasier,aswellasadviceandsupporton funding,publishing,andteachingaboutengagement.
Interdisciplinaryoptionalmodules throughIATL
UndergraduateandPostgraduatestudentscantakeour PublicEngagementmodules,deliveredthroughthe InstituteforAdvancedTeachingandLearning(IATL), gainingatheoreticalandpracticalunderstandingofhow toengagebyrunningtheirownpublicengagement activity.
MAScinCommunity,Engagementand
Belonging
OfferedbyLiberalArtsinpartnershipwithWIE,this innovativeMasterofArtsandScience(MASc) postgraduatedegreeencouragesstudentstoexplorewhat itmeanstocreatepurposefulchangewithinlocaland globalcommunities.
Find out how to get support and recognition overleaf!
Warwick Awards for Public and Community Engagement (WAPCE)
The Warwick Awards for Public and Community Engagement (WAPCE) recognise the vital contributions Warwick staff and students make in engaging the public – on an international and national level as well as within our region and with local communities They highlight the brilliant work being done to take our work beyond Warwick, with the goals of sharing and co-producing knowledge, strengthening the role we play in the region and showcasing the role Warwick folks play in making the world a better place 2024 is our 3rd year of running the awards. Seven worthy winning people and teams were recognised for their outstanding Public Engagement work this year.
Find out more about WAPCE and meet the 2024 winners here!
What has working with WIE meant to you?
Inca Hide-Wright Programme Fellow 2023-2024
“As a postgraduate taught student who took the ‘Public Engagement’ module and became a Warwick Institute of Engagement programme fellow, I can see how WIE enriches the university WIE is a phenomenal group of individuals, with extensive experience and expertise, who work hard to actively support and encourage professional and personal growth and development, within and beyond the university.”
“The trainer was outstanding, the best I've encountered in all my experiences with Warwick Training Sessions.”
Attendee at one of our Training Sessions
Rachel Hayes and Eleanor Harrison
WIE Interns July 2024
“Our internship with the Warwick Institute of Engagement has been a great experience. The team was really friendly and supportive, and we have learnt so much during our six weeks here. Both of us have gained in confidence and feel excited about having public engagement as part of future career plans. We can’t recommend the experience highly enough!”
“Two years ago, a dusty Gibbet Hill café meeting brought Sujatha Menon and I together to explore ideas of departmental “inreach” through poetry, searching out the achievements of SLS women in science This has exploded. A burst of the positive. I have witnessed how this amazing poet works, enthuses and inducts scientists into another world. The Collaboration and Coproduction funding, and working with WIE, has enabled us to draw in other creatives, moving my initial narrow inreach ideas to an expansive outreach activity in the community. Crashing together poetry and science turns out works for all ages and interests ”
Professor Kevin Moffatt
Recipient of our Collaboration and Co-Production Fund Award 2022-2023
Adela Glyn-Davies
Recipient of our Module Development Fund 2022-2023
“To the Design Studies department, WIE is an inseparable part of our team! Our collaborative work this year has included co-creating a new interdisciplinary module in Social Design, which we ’ re excited to deliver with local communities from Coventry's Midland Heart charity working on design solutions for Digital Sustainability for Ageing Populations, delivering a hands-on Regenerative Design workshop with regional stakeholders at the WIE conference and running a full day community-centric workshop at the Eco-Fest, where we are weaving sustainable narratives about the future of fashion.”
“WIE has been a friendly and encouraging environment for me to explore ways of creatively communicating my science work. WIE provides great opportunities for academics in the university to reflect on and improve public speaking and engagement skills. I have found WIE masterclasses and participating in the Planting Roots programme both inspiring and very enjoyable ”
Clare Hurst Resonate Event Facilitator
Hardish
Virk Regional Fellow since 2022
“This was a great event and Warwick Uni should be so proud, it was accessible, fun and informative in one and I wish science had been like this when I was younger ”
Attendee at one of our Resonate Events
“Warwick Institute of Engagement is leading the way on how universities can become accessible civic spaces, so that public engagement is not only an ambition but a reality through commitment, investment and action. It's been a pleasure working with WIE on various projects, including the audience development training I facilitated for staff and students.”
"The support I have received from WIE has helped me to realise my dreams as a writer. As a woman of colour I feel heard, respected and nurtured by an organisation that is exceptional at collaborating with others. WIE make things happen, and in a way that is both very professional and meaningful to all those involved with them. I always finish a project with WIE feeling confident, fulfilled and eager to develop more work. I have found them to be one of the most progressive and forward thinking departments within any educational setting that I have worked in." Sujatha Menon, Freelance Artist
