Abstract
Public engagement is recognised as having an increasingly important role in the changing landscape of higher education in the United Kingdom (UK), and is promoted as a ‘pathway to impact’ by many higher education funding bodies. However, there is limited evidence to support the outreach and impact gained by higher education institutes that undertake international public engagement activities. Similarly, little is known about higher education staff and student’s experiences of participating in such public engagement activities. This study focusses on a Global Festival of Learning (GFoL) in delivering public engagement on an international stage through an integrated approach involving the fusion of education, research, and professional practice, and the perceived impact on staff and students. This paper proposes an adaptive model for public engagement founded on five strategic public engagement areas that can be transferred to other higher education institutes with an interest in developing their international outreach and impact.
Highlights
Over the last decade, public engagement (PE) in the United Kingdom (UK) has gained momentum [1,2] as a mechanism in higher education (HE) to increase the sharing of expertise and approaches with society to mobilise and motivate positive practice and culture change [3].in today’s multi-national HE sector, which promotes international collaboration as integral to world-class research with impact [4], higher education institutes (HEIs) are expected to ‘connect’with both national and international communities [5,6]
Staff and students were given the opportunity to reflect on their participation in the Global Festival of Learning (GFoL) 2017, and their responses suggested that the public engagement experience was beneficial in bringing back international learning and experiences into their current and future work and/or education: “I am excited that we are given the opportunity to bring back to Bournemouth University the knowledge, experiences, expertise, and connections that we developed during the Global
The GFoL was developed by Bournemouth University (BU) as a direct response to traditional public engagement models adopted by the HE sector to broaden PE on an international scale
Summary
Public engagement (PE) in the United Kingdom (UK) has gained momentum [1,2] as a mechanism in higher education (HE) to increase the sharing of expertise and approaches with society to mobilise and motivate positive practice and culture change [3].in today’s multi-national HE sector, which promotes international collaboration as integral to world-class research with impact [4], higher education institutes (HEIs) are expected to ‘connect’with both national and international communities [5,6]. HEIs need to continually improve their understanding of the complex global systems—social, cultural, economic, and political—between different communities, and the impact of change. This is to ensure that their education, research, and practice can identify sustainable ways to meet the current needs of global society, without diminishing the quality of the environment or reducing the capacity of future generations to protect their own cultural needs. A review of the current literature revealed that there is limited research to demonstrate mechanisms for successful international PE and the potential outreach and impact that this type of engagement can provide HEIs, university staff and students, and the public [7].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call