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Outreach is the way in which universities share their research and expertise with groups beyond the institution. Think school visits, science demonstrations, workshops, campus tours, online resources, summer school or festivals. These activities are often aimed at widening participation and inspiring children, teenagers and others – no matter their background – to pursue higher education.
And it works. The Higher Education Access Tracker service found that UK students eligible for free school meals who engaged in intensive outreach were up to 48 per cent more likely to progress to higher education.
Effective outreach draws on skills such as communication and relationship-building, interdisciplinarity, project management, safeguarding and co-creation, with a hefty dose of curiosity and tenacity to ensure impact reaches beyond one-off initiatives.
For this episode, we speak to Lorraine Coghill, who is the deputy director of science engagement at Durham University. With a PhD in biomedical and clinical laboratory sciences, she has over 20 years of educational engagement experience, working with schools, universities, science centres, festivals, and educational and community organisations in the UK and Europe. She also contributes to national and international engagement initiatives, including Project Earth, and serves as co-chair of the Space North East England Skills and Outreach Group.
Durham’s Stargoal project, which brings together football, physics and gender representation in sport, won the Partnering with Schools category at the 2024 Odgen Trust Outreach Awards.
To learn more about the secrets of successful university outreach, head to our latest spotlight guide.
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