School-University Partnership Initiative (SUPI) networking event

14 Sep 2016

Are you a researcher interested in engaging with local schools? Want to share your passion for research and your subject area with teachers and students? Want to develop your public engagement and outreach skills?

Date: Wednesday, 9 November, 4pm - 6:30pm (provisional time) 

Location: The University of Manchester campus

Aims: An opportunity for researchers to meet with teachers interested in fostering links with their schools, and running collaborative research-led activities for secondary school and college students. 

The School-University Partnership Initiative is an RCUK-funded project to create structured and strategic mechanisms for universities to work in partnership with secondary schools and FE colleges. This supports researchers’ direct engagement with students and brings contemporary and inspirational research contexts into formal and informal learning to enhance and enrich the curriculum. 

In line with this, the SUPI team are holding a networking event at The University of Manchester on Wednesday 09 November from 4pm – 6:30pm to provide a space for researchers to meet with teachers interested in fostering links, and hosting research-led activities with their students.  The event will include an overview of the SUPI project, with specific reference to collaborative projects between teachers and researchers, and with the main focus being a networking session. The expectation is that teachers and researchers will gain new contacts at the event, and come away with ideas for developing collaborative, engaging, school-based projects together. We have held an annual networking event since 2013 and many partnerships have since developed between researchers and teachers, with both groups giving positive feedback about the opportunity to discuss collaborations.

Register

If you are interested in coming along to this event, please complete the registration of interest by Monday, 10 October.  PhD students, postdocs, lecturers etc all welcome.

Researchers are asked to provide an ‘elevator pitch’ to briefly summarise their research focus to attendees, as this will be provided to teachers in advance in a hand-out. We would also like researchers to submit keywords about their research, to further help signpost teachers to relevant researchers. We would expect researchers to come to the event with information about their research and their areas of interest, including visual representations if possible (conference posters, images of research etc). It would be worth considering if possible how your research can link into and add value the school curriculum, however the teachers should be able to discuss this with you at the event. 

There will be the opportunity to attend an optional briefing session for researchers in advance of the event, and further details will be circulated soon to registered attendees. If you have any questions in the meantime, please contact Ed Trotman at edward.trotman@manchester.ac.uk