Opportunity for EARC-sponsored skills training for public engagement

In an age of disinformation and dissent it’s never been more important for us all to understand how science and society really work. 

Researchers play a key role in helping with this. They can take us behind the headlines and explain what’s really going on. They can tell us the facts, not the fake news. 

However, many don’t have the experience or skills in working with the public that would allow them to do so. 

This is where FameLab comes in. It is the world’s largest training platform for scientists and social scientists to learn techniques for explaining their work to the public. It’s been running since 2005, and was created by the Cheltenham Science Festival. FameLab is part training programme, part competition. 

KMTV, the regional broadcaster for Kent and Medway, will be running FameLab for the East and Southeast of England. Sponsored by the universities of Canterbury Christ Church and Greenwich, together with the Eastern Arc universities of Kent, Essex and UEA, FameLab is open to anyone working or studying at them. 

If you’re a researcher and you want to gain the skills to share your work and your passion with others, join in! It’s free and simple to apply. You can just take part in the training, but if you want to spread the word about your work and the ideas that inspire you, you can enter a competition to appear at the Cheltenham Science Festival itself.

If you’re shortlisted, you’ll appear at the Gulbenkian Theatre in Canterbury, and have the chance to be broadcast across the region, and globally through streaming platforms. The regional winners will then go on to the national final in June 2024. 

To find out the programme and how to apply, go to https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kmtv/famelab/. The deadline for applications is 31 December 2023.