Category Archives: public engagement

broadcasting your research

Posted on April 29, 2019 by pat thomson

This is a guest post by Earl Harper. Earl is currently in the final year of his doctorate at Bristol University. He is studying ecological gentrification in response to apocalyptic imaginaries of climate change and has previously worked as a … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, broadcasting, implications of research, media, public engagement, public intellectual, research, research agenda | Tagged broadasting, Earl Harper, media, public engagement, research | Leave a comment

public engagement – renovating the public

Posted on February 8, 2016 by pat thomson

Dr. Nick Mahony is an independent researcher, currently leading the development of a new festival of democracy called DemFest 2016, with the Raymond Williams Foundation. Alongside working on other public engagement related projects, Nick is also lead tutor on a … Continue reading →

Posted in Nick Mahony, public conversation, public engagement, Uncategorized | Tagged Nick Mahony, public engagement, the public | Leave a comment

public engagement reframed – in the PhD

Posted on January 21, 2016 by pat thomson

Jackie Barker is a second year PhD student at the University of the West of England (UWE). Her research is on patient and public involvement (PPI) in a health network. In this blog post, she offers her experience of involving … Continue reading →

Posted in PhD, public conversation, public engagement | Tagged PhD, public adviser, public engagement, public health | Leave a comment

academics all write badly… another response to a familiar critique

Posted on February 17, 2014 by pat thomson

I often get asked why I left Australia to come to the UK. Apart from the obvious answers – (1) a job, (2) well it wasn’t the weather, and (3) it was a late career adventure – the question is … Continue reading →

Posted in academic blogging, academic writing, impact, media, public engagement | Tagged academic writing, impact, media, Nicholas Kristoff, Pat Thomson, public engagement, Tressie McC | 6 Comments

make your cv work for you

Posted on September 2, 2013 by pat thomson

I read a lot of cvs. This is because a big part of my job involves looking at applications for studentships, postdoctoral awards and bids for funding. Many of the bids I see have cvs which do not do their … Continue reading →

Posted in cv, public engagement, publications, reader, research funding | Tagged cv, cv readership, Pat Thomson | 3 Comments

just a letter from 100 academics – some thoughts on ‘impact’ and ‘public engagement’

Posted on March 25, 2013 by pat thomson

Last week, a letter with the signatures of 100 education academics was sent to the British newspaper The Independent. It offered a very abbreviated set of concerns about the development of the English national curriculum. The concerns expressed were not … Continue reading →

Posted in backlash, impact, letter to the Editor, public engagement | Tagged backlash, impact, letter to the Editor from 100 education academics, Pat Thomson, public engagement | 11 Comments

who is the public in public engagement?

Posted on September 10, 2012 by pat thomson

One evening, a long time ago, I opened my front door to find a teacher from the school in which I ‘d just enrolled my son. After an initial introduction she launched into a spiel about the English classes that … Continue reading →

Posted in audience, dissemination, knowledge exchange, knowledge mobilisation, public engagement, theory, writing | Tagged Pat Thomson, public engagement, theory, writing | 3 Comments

anyone for a theor-orgasm? academic work in practice and with a practice partner

Posted on May 26, 2012 by pat thomson

So what’s a theor-orgasm? Well it’s a term that one of my friends used to use and I suspect she invented it, although I’m not sure. I couldn’t find it when I googled it so I think that she must … Continue reading →

Posted in knowledge exchange, partnership, public engagement, rules of engagement, theor-orgasm | Tagged industry-academic partnership, kinowledge exchange, partnership, Pat Thomson, rules of engagement, theor-orgasm | 13 Comments

some forms of public engagement are more equal than others

Posted on May 20, 2012 by pat thomson

A long time ago, when I was still living in Australia, I wrote a conference paper* about a dispute between researchers; I’d read about it in the news and heard it on the radio. One was a university based poverty … Continue reading →

Posted in media, public engagement, radio | Tagged academic disputes, Harry Ferguson, Pat Thomson, public engagement, radio, sound byte | Leave a comment

giving background advice to mainstream media

Posted on January 2, 2012 by pat thomson

There are multiple ways for researchers to engage with mainstream media. The roles we take can vary from giver of expert advice through to public commentator. But what we do might also vary according to the kind of media involved … Continue reading →