Applications are now open for the AHRC-TORCH Online Course: Public Engagement with Research 2021, which will run from the 19th of April until the 14th of June 2021.
We are excited to offer a full programme of skills workshops, lectures, interviews, discussion panels, and collaborations with a range of Arts and Humanities institutions. The Online Course provides doctoral and early career researchers with the skills and resources to integrate public engagement into their research and to broaden their understanding of the wealth of opportunities available for bringing research to diverse audiences. The Course also provides the opportunity, space, and resources for participants to develop their own PER project and then pitch for seed funding (up to £500) to realize it.
During the Online Course, participants will encounter and hear from experts from a range of institutions and humanities disciplines, who will share their experience and advice on integrating public engagement into academic research. Over the course of nine weekly modules, TORCH Knowledge Exchange Fellows, Public Engagement Executives from Academic and Cultural Heritage Institutions (including the National Trust, Culture&, and the BBC), Access and Outreach Officers, artists as well as journalists and podcasters will lead workshops and seminars designed to give participants focused training on how to develop public engagement with research projects across a wide variety of mediums.
The Online Course will kick off with a live panel discussion on the 19th of April 2021, moderated by María del Pilar Blanco, Associate Professor of Spanish American Literature at the University of Oxford and Academic Champion for Networks and Partnerships at The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities. The panelists are:
- Lesley Paterson, Head of Public Engagement with Research, University of Oxford
- David Cain, Public Engagement and Festival Manager (Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences), University of Cambridge
- Richard Holliman, Professor of Engaged Research, The Open University
- Paul Manners, Director – Policy, National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement
From there, the course consists of pre-recorded video sessions which can be completed flexibly and asynchronously, on your own time and whenever it fits into your busy schedule. You should expect to engage with between three to four hours of material each week, including developing your own PER project.
If you are curious about what opportunities exist for sharing your work beyond an academic setting, this is definitely for you.
The Online Course is free for participants and applications are open to DPhil/PhD students and Early Career Researchers in the Humanities at the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, and the Open University. You can download the module outline here.
To sign up for the AHRC-TORCH Online Course: Public Engagement with Research 2021, fill in this form by Thursday, 1 April 2021.
Should you have any questions concerning the course, please do not hesitate to contact the Graduate Project Coordinators, Francesca Kaes and Damian Maher, at gradprojects@humanities.ox.ac.uk.
