Outreach and public engagement

How universities can use civic engagement and collaboration to get local communities and the broader public involved in their research and other work and generate positive impacts felt beyond the campus walls. These resources also explore effective ways for academics, educators and other teams to reach out and engage with school pupils and groups underrepresented in higher education to break down potential barriers to access.

A woman gives a talk to a room of colleagues

A practical guide to better public speaking: part two

The second in a two-part series, here’s how to hone your public speaking skills, using the three Cs

Anna Christodoulou

University of Westminster

A woman on her phone posting to social media

An academic’s guide to Bluesky

With many HE professionals making the switch to Bluesky, here are the steps you need to take to get started

Wahiba Chair

University Canada West

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Campus talks: the benefits of citizen science and community-engaged research

Two leading academics explain why everyone benefits when researchers look beyond academia to seek greater understanding and new knowledge alongside the broader public or affected communities

Chris Lintott, Neeli Bendapudi

University of Oxford, Penn State University

A speaker stands at a lectern with a microphone

A practical guide to better public speaking: part one

Getting through long, not-so-interesting talks is a common experience in academia. But if we all agree it can be done better, how can we start delivering better presentations?

Anna Christodoulou

University of Westminster

Clapperboard

Using documentary film to communicate your social research

Film can humanise your research and make it accessible to an audience beyond your field. Here are five key takeaways from our experience of bringing sociology to life

Rosalind Edwards

University of Southampton

Multiracial group of students

‘The experience of mixing with peers from other schools and engaging with university life is transformational’

By building a bridge between high school and university, outreach teams can foster aspiration and provide tangible pathways for students who might not otherwise pursue higher education

Gillian Lavercombe

University of the West of Scotland

Cut out figures of heads and shoulders connected by a web

Time to switch? A university’s guide to Bluesky

Bluesky’s growth offers academics, departments and institutions the chance to build engaged communities. Here are some tips on setting up a profile

Ned Potter

University of York

Close-up portrait of Tui - Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae - a famous New Zealand endemic honeyeater with yellow pollen on the forehead, in a blurred green background, in New Zealand

Dreaming of tuī returning to campus

Collaboration between community groups, local government and university students has improved bird nest survival rates exponentially as part of a broader biodiversity plan. Here is how one university is bringing native fauna back to campus

Seamus Moran

University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha

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Campus talks: what makes an award-winning academic, university or project?

We speak to past THE Awards winners to find out about the work for which they and their institutions were recognised

Roderick Watkins, Mark Brown, Joanne Pledger, Ruth Spencer

Anglia Ruskin University, Royal Holloway, University of London, University of Central Lancashire

A student standing outside campus thinking

How can we make HE more accessible for those with criminal convictions?

Students with criminal convictions are often left out of higher education widening participation efforts. This resource challenges the narrative and offers strategies to support them

Jayne Price, Paul Taylor

University of Chester

Young student smiling with laptop

Walls into walkways

Access to library spaces in preparation for exams is helping Dublin secondary school students find a pathway into university. Here’s how DCU Library has made them feel welcome

Aoife Murphy, Nuala Murray, Angela Laddaga

Dublin City University

A police offer

Influence social change with your research by building relationships

Researchers from Edinburgh Napier University needed to form relationships with a range of people when evaluating Police Scotland’s use of the drug naloxone. Here’s how they did it

Peter Hillen, Inga Heyman

Edinburgh Napier University

Black and Asian researchers working in a lab

Media training can combat low BME representation in academia

Advice from Imperial College London’s new media training academy to help BME researchers build their profiles and increase the reach of their research

Maxine Myers

Imperial College London

A surgery takes place in an operating theatre

How we used data to reveal the extent of sexual misconduct within the UK surgical workforce

The Working Party on Sexual Misconduct in Surgery’s Breaking the Silence report hit the front pages after exposing the extent of sexual harassment among surgical staff, even taking place in operating theatres. Here’s how data were key

Carrie Newlands

University of Surrey

Ulster University Belfast

A new university campus as a springboard for regeneration

The development of a new Ulster University campus has been a powerful driver for regeneration and community engagement in North Belfast. Vice-chancellor Paul Bartholomew explains how

Paul Bartholomew

Ulster University

Student athlete with a gold medal

Using sports storytelling to raise an institution’s profile

How the University of Stirling leverages student athletes’ stories to create impactful content and drive engagement

Greg Christison

University of Stirling

An underwater scene

Sharing shipwreck stories to rewrite maritime history

The story of the Gloucester shipwreck was too important to stay submerged. Here’s how academics, museum curators and the discoverers of the Gloucester wreck brought it back to the surface

Claire Jowitt

The University of East Anglia

A Black man has his blood pressure taken

‘You can change the world with a haircut’: engaging communities at risk

With Black and minority ethnic communities disproportionately affected by high blood pressure, academics found innovative ways to reach them. Here’s how to launch a community outreach programme that works

Nicola Thomas

London South Bank University

Boy receives immunisation from medical professional.

Knowledge exchange as a driver of better health outcomes

A model for how universities can collaborate with public or private sector organisations and community groups to co-develop solutions to local problems

Amina Ismail , Vicki Doyle

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

LSHTM Tavistock Place

Construction with the local community: how to manage estates projects in a built-up area

Dedicating resources to community engagement from the start is a key investment for the success of estates projects and future relationships

John Starmer, Vicky Ratcliffe

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Engage Involve

High school students in laboratory

Encouragement and talent development for future scientists

Secondary students need access to practical laboratory experience and career guidance. Mamta Sharma explores ways to introduce budding researchers to the lab setting and broaden scientific horizons

Mamta Sharma

Wellcome Sanger Institute

Students holding their graduation caps in the air

Working with local authorities to support asylum seekers into HE

How institutions can partner with local authorities to provide English language support to asylum seekers and refugees who wish to pursue higher education

Gabrielle Smallbone

Kingston University

A teacher reads a story to her primary school class

An on-campus primary school helped to enrich the community and embed social responsibility

Establishing a university primary school made a difference in the local area and sparked a sense of social responsibility in students. Andrew Lenehan explains how he did it

Andrew Lenehan

Manchester Metropolitan University

Four students sit on a grassy lawn

How to cultivate a green campus: the journey to carbon neutrality

Achieving carbon neutrality is not an easy task but it is a necessary one. Here are four strategies to achieve it

Kay Choy, Jimmy Lam, Kenny Chan

Hong Kong Baptist University

Young male Asian graphic designer working

Fostering a start-up culture among academic staff

An environment of entrepreneurship that supports academic staff will, in turn, have a positive impact on start-up-minded students. Here, Gavin Clark outlines five approaches

Gavin Clark

University of the Arts London

Members of the Network for Persons Affected by NTDs in Liberia.

Lessons for co-producing research with affected communities

Advice on meaningfully engaging with diverse communities to co-produce research, drawn from a project looking at treatment for neglected tropical diseases in Liberia

Rosalind McCollum

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

The evolution of a paper plane from crumpled to flying form

Ways to enhance your institution’s change agility

How to involve and empower staff to make changes that can have a big impact on their roles and the institution as a whole

Kristy-Jai Chantrey

The University of Newcastle, Australia

A student presenting a green initiative in front of an audience

How to include student voices in green campus initiatives

As centres of knowledge and innovation, higher education institutions have a unique opportunity – and responsibility – to lead by example in promoting sustainability and environmental awareness. Here are ways to do it

Sowparnika Pavan Kumar Attavar

Manipal Academy of Higher Education

Business woman on her laptop in her living room

Ways to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset in students

Some practical tips to help nurture the next generation of entrepreneurs

Isabelle Ford, Hannah Willis

Cardiff Metropolitan University

View of Kiev, Ukraine.

Support for universities during a time of war: working with Ukrainian partners

Lessons on supporting universities in conflict zones, drawn from working with Ukrainian institutions after the Russian invasion

Ian Gadd , Rachael McDonald

Bath Spa University

An illustration of young people putting a lighbulb together

When engaging young people in participatory research, trust is key

How can we collaborate with young people to co-produce research? Keep these three things in mind

Abigail Harrison Moore, Lauren Theweneti

University of Leeds, Sheffield Hallam University

A student smiling in class

Using emotions to boost learning

A professor explains how he leverages emotions to enhance students’ learning, using an approach called ‘mastering emotions in entrepreneurship education’

Vik Perez

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Man looking at Youtube on a laptop

How to collaborate successfully with big business

Lessons for university teams on working with corporate business to deliver mutually beneficial projects

Tanya Wood

King’s College London

A woman studying at her laptop

Promoting online courses: five effective marketing strategies

Several ways to promote Moocs and other online courses, including a focus on email marketing and paid advertising

Luke Howard, Ari Badlishah

The University of Edinburgh

Figures attached by strings

Seven tips for successful collaborations with other institutions

Collaborating with other institutions is a complex process, but in the current education environment, it can be transformative. Here’s how to make it work for all parties involved

Sami Mohamed

Dubai Medical University

Children participating in outreach programme School Tasking

School Tasking: forget explosions, it’s all about the skills

Successful university outreach doesn’t always have to involve awe-inspiring explosions and colour-changing chemical reactions, but it should seek to hone key skills through dynamic and interactive activities that enable all children to shine

Ali Struthers, Alex Horne

The University of Warwick, Avalon Entertainment

A group of people work around a laptop

A five-step framework to integrate sustainability into higher education

To integrate the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals into curricula, students need to be truly engaged. The five-step SCORE framework could be the answer

Mariam Shadan, Yusra Idrees

Dubai Medical University

woman typing on laptop, social media

How to preserve academic credibility when engaging with social media

As political expression on social media can harm public perception of scientists, strategies such as sharing research, separating personal and professional identities, and engaging objectively are ways that academics can use it effectively while preserving credibility

Eleonora Alabrese, Francesco Capozza, Prashant Garg

University of Bath, WZB Berlin Social Science Center, Imperial College London

A woman holds up a bar chart to an iPhone camera

19 ways to promote your online course

In a crowded marketplace, marketing online courses can be challenging. Here are 19 proven strategies to get the word out

Shefa Mostafa Gawish

Dubai Medical University

A group of people work around an office table

The benefits of engaging third space practitioners in curriculum development

Third space practitioners are often overlooked in the curriculum development process, to everyone’s detriment. Here’s a look at the viewpoints they can offer and how to engage them better

Steve Briggs

University of Bedfordshire

Greatuates in their gowns

We need to improve credit portability. Here’s how

Here are some ways universities can improve the process of institutional transfer, making life easier for students and staff

Lauren Schudde, Huriya Jabbar

University of Texas at Austin, University of Southern California

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Campus webinar: How to present research to a wider audience for greater impact

Learn about ways to articulate and present your work to non-academic audiences from experts from Campus+ partner institutions in the UK and North America

Gregory Goldsmith, Patricia Raun, Denise Baden, Krystina Silva

University of Alberta, Virginia Tech, University of Southampton, Chapman University

The UK Houses of Parliament in Westminster

What I learned about knowledge transfer with policymakers during my parliamentary fellowship

Advice on how to share your research with the aim of maximising knowledge transfer among policymakers in parliament

Rajiv Prabhakar

The Open University

A sign saying "digital literacy" hung up on a shelf with books behind it

Closing the digital divide in higher education

A one-size-fits-all approach to digital literacy training simply won’t cut it; institutions need to tailor programmes to the varying needs of their staff

Pavana Kiranmai Chepuri

Woxsen University

Student unpacking his car with his parents on campus

Building a parent-friendly campus: practical considerations

Including parents in the academic experience can help build a stronger campus community and set students on a path towards success

Poornima Panduranga Kundapur

Manipal Academy of Higher Education

A professor giving a lecture

AI communities of practice can help us face its challenges head on

GenAI’s disruptive effects have driven universities to seek answers as uncertainty mounts. Communities of practice focused on the technology could provide solutions

Mariángeles Castro-Sánchez

Universidad Austral

Female director supervising a film shoot

How can we support aspiring mature student creatives?

Helping mature students pursuing creative subjects to make the most of their university experiences shouldn’t be difficult. Here are some suggestions

Emma Lennox

Queen’s University Belfast

Five hands holding stars

Ways to empower EAP students to give high-quality feedback

Helping English for academic purposes students provide better quality feedback to their peers can give them more autonomy and free up teachers’ time

Jingfei Zhang

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Microphone on stage in club

Academics can (and should) be idiots

The comedy stage can be a place for academics to be silly and let it all hang out. Chris Pahlow explores why humour is effective for scholars and the people they’re trying to communicate with about their research

Chris Pahlow

Amplifying Research

A lightbulb against a pink background

Ways to create time and mental space for strategic innovation in higher education

How higher education institutions can better position themselves to adapt and innovate

Catherine Wehlburg

Athens State University

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