New public engagement strategy launched

A new public engagement strategy has been developed and is now being launched to staff and students and the public.

The strategy covers the strategic priorities for the University in carrying out public engagement, and outlines some of the actions that will be undertaken to support our staff and students to undertake this work.

The key priorities are:

• Embed public engagement in our research
• Support engaged students
• Create open and accessible entry points to the university
• Communicate and celebrate

The delivery of the strategy is the responsibility of Dave Smith, the Public Engagement Manager based in Research, Innovation and Knowledge Exchange.

“Public engagement is huge part of what we do here at the University,” says Dave. “During the writing of the strategy we were inspired by the amazing work our researchers, students and professional and support staff engaging the public and we want to make sure they can continue to do it with the right support.

“Events like the European Researchers nights, initiatives such as Temporary Contemporary, and recently the podiatry students giving free foot care sessions at the Huddersfield Mission are just a few examples of how effectively we are connecting with the local community, as well as our national and international projects.

“The strategy has been designed to help everyone in their activities, and to give us a common understanding of what public engagement is. The development of the strategy included consultation with staff, students and external partners, to ensure that we created a strategy that worked for this University.”

The Public Engagement Strategy will be launched at an event on the 9 February, but for now you can read the full document on the public engagement staff page:  https://staff.hud.ac.uk/public-engagement