New Academic Lead for Public Engagement with Research

17 Sep 2024

The University welcomes Professor Stephanie Snow as our new Academic Lead for Public Engagement with Research.

Between 2017 and 2024 Stephanie served as Academic Lead for Community Engagement and Involvement, providing leadership, direction and focus to the involvement and engagement of Greater Manchester communities in research and teaching across the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health.

Stephanie is Professor of Health, History and Policy in the Centre of the History of Science, Technology and Medicine (CHSTM). She has an international profile as a research leader in the history of health and medicine and a track record of successful funding bids to the Wellcome Trust, research councils and charities. Her commitment to involving and engaging people in research led her to develop a model of participatory historical research which brought together volunteers, charities and health communities across the UK to create Voices of Our NHS, the first oral history of the NHS. Voices of Our NHS is globally significant for its size and diversity. It includes more than 2,400 interviews from people aged 18-100+, born in more than 50 different countries, sharing their experiences of the everyday place of the NHS in postwar British society including the Covid-19 pandemic. It is held by the British Library as a permanent resource for practice and policymaking.

As the Academic Lead for Public Engagement with Research, Stephanie will oversee the strategic implementation of our institutional Public Engagement Framework. Public engagement is supported by our institutional strategic goal of social responsibility, which is in every aspect of our teaching, research and wider contribution to society. Our institution holds a  Platinum Engage Watermark, the highest possible honour from the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE). The award recognises the University as an institution with an ongoing commitment to engagement and a leader in the field in its practices, values and culture.

Stephanie said of the appointment, “It’s a huge honour to take over this role for from Professor Sheena Cruickshank at a point when the University’s commitment to excellence in public engagement has been recognised with the award of a Platinum Watermark.

"Sheena’s remarkable leadership has been pivotal to this achievement. But the current social and economic challenges we face locally, nationally and globally, mean that undertaking purposeful public engagement and civic impact is more important than ever. It is through this work that we can make a positive difference to the lives and futures of our most vulnerable communities. I look forward to working across the University and beyond to build on public engagement for the future.”

Professor Nalin Thakkar, Vice President for Social Responsibility, said of the appointment, “I echo Stephanie’s acknowledgement and extend my own thanks for Sheena Cruickshank’s outstanding leadership.

"I truly am delighted that Stephanie has taken up this leadership role. Her own research practice embraces our values for partnership, inclusion and diverse representation through engaged research and places us in a strong position to address future challenges whilst continuing to create a culture of meaningful, authentic public engagement at the University."