Public engagement fellowships – Think: Public Engagement with Research

MDS Postdocs: Media Fellowship with the British Science Association

Posted by gillecdt in INTERNSHIPS / PLACEMENTS, Public engagement fellowships, Training Event, Upcoming opportunities

MDS have signed an agreement to sponsor one Media Fellowship with the British Science Association in 2017 and we are seeking to nominate an academic at post-doc level or above who would benefit from the experience. There are a total of 12 fellowships available nationally, 1 of which will be from MDS. The Media Fellowships aim to give scientists, clinicians and their colleagues, the confidence and willingness to engage with the media and tackle issues of mistrust and misrepresentation and to give journalists access to new scientific expertise. The scheme is not available to PhD students.

There is an internal selection process and if interested, please could you complete the Survey Monkey by Wednesday 15 March 2017, the link to which is https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/MediaFellow-Birmingham17

This will serve as the internal application form. A Person Specification is attached for your information.

Please be aware that candidates will be required to commit to the training/leadership days as well as attendance at the British Science Festival in Brighton, as per the attached Terms and Conditions. In addition the placement will be between 2 and 6 weeks depending on type, mostly likely to take place between June and September 2017.

From the applications received the College Executive team will choose and submit 2 candidates to the British Science Association who, after a short telephone interview with each candidate, will select and notify the successful Fellow in May 2017.

Further details can be found at https://www.britishscienceassociation.org/media-fellows-applications

With kind regards,

Janet Lord

Exhibition: Ingenious & Fearless Companions (April 1 – June 11, 2016)

Posted by gillecdt in Collaboration, performance, Public engagement fellowships

Melissa Grant (University of Birmingham), Oliver De Peyer, Paul Shepherd, Anna Dumitriu, Alex May, Kira O’ Reilly

1st April – 11th June 2016

BOM is organising the first ever exhibition by the High Altitude Bioprospecting (HAB) science-art collective.

Ingenious and Fearless Companions explores the adventure of curiosity-driven research through a quest to find microscopic life in space. The title is taken from a letter from French poet Victor Hugo to chemist and aeronaut Gaston Tissandier (1869), on the future of ‘air navigation’ to our hybrid ways of working across science and art. It is also a reference to the bacteria that travel into space inside and on the bodies of astronauts and spacecraft, as well as the extremophile bacteria that the HAB team have been seeking in the upper atmosphere.

The HAB collective formed in 2010 when they met through Nesta’s Crucible Labs programme. Initiated by biochemist Dr Melissa Grant from the School of Dentristry at the University of Birmingham, lab robotics researcher Oliver de Preyer and mathematician Paul Shepherd, they have searched for microorganisms adapted to life in space in order to consider their novel uses in biotechnology.

Together the HAB team have developed remotely operated robotic devices to sample the air for such microorganisms, investigating the effects of space travel on bacteria. The have collaborated with NASA and civilian space authority The Rocket Mavericks to fly the device on weather balloons and rockets into the stratosphere. More recently they have been joined by bioartist Anna Dumitriu and media artist Alex May who are collaborating to produce a series of artworks that re-live the excitement of the original rocket launch in the Nevada Desert, the horror of a failed parachute and the despair of a crushed robot.

The exhibition also incorporates video-mapped archive films and sculpturally altered relics of the original launch, such as weather balloons, environmental samples from the black rock desert and extremophile bacteria.

The remains of the wrecked robot will be autopsied in a unique performance lead by internationally acclaimed performance artist Kira O’Reilly, and the exhibition will be accompanied by Space Biohack weekend from 13 – 15 May 2016.

The exhibition is supported by Arts Council England and the University of Birmingham.

SAVE THE DATE:

Live Robot Autopsy Performance by Kira O’Reilly
Friday 13 May 7pm (doors open 6.30pm)
Internationally renowned artist Kira O’Reilly performs a live autopsy on the HAB’s robot that was launched into space in 2010, as it is dissected and examined in a striking performance fusing art and science.

Space Biohack
Saturday 14 May 10am – 8pm
Join scientists and artists from the High Altitude Bioprospecting team alongside astrobiologists in the first ever space biohack.

Learn how to sample for bacteria and other living organisms in extreme environments. Take part in a search for microscopic extraterrestrial life and learn how studying astrobiology could lead to novel biotechnologies.

Suitable for adults and over 14s. Tickets on sale soon.

For more information on Ingenious and Fearless Companions click here

UOBARTSCOUNCIL

The British Science Association’s Media Fellowship scheme

Posted by Research Support in Public engagement fellowships, Upcoming opportunities

The British Science Association’s Media Fellowship scheme provides a unique opportunity for practising scientists, clinicians and engineers to spend three to six weeks working at a media outlet, such as the Guardian, the Times, or the BBC.

Science and Technology Facilities Council. Public Engagement Fellowships- Call for proposals now open

Posted by Ditte Hedegaard in Public engagement fellowships, Upcoming opportunities

Science and Technology Facilities Council

Applications for the 2015 Science and Technology Facilities Council, Public Engagement Fellowships are now open.

The aim of the scheme is to contribute to the STFC’s Public Engagement Programme by investing in good communicators with research credibility. They will act as champions or ambassadors for STFC’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics (‘STEM’) work to schools, the media or public audiences. The scheme is open to STFC grant funded researchers or facility users in the UK or abroad

The closing date for Applications : 26^th February 2015 at 4pm

There is a two-stage process. Short-listed applicants will be interviewed in April/May 2015, and funding decisions would be known very soon after interviews.

Fellowships are normally given in the form of research grants to approved Research Organisations eligible to hold research grants.

For further details on the scheme and how to apply please go to: http://www.stfc.ac.uk/1840.aspx

Applicants are also encouraged to telephone the STFC Public Engagement team for further information: Dr Neville Hollingworth  Public Engagement Manager  Polaris House North Star Avenue Swindon SN2 1SZ e: neville.hollingworth@stfc.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)1793 442175