Launch Event

Embedding Public and Community Engagement in the Higher Education Curriculum - From Guide to Action

Thursday 19 November, 3pm - 5pm, Library

To celebrate the launch of this guide we're inviting staff and students from the Warwick community to join us for a panel discussion to explore some of the challenges and opportunities of public and community engaged teaching. Featuring a range of speakers who have contributed to the guide, this session will discuss their case studies in depth and explore their ideas and insights. There will also be an opportunity for refreshments and networking with a range of the case study authors, and with colleagues from Warwick Institute of Engagement. If you're interested in exploring how you might embed engaged teaching practices in new or existing modules we'd love for you to join us.

Panellists

Chair: Professor Jonathan Hickman-Heron - Academic Director Postgraduate Research

Jonathan is an interdisciplinary academic with a background in the arts, having previously worked as a theatre practitioner and youth arts leader. He joined Warwick in 2007 to work in collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company and then co-founded the Institute for Advanced Teaching and Learning (IATL) in 2010, later serving as IATL Director (2018-23). He is currently the University鈥檚 Academic Director for Postgraduate Research and a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. His research has been published widely within the medical humanities, theatre & performance studies and drama education, where he has led engagement projects with schools, hospitals and cultural organisations.

Naomi Kay - Engagement Manager, Warwick Institute of Engagement.

Naomi has been teaching an interdisciplinary Public Engagement module for the last 5 years. She'll be sharing her case study on working with students to design hands on activities to explain research to the public, including the practicalities, challenges, and the benefits for students. Read more in "Designing Hands on Activities" - P15.

Dr Rachel Turner-King - Education Studies, SELCS

Rachel has spent the past 15 years aligning her research interests with her teaching practice by embedding community and school-based research opportunities within the curriculum. She is passionate about public engagement pedagogies because they connect students with real-world contexts, making learning more relevant, authentic, and impactful. Through both her teaching and published research, she has explored how these approaches can enrich student learning while building meaningful relationships between universities, schools, and wider communities.

Callum Hodge - Undergraduate Student, Department of Physics

Callum is a fourth-year Physics with Astrophysics student! During his time at Warwick, he's been involved in numerous public engagement and science outreach events sharing his own research and wider departmental activity.