2019 was a wonderful year for the Social Responsibility and Public Engagement (SRPE) Team, full of exciting events, new training opportunities and celebrating achievements. Here are just a couple of our highlights from the year:

International Women’s Day

Last year’s theme was #BalanceforBetter and to raise awareness of this topic, the Faculty welcomed Dr Jess Wade to discuss gender balance and the importance of keeping the equality conversation going. The theme for this year’s event is #EachForEqual which will take place on Thursday 5^th March with guest speaker Anita Shervington, Engagement Fellow for the Wellcome Trust. For more information and to book onto this free event, click here.

The Community Festival

The Community Festival is free and packed with fun family-friendly interactive activities that enable staff, students, organisations and members of the public to learn more about the work that happens at the University. To find out more about last year’s Festival, click here. The Festival occurs annually with this year’s festival taking place on Saturday 27^th June 2020. 

Work Experience Week

Last summer, 41 pupils representing 11 Widening Participation schools from across Greater Manchester attended the University for a week-long programme of activities to give them an insight into higher education, the breadth of careers that the Faculty provides a gateway to, and a chance to build skills and self-confidence. The week began in the Stopford Teaching Labs with some practical experience of working in a laboratory, learning skills which many students only learn in their first year as an undergraduate. Later in the week, pupils were able to put these skills into practice in an afternoon spent with researchers from the Lydia Becker Institute. To find out more, email srbmh@manchester.ac.uk or watch our video on Work Experience week.

The PPIE and SR Celebration and Awards Ceremony

Every year, the Faculty celebrates the positive impact being made in Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) and Social Responsibility (SR) at our annual celebration events. The PPIE event was attended by Public Contributors, staff and students who explored how wellbeing and PPIE collectively benefit our research and teaching through the theme ‘Celebrate PPIE, Experience Wellbeing’. The event began with a talk from guest speaker Dr Pip Fisher, Associate Programme Director for Student Wellbeing, who discussed the broader benefit of wellbeing, followed by a taster Tai Chi session and a music for wellbeing singing session. The event also featured a PPIE advice clinic where Dr Ceri Harrop asked our guests for advice on how best to involve Public Contributors in exploring discovery phase research. PPIE awards were then presented to commend the innovative work of our staff, students and Public Contributors. For more information on the award winners, click here.

During the SR event attendees listened to lightning talks from staff and students, giving an insight into just a few of the Socially Responsible projects that are happening within the Faculty. Professor Graham Lord, Vice-President and Dean of the Faculty said of the day: “The celebration events showcased the important work taking place across the Faculty in Social Responsibility and Public Engagement and highlighted how Manchester is in a unique opportunity to be a beacon of excellence for health.”

PPIE Forum Meetings

The Faculty’s PPIE Forum (comprising of Faculty Leads and public contributors) meets quarterly to provide strategic direction to the SRPE team. The main aims of the Forum include building and promoting PPIE activity and best practice, developing the Faculty’s PPIE webpages, providing a central point for information and advice, and developing and promoting training in PPIE. Our January meeting promoted the upcoming opportunity for two new Public Contributors to join our Forum. Having Public Contributors contribute to these Forum meetings is invaluable to insure an excellent standard of research and teaching. If you or someone you know would be interested in this opportunity to become a Forum member, please look at the role description.

Public Contributor Induction Session

We have hosted three Induction Sessions which have provided 51 Public Contributors with insight into the Faculty and their role as a Public Contributor. Attendees received a resource pack which included our Induction Guide, a list of helpful terminologies, useful contacts, and information about further involvement opportunities. The Induction Sessions always receive great feedback, and Public Contributors love attending as they find PPIE so “rewarding” and “life affirming”. To read more about our most recent session, click here. Our next session will take place on 1^st April 2020, to find out more click here. 

Malham Tarn

In November, the third annual trip of Trinity High School pupils to Malham Tarn FSC Centre gave the students the opportunity to speed-network with researchers, clinicians, PhD students, support staff, a nurse and a dentist about their careers and working at the University, and also enabled the pupils to have hands-on ecology and biodiversity experience in North Yorkshire. The weekend away involved catching and analysing river invertebrates, classroom sessions on food chains and setting small animal traps.The Faculty hopes that this enriching experience will inspire the pupils with the variety of career options science has available. To read more, click here.

Charlotte Beswick Day

For the fifth annual Charlotte Beswick Day at the end of November, widening participation pupils from schools across Greater Manchester had the opportunity to come onto campus for a day full of fun and educational activities to highlight that there are more healthcare careers than Doctors and Nurses. The day involved a talk by Dr Helen Jopling, Lecturer in Clinical Biochemistry, Division of Medical Education, a tour of Manchester Museum’s Vivarium to learn about warm and cold-blooded animals, an engaging careers talk and an object handling workshop with medical items from The Museum of Medicine and Health (MMH). The event is named after Charlotte Beswick who, along with her husband Dr Bill Beswick, founded the MMH. For more information about next year’s event, please contact srbmh@manchester.ac.uk.

The Linnean Society Lecture

For the last five years, the Faculty has had the privilege of hosting the annual Irene Manton lecture with the Linnean Society of London. The lecture celebrates the significant contribution made by women to the Natural Sciences. This year’s lecture took place on Thursday 5^th December 2019 where guest speaker Jan Bradley, Professor of Parasitology from the University of Nottingham, delivered her lecture entitled ‘From Man to Mouse’ in the historic setting of the reading room of the John Rylands Library. For more information about this most recent lecture, click here.

For more information about other PPIE events, training and funding opportunities, you can sign up to our monthly digest, visit our website, follow us on twitter or email srbmh@manchester.ac.uk. For further PPIE resources, visit the Faculty’s PPIE Toolkit.

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