Public Engagement Awards

The University's Public Engagement Awards recognise the important role played by those who undertake excellent public engagement with their research, increasing the non-academic impact of their research, improving their own skills and leading by example.

Each year, six finalists for the Awards perform at the Engage: Public Engagement in Practice event, an event that also sees winners announced for the Images of Research competition.

Awards are presented to both staff and postgraduate researchers, with the Staff Award featuring in the Summer Graduation Ceremony.  For the Staff Award, there is no assumption that candidates will be in a senior, supervisory or managerial position.

There are two public engagement with research awards:

1) Vice-Chancellor's Award for Public Engagement with Research 

Consists of £750 salary payment and £1500 professional development budget.

2) Vice-Chancellor's Postgraduate Prize for Public Engagement with Research

Consists of £500 direct payment. 

Engage: Public Engagement in Practice 2017

At the 2017 Engage event we celebrated some of the best engaged researchers from across the University and previewed our Images of Research entries.

The 2017 finalists were:

Vice-Chancellor's Award for Public Engagement with Research 

• Dr Janet Goodall (Department of Education)
• Dr Justin Rogers (Department of Social & Policy Sciences)
• Dr Afroditi Stathi (Department for Health)

Vice-Chancellor's Prize for Public Engagement with Research

• Daniela De Angeli (Department of Computer Science)
• Emma Sackville (Department of Chemistry)
• Rob Wortham (Department of Computer Science)

View videos of all the Engage 2017 finalists.

2017 Award Winners

The judges (Professor Jonathan Knight (Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research)); Professor David Galbreath (Dean, Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences); Dr Jenni Chambers (Head of Public Engagement, RCUK); and Dr Kit Yates (2016 Staff Award winner)) announced the following winners:

Staff Award: Dr Afroditi Stathi, Department for Health

Afroditi's active ageing research programme, including the two-year project Project ACE: Active, Connected, Engaged has demonstrated exemplary practice in public engagement with research. 

Afroditi’s work seeks to develop low-cost and sustainable programmes supporting older people to enjoy better health and well-being while staying socially-connected for longer. The findings of Project ACE have delivered important messages to policy-makers having been referenced by Public Health England. Afroditi is now working on a large study, the REtirement in ACTion project, a 12-month physical and social activity programme targeting people with mobility difficulties hoping to achieve similar impacts. Through her role as Impact Director and as Co-Director for the Health Integration Team, she has championed public engagement with research within our Department for Health.

On winning the Vice-Chancellor's Award for Public Engagement with Research, Afroditi said:

“It is a great honour to receive this award. I am a firm believer that public engagement strengthens research and increases its potential for impact and adoption at a large scale. I greatly appreciate the way that the University actively supports public engagement and the passion and expertise available through the Public Engagement Unit. The award will support the development of a regional network of citizen scientists and the activities of a global citizen science network aiming at advancing health equity.”

Postgraduate Prize: Daniela De Angeli, Department of Computer Science

Daniela's engaged research explores how games can be used to create museum experiences that are both entertaining and meaningful. Daniela draws on her computer science background to show how interactive games can be designed to bring museums to life through interactive exhibits.

She's been involved in running Game Jams where members of the public come together to create games based on museum objects, and she is the driving force behind the Bath Cultural Heritage Network for staff within the University who work with, or are interested in working with museums in the area.

On winning the Postgraduate Prize for Public Engagement with Research, Daniela commented:

"Public engagement is such a vital part of my research. Winning this award is not just supporting my passion for organising events and engaging with people, it is also encouraging my research. I am more than ever convinced that games are incredible communication tools that can actively involve the public."

Past Award Winners

2016 Staff Award: Dr Kit Yates, Department of Mathematical Sciences

2016 Postgraduate Prize: Jemma Rowlandson, Department of Chemical Engineering

2015 Staff Award: Dr Sarah Bailey, Department of Pharmacy & Pharmacology

2015 Postgraduate Prize: Jon Chouler, Department of Chemical Engineering

2014 Staff Award: Dr Paul Shepherd, Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

2014 Postgraduate Prize: Lisa Sargeant, Department of Chemical Engineering