The Festival of Social Science returns for 2024. Find out more about getting involved in some of our activities and how we can support you in running your own public engagement event this autumn.
As part of our Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Impact Acceleration Account, the University is now a partner and contributor to the Festival of Social Science, an exciting opportunity to showcase our leading social science research.
Get involved
Following the success of our inaugural contribution to the Festival of Social Science in 2023 (you can find more details in the 2023 report), the Public Engagement Unit and the Festival Steering Group are currently working on the 2024 edition happening between Saturday 19 October and Saturday 9 November. We would like to invite you to get involved.
The Festival offers a fantastic opportunity to create engaging activities that showcase the quality and breadth of the research happening across the Faculty of Humanities and Social Science and School of Management and join a national platform of events highlighting our research.
There are several ways to contribute, depending on your availability and the time you can commit.
Digital engagement
Share your research with a global audience without leaving your office or sofa (delete as applicable) with our chat-based questions and answer events I'm a Social Scientist - Ask Me Anything event on social news platform Reddit.
All you need to do is log in on a day of your choosing and spend an hour responding to questions about your work with Reddit users.
Interested? Contact the Public Engagement Unit (public-engagement@bath.ac.uk) for more information and to sign up.
Images of Research 2024
Entrants to the Images of Research 2024 competition will be displayed at a public exhibition outside Bath Spa railway station during the Festival. We're inviting researchers to share an image and a 150 word plain English description of their research's impact on society.
Interested? Check out the Images of Research blog for more details on how to get involved.
Research Assembly
If you're collaborating with a public partner on the theme of Children and Young People, share it at our Research Assembly showcase on Thursday, 7 November. This is an opportunity to celebrate existing partnerships, spark conversations with potential new partners and highlight the many ways of collaborating with civil society organisations.
Interested? Contact me (dwv20@bath.ac.uk) to chat and find out more.
Propose an event
Do you have an idea for a public engagement activity or event that could take place between Saturday 19 October and Saturday 9 November 2024? We can offer help and advice on making the event happen, as well as a small amount of funding and event marketing support.
Interested? Contact me (dwv20@bath.ac.uk), and we can chat about your ideas.
The Festival of Social Science
Since 2002, the Festival of Social Science has been a UK-wide celebration of the social sciences supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Across four weeks in the autumn (Saturday 19 October to Saturday 9 November 2024), social science researchers have the opportunity to deliver activities and events that engage audiences with their work and highlight the value that social science research brings to our everyday lives.
Dean Veall is Deputy Head of Public Engagement at the University of Bath
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