Engaged Researcher Online - Working With Schools

Beginners

Engaging young people with your research can be very worthwhile and rewarding. This training session will support you with your public engagement work with schools by introducing you to the UK school system and discussing how public engagement work can fit with existing school priorities. We will consider ways in which your work can make an impact and briefly consider how public engagement can work with underrepresented groups and contribute to diversity and inclusion initiatives. You’ll be introduced to ways in which the University already works with schools to provide you with ideas for collaboration. Lastly, we’ll begin to think about how to plan and design activities suitable for school audiences.

At the end of this session, you’ll hopefully feel more confident about how to work effectively with schools and can start thinking about your own public engagement work. The group session will be followed by the opportunity for a one-to-one 15-minute session with the trainer where you can discuss your projects, ideas and questions and get project specific help.

This course will be led by Michelle Tang. Michelle currently works as the Deputy Head of Widening Participation for the University (within the Cambridge Admissions Office). In her role, she oversees a team who work with over 200 schools and 5000 school-aged students each year in a number of widening participation programmes including the University’s flagship HE+ programme, the Sutton Trust Summer Schools and the Insight programme. She has also previously worked as a Schools Liaison Officer, travelling and visiting schools all over the UK but particularly in Yorkshire, Berkshire and Scotland. Michelle completed the Teach First Leadership Development Programme in 2016, during which she worked as a primary school teacher in north London, and holds a PGCE from the Institute of Education. She is passionate about social mobility and the transformative power of education in closing equality gaps.

• PhD students
• Post-docs
• Researchers
• Public Engagement Professionals

Number of sessions: 2

Provide an overview of:

• the UK school system
• how public engagement work can make an impact, work with underrepresented groups, and contribute to diversity and inclusion
• how the University already works with schools

After the course participants will be able to:

• consider why they want to work with schools
• understand school priorities and how to effectively work with schools
• begin to plan and design activities for a school audience

Good internet connection: the training will take place on Zoom.

If you have troubles joining the sessions or have any queries, please contact Selen Etingu-Breslaw (selen.etingubreslaw@admin.cam.ac.uk).

One one hour and a half mandatory group/plenary session, and an optional fifteen minute one-to-one session with the trainer.

• Engaged Researcher Online - Safeguarding And Child Protection
• Engaged Researcher - The Conversation media training