April McMahon Prifysgol Aberystwyth UniversityEngage 2012, Bristol, December 6 2012

Leading Engagement

A starting point for discussion• Some initial points on the slides.• But the main point is to discuss – so I hope

most of our time will be spent genuinely ‘in conversation’.

• I may be in a University leadership position, but you have the breadth of experience as participants and practitioners – I am looking forward to bringing these perspectives together.

Some personal history• My own research has been very interdisciplinary – I am a linguist, but have

worked extensively with geneticists, anthropologists, archaeologists and computer programmers, looking at how we can compare sounds and words across languages, group languages into families, and get quantitative data to compare across disciplines. I’ve also worked on comparing accents of English, and on how, when and why human language evolved.

• My own experience of public engagement has been through lots of talks to general audiences (Science Cafes and the like); and involvement with interested groups from teachers to dialect coaches.

• At Edinburgh, as Head of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, I led on the introduction of a College strategy for knowledge exchange and public engagement. At Aberystwyth, we are now appointing Professors in Public Engagement with Science, and in Engagement with the Public Imagination.

• I also chaired the Vitae Advisory Group on the Researcher Development Framework.

Encouraging engagement• As a Vice-Chancellor, part of my job is to lead

and encourage engagement – • with the University’s Strategic Plan• with business• with our community (this is particularly important

for us in Aberystwyth)• with the public more broadly.

How do we lead engagement?• Show it’s a natural thing to do as part of a University

career, which can and should be combined with research, supervision, teaching and leadership.

• Include it in our strategies and make sure we talk about it with our Governing Body, government, alumni and other stakeholders.

• Show we value it – e.g. through the recent revision of our academic promotions system.

But…• Is it for everyone? Encouraging and leading versus

requiring.• Where is the fine (and invisible) line between

encouragement, valuing, validation on the one hand, and regulation and red tape on the other?

• How can we reconcile the need for and value of a Public Engagement strategy with the lively, spontaneous and varied nature of engagement events?

Over to you!