Public Engagement Structures

PE structures and activities among our Alliance include specific organizational units that have a continuous responsibility for public engagement.

If you are new to Public Engagement and the kind of activities that are done within ENLIGHT, please check out the results of our initial survey (D6.1).

If you are interested in joining PE activities at your institution or want to know more about PE structures and activities, here you can find further information and expertise:

• Museums and Science Centres
• Multidisciplinary Schools
• Science Shops
• Units organizing public engagement events
• Organisations supporting formal and informal education
• PE activities

This overview is intended to be dynamic. Hence, Public Engagement units that were not yet identified in our initial survey can still be submitted HERE.

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Many universities among our alliance have created museums or science centres. The latter is distinguished by a focus on the natural sciences and technology, and it uses interactive exhibits. Museums usually cover a wider range of disciplines and also maintain and display collections. Apart from exhibitions, these museums and science centres commonly implement a range of educational activities (e.g., visiting school classes), and they offer or are involved in various public engagement activities. These usually are at the level of informal dialogue.

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Multi- or transdisciplinary research centres collaborate actively with various stakeholders. Co-creation projects comprise various PE activities in various phases of research. The focus on specific societal challenges seems key for a mutually beneficial collaboration with societal partners.

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Some members of our alliance have Science Shops or similar facilities for Civil Society Organizations to have research done on their demand. In this co-creation process, often students are involved as part of their curriculum. The research project is defined together, based on the CSOs needs. The CSO can have varying degrees of involvement in the actual research process. The results of the research are made public. The service is usually free of charge and students do the research as part of their curriculum.

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Some of our alliance’s institutions have a variety of departments that are responsible to organize public engagement events, such as public lectures, informal dialogues, Science Cafés, and Science Festivals. Apart from the role of museums and science centres in this, we have found the following structures.

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