Author: gillecdt

Public Engagement with Research Officer, University of Birmimgham

REMINDER: Today is our drop-in video support session!

Posted by on in Training Event

A reminder of today’s video support drop-in session:

Tuesday 13th May, 12.00 – 1.30 pm

Sport and Exercise Sciences G84 Computer Cluster

Free to all research students and research staff at UoB

The MDS web team  will be on hand to answer questions related to editing and processing short videos, as well as offering useful guidance on the planning/filming stages. Attendees are encouraged to bring their filming devices (cameras, Ipads, phones etc.) with them and to come ready with all their questions and footage (if they already have that) so that they can make the most of the session.

For more info on the session go HERE

Hope to see you there!

Interested in Open Access?

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openaccessTaylor & Francis Editor Resources present two upcoming seminars on open access. More info here.

Examining open access, research impact, and public engagement: attend the seminars 

Events in London (19 May) and Brussels (17 June) will review progress on the open access “journey” so far and are supported by the Academy of Social Sciences (AcSS) and the Association for Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP).

Alongside addressing policies in the U.K. and Europe, both seminars will consider the twin themes of research impact and public engagement in an open-access context. Speakers will be from a wide variety of organizations, including HEFCE, the European Commission, Society for Research into Higher Education, National Library of Sweden, CrossRef, and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), amongst many others.

Promising to be an unmissable event for any society or academic editor engaging with open-access publishing, the events in London and Brussels are free to attend. Read the full agenda for the day and register to attend London or Brussels now.

If you can’t be there you can also follow the highlights of both days on Twitter, using #OAandsociety.

Scientists using Twitter

Posted by on in Upcoming opportunities

twitter

A really interesting article by Sarah Boon (PhD) about scientists using Twitter has come out at Canadian Science Publishing. Read in full here

Recently, Kirk Engelhardt, Director of Research Communication at the Georgia Institute of Technology, posted two hotly debated articles: one on why more university researchers aren’t tweeting, and a second on whether Twitter can make scientists better communicators. 

Based on that discussion, Sarah’s post aims to dispel five key myths that seem to come up in most discussions of scientists using Twitter. These are:

1.    Serious scientists don’t Tweet.

2.    Twitter takes too much time.

3.    You can’t say anything meaningful in 140 characters.

4.    Twitter erases necessary boundaries between students and faculty

5.    Twitter is only for self-promoters

 

To read why these 5 points are myths go HERE to read the article in full. Are you a UoB scientist that uses Twitter? Let’s follow each other if so! Find us here: @UOBengage  

British Interactive Group ‘Josh Award’ – Nominate yourself now!

Posted by on in Upcoming opportunities

For how to apply go HERE

The Josh Award 2014

The Josh Award is an award established to recognise and support up-and-coming talent in science communication. The award recognises a defining moment in the career of a science communicator; a person who is a practicing scientist or someone who has chosen science communication as their profession. This defining moment could be a game changing project, piece of work, way of working or a key moment of change, creativity, innovation or passion. A defining moment in a career that has transformed science communication practice, inspired others or changed the landscape of science communication.The award provides the opportunity to become the science communicator in residence at the Manchester Science Festival 2014, developing and delivering a new project or event while show-casing best practise in the field of science communication.The winner will receive support to nurture their development in the field and their involvement in the Manchester Science Festival from both the Festival team and the British Interactive Group (BIG), the skills sharing network for individuals involved in the communication of science, technology, engineering and maths.

Read More “British Interactive Group ‘Josh Award’ – Nominate yourself now!”

Free drop-in session on how to create a video Tues 13th May

Posted by on in Training Event, Upcoming opportunities1 Comment

The Public Engagement Working Group (PEWG) is pleased to announce a second support session for our ‘Less Talk, More Action’ video competition. Shawn Mayall and Angela Slater from the MDS web team have kindly volunteered their time to host a drop-in session for anyone who might need some extra support in putting together a video short for the competition (or other public engagement activity).

They will be on hand to answer questions related to editing and processing short videos, as well as offering useful guidance on the planning/filming stages. Attendees are encouraged to bring their filming devices (cameras, Ipads, phones etc.) with them and to come ready with all their questions and footage (if they already have that) so that they can make the most of the session. Angela & Shawn have already recently put together a wealth of resources on the topic online HERE but the drop-in session will allow people to ask for more specific advice if needed.

 

‘Less Talk, More Action’ asks researchers and research students to present their research in an engaging video for the opportunity to win £200, with winners from each college. Deadline to enter the competition is May 30th at noon.

 

The drop-in session will take place on:

Tuesday 13th May, 12.00 – 1.30 pm

Sport and Exercise Sciences G84 Computer Cluster

 

We hope to see you there! Drop in anytime between 12-1.30 pm. Thank you to all attendees of our first support session with Malcolm Love which focused on presenting to camera, developing a script and other practical content questions.

Follow us on Twitter: @UOBengage

This message is from the PEWG

Free Media Training with Malcolm Love on May 6th

Posted by on in Training Event
The Public Engagement Working Group (PEWG) has organized a 2 hour media training workshop with Malcolm Love (ex-BBC producer, also Famelab International Trainer and occasional broadcaster) who will be giving expert hints, tips and advice on presenting to camera this Tuesday 6th May at the Learning Centre UG10 2-4pm. This event has been organized in support of the ‘Less Talk, More Action‘  video competition recently launched by the PEWG. This competition is open to all UoB postgraduates, post-docs and senior researchers. You can submit a video individually or as part of a research group. All information on the competition can be found HERE, including an example video as well as a  how-to tutorial video on how to create and edit a video if you’ve never made one before. (Please note the competition deadline is May 30th).
 
Don’t miss this excellent opportunity to get helpful support on presenting to camera and learn the do’s and don’ts of making content decisions. This workshop will be useful to anyone who would like to present their research to camera in the future, whether for the ‘Less Talk, More Action’ competition or for other opportunities that may present themselves in the future. This media training is free for all UoB researchers and research students to attend.
 
Malcolm Love will be talking at the Learning Centre UG10 at 2-4pm: Free for all research UoB students and research staff to attend. We hope to see you there!
 
The PEWG will also be organizing a drop-in session on May 13th for those who would like help on the technical side of making a video. This will kindly be hosted by MDS Web Team members, Shawn Mayall & Angela Slater. We will post the location and time of this drop-in session here so check back again soon
 
Spread the message. Thank you.
PEWG.

Less Talk, More Action! – The UoB Content Competition

Posted by on in Awards and Prizes, Competition, Training Event, Upcoming opportunities1 Comment

Present your research in an engaging way via video and win £200!

2014 is an amazing year for engagement opportunities in the University, from the fantastic home-grown Arts & Science Festival to the national British Science Festival being held on campus, and we want to celebrate and showcase the best of our research in the most creative and exciting ways possible.

The Public Engagement Working Group (PEWG) will be offering £200 prizes for the best 4-minutes videos based on Birmingham research aimed at a general audience. We welcome creative videos from senior staff as well as post-graduate and post-doctoral researchers, whether individually or representing wider groups. The video can either be in the form of a presentation, interview, exercise, activity, role-play, cartoon or in any way that you feel conveys your research most effectively. Visit the competition page for more information!

The deadline is Wednesday the 30th of May 2014 at 12 noon.