Over the weekend of 24th-25th September 2021, the international public engagement festival European Researchers Night took place in more than 300 cities across 30 European countries. This was an event dedicated to explaining research through fun and interactive learning, funded by the EU Horizon 2020 programme. The universities of Bristol, Bath, Bath Spa, Exeter and Plymouth joined forces to engage a wide range of people in the South-West of England with research and innovation and showcase the region's rich cultural heritage, under the banner FUTURES2021. I set up a stall at the SS Great Britain to explain the development of the ICEP smartwatch-based smoking relapse intervention and demonstrate the technology behind it. The intervention is aimed at smokers trying to quit, and makes use of smartwatch movement sensors to detect when a lapse occurs; delivery (via the smartwatch) of just-in-time targeted intervention messaging at this point is intended to prevent a full relapse to smoking. During the course of one evening I spoke to about a hundred people of all ages and backgrounds about this work and its part in the Integrative Cancer Epidemiology Programme's smoking cessation theme. The communication was well-received by those attending, with interest and enthusiasm; I even got some useful ideas from their questions and comments, and feedback from potential users of the intervention will help to inform the development process. I believe it is part of our responsibility as researchers to inform members of the public about research which ultimately they fund and benefit from, and to involve them in it - events like this are an ideal platform on which to do this.
Words by Chris Stone