InSPAration Impact and Dissemination workshop

Morning sessions: What is impact?

10:00-11:30

‘Demystifying impact in professional academia: a panel discussion’ with Jess Hurrell, Professor Matt Lobley, and Professor Brian Rappert

For PGRs and early career researchers, the nature and significance of impact can often seem mysterious. This session offers an opportunity to ask some of your biggest questions about the role of impact in professional academia to a panel of the University of Exeter’s most knowledgeable impact experts. The panel will consist of:

• Jess Hurrell, Impact and Partnership Development Manager for Policing, Crime and Justice at IIB (Impact, Innovation, and Business), supporting impact case studies and business development in these areas.
• Professor Matt Lobley, Co-Director at the Centre for Rural Policy Research
• Professor Brian Rappert, Director of Research for SPA (Sociology, Philosophy and Anthropology).

Each panellist has a unique perspective on impact within the University of Exeter. At the beginning of this session, each panellist will introduce themselves, explain how their work relates to impact in the university, and share what they think are some of the most important points about impact for PGRs. Following this will be a discussion from the panel of questions submitted by workshop attendees. 

11:30-12:30

‘Achieving Impact as PhD and Early Career Researchers: Opportunities, Tips and Challenges’ with Dr Abi Dymond

In this session, Dr Abi Dymond will share some of her considerable experience of impact. She will introduce herself, her own research and the impact it’s had. Following this, Dr Dymond will share some valuable tips, learning points, and ‘things I wish I’d known’ when starting out in academia. These will include insights into impact communication, as well as advice on marketing your impact and putting together a convincing case for funding based on impact. She will also outline some of the impact-related challenges she has faced over the course of her career. The session will conclude with a Q&A, when attendees will have an opportunity to ask their own questions.

Afternoon sessions: Digital platforms for communication and dissemination

13:15-14:45

‘Research Communication through Podcasting’ with Merve Mollaahmetoglu

This session will cover, step by step, how to get started with podcasting, including choosing a topic for your podcast, getting together your podcast team, deciding your audience, scheduling, preparing and running your podcast, the podcast theme tune, the equipment and piloting your podcast. The session will also touch on technical aspects of podcasting including introducing software such as Audacity and redirecting you to resources on how to use this, as well as recording tips. Finally, the session will offer some general tips and best practices based on Merve’s personal experience of podcasting so far.

15:00-16:30

‘Research Communication through Online Video’ with Dr Tom Nicholas

‘Research Communication through Online Video’ will be a 90-minute session about using online video to share one’s research with non-academic audiences. The primary focus will be on YouTube, but many of the principles will also be applicable to utilising the video functionality of sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram too.

The session will be split into three sections of roughly equal duration. The first 30 minutes will focus on why one might undertake this kind of activity and on how to frame your research communication activity to make it appealing to an audience outside academia. The second 30 minutes will focus on the more technical aspects: what to film with, where to film, what software to edit with etc. The final 30 minutes will be left open to question and answer, allowing for attendees to ask questions specific to their circumstance and goals.

View video of session

Evening session: adapting to digital academia

17:00-18:00

‘Effective Conference Presentation, Online and Off’ with Dr Edward Mills

‘Effective Conference Presentation, Online and Off’ will train attendees both in the fundamental skills necessary for any conference presentation – structure, delivery and so on – as well as in the more specific requirements of asynchronous and remote presentations. This second section is based on the principle that remote working will not go away, even after Covid, and that there will therefore be a need to become familiar with tools (OBS, slide design for integrated video, etc.) that comparatively few of us currently use. Many of the techniques currently in-vogue for asynchronous, remote presentations are also applicable to in-person presentations, so skills in either form of conference presentation will reinforce skills in the other.

Register here via EventBrite

Enquiries email ssis-spa-pgrconference@exeter.ac.uk