Category: Events

Each year, the Festival of Social Science invites researchers in the social sciences to test out small-scale events that help to bring their work to new audiences, and showcase the importance of social science research to the world in which we live. Read on to hear more about past activities, and how people can get involved in the festival. 

The recent Somerscience Festival, hosted at Bath and West Showground over the May bank holiday, invited researchers and industry experts to celebrate the value of STEM in the South West, with this year’s event featuring teams from the University of Exeter’s Department of Biosciences and Living Systems Institute. 

Engage is the biannual conference hosted by the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement. This year, the conference was attended by our Engaged Research Manager, Dr Dreolin Fleischer, and Catherine Hurcombe, Regional Engagement Assistant, to explore the changing landscape of engaged research, and how now more than ever, co-production and engagement with new audiences is vital.

In partnership with Devon Community Foundation, the University recently hosted a researcher-voluntary sector ‘matchmaking’ event. This half-day event, funded by the Devon Research Engagement Network, under the umbrella of the Torbay, Plymouth and Devon VCSE Assembly, invited those with an interest in applied health and wellbeing research to connect, and spark ideas for collaboration.

We were delighted to be joined earlier this month by Dr Mark Carew, from the Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, to discuss his experience developing and licensing ‘What the Pharma!’, a card game that helps clinical pharmacology students engage with this topic through play. 

In a recent workshop from Heritage@Exeter, Dr Chris Kempshall, author and public historian, shared his insights into bringing history out of academia and into the public eye – whether that includes engagement with the media, or working directly with the general public.

Bringing science to audiences of all ages, Hatherleigh Science boasts a series of public evening lectures and a day-long Saturday science fair that invites members of the public to get involved with science in interactive and engaging ways, taking world-leading research outside of university cities and bringing it to new rural audiences. 

Central to the FUTURES Festival celebrations was the creation of new artwork, and encouraging visitors to explore their artistic side through walking tours, our craft zone, and workshops. Each of these activities worked with members of the local community to bring new voices into a variety of research disciplines. 

As part of the 2025 FUTURES Festival, our partners, Agile Rabbit, brought the celebrations to Cornwall as part of the Researchers in Churches scheme. This programme takes academia into a new setting, inviting members of the community to talks and conversations delivered in churches across the South West.