Online public engagement helps bridge the divide between institutions and schoolsā and itās not only school students who benefit.
Taking part in Iām a… Activities can boost engagement, improve communication skills, and build a deeper understanding of effective engagement for researchers.
Institutions can guarantee places for their researchers in Iām a… Activities and the Academy online course, building capacity and quality of engagement. Find out more about the Academy Training Package
To get an estimate for something more tailored, contact shane@mangorol.la or call 01225 326 892.
Boost researcherās engagement
āI didnāt really know much about public engagement before taking partā¦ Iām a… really inspired me to get involved with more! Suzi, PhD researcher
Iām a… is a low pressure space for researchers to ādip their toesā into public engagement. Seeing studentsā enthusiasm for their work gives researchers the confidence and motivation to do more outreach.
Those with less previous experience increase their public engagement activities by 130% in the year following Iām a... Activity.
āThe whole thing was very two-wayā¦ Some of the analogies I totally plagiarised from the students! Max, PhD researcher
From day one, Iām a… is effective experiential training for scientists in engaging the public. Researchers get to hone phrases over two weeks, helped by honest student feedback.
94% of ECRās surveyed said taking part had improved their communication skills.
āAcademy gave me more perspective on exactly why I wanted to take part and gave me points to consider when planning future activities. Savannah, PhD researcher
The Academy is a short online course for researchers to take alongside participation in Iām a… Activity. Based on the NCCPE Engage Framework, it helps researchers understand the fundamentals of quality public engagement and Science Capital concepts at the same time as engaging students.
Supported by a science communication lecturer, researchers answer questions getting them to think about important principles such as purpose, audience needs and appropriate engagement methods.
āAs we donāt have a major university very near us, students wouldnāt get this chance otherwise Teacher
Online engagement allows your institution to engage school students who might otherwise miss out on STEM enrichment.
Schools more than 30 minutes drive from a research intensive Higher Education Institution are half as likely to get a visit from a university researcher as those within 15 minutes drive.
Suzi Gage, researcher and lecturer at Liverpool University
I didnāt really know much about public engagement before taking partā¦ Iām a Scientist really inspired me to get involved with more!
Aisling Lee, Technical Architect
āItās always amazing to think that you might have helped one person to think, āHey, this might actually be for me.ā"
Julian Rayner, Director, Cambridge Institute of Medical Research
āI love that students have power. It made me think ā Oh thatās interesting, how do you manage to even the playing field in engagement activities?āā.
Max Jamily, PhD student at SynBioCDT
āYou get direct responses as to whether or not the students like, and understand, your answers to their questions."
Aileen Baird, PhD student at Centre for Doctoral Training
āNow I feel Iāve got the confidence and the phrases to deliver my ten-second elevator pitch.ā
Liam Taylor, PhD student
āI maintain that the first Iām a Scientist activity I ever did was the most significant thing Iāve done in my career (ā¦) It set me on a trajectory of education and science communication.ā
Jess Leung, Quality Technician at Kerry Ingredients
āFitting the Iām a Scientist activity around my job was fortunately quite a success: I was able to fit the live chats around my shift pattern.ā
Get your researchers involved
Thereās a long list of scientists wanting to take part in IAS, but only a limited number of places each activity.
Email shane@mangorol.la, or call 01225 667922, to discuss funding to create space for your researchers in Iām a Scientist and the Academy online course.
