Past projects

As well as our flagship projects, these are some other engagement projects that we have been involved with in the past. They may be smaller, or simply longer ago, but we think they highlight what we have done in collaboration with our partners.

Re-Cognition
Extending our expertise in Responsible Research and Innovation to a European Horizon-funded project bringing together partners across seven European countries. Using training, focus groups, and public engagement initiatives, we challenged project partners to reflect on the positive and negative future impacts of this engineering project.
Seeds of Change
Seeds of Change was a 12 month creative learning project funded by Heritage Lottery Fund and involving 11 Bristol primary schools and 5 community groups. We led activities alongside the Arnolfini and the University’s Botanic Garden and it involved 28 university students, five university researchers and three artists. It gave local people the opportunity to take part in creative workshops and design and build their own gardens with “ballast seeds” - those that were transported to Bristol in the ballast in ships. The project was based on artist Maria Thereza Alves’ investigation of ballast flora in European port cities as part of her Floating Garden project. It aimed to increase understanding of different heritages and the city’s trading and maritime past.
Curiosity Challenge
‌‌‌We collaborated with the Jean Golding Institute and We The Curious to create this competition for researchers to design a new exhibit for We The Curious. The aim was to create a “Curiosity Toolkit” which visitors could interact with to develop some of the skill needed to be a researcher and for their ideas to feed into current data science research. The winners were Oliver Davis and his team from the Integrative Epidemiology Unit.
EPQ Mentoring
‌EPQ Mentoring provided support and guidance for sixth form students undertaking the Extended Project Qualification alongside their A Levels. University academics and postgraduate students supported the students by providing subject-specific knowledge and advice on developing research methodology and skills at an annual "Mentoring Fair" every year in November. Over several years the programme supported hundreds of students across Bristol and the South-West.
RRI Residential
In 2017 we worked with BrisSynBio and ONCE Arts Collective to develop a unique residential course exploring Responsible Research and Innovation in synthetic biology through artistic practice. This two-day workshop was open to PhD students and early career researchers working in synthetic biology across the University. Our first cohort reflected deeply upon what it means to be a scientist working at the cutting edge of bio-design, and where this work might take humanity, through painting, songwriting, singing, nature walks, gentle yet powerful conversations, poetry and creative challenges. If you are interested in arranging and funding a similar experience for a cohort of researchers in any discipline, please contact the team at cpe-info@bristol.ac.uk.
Shape Your World
Shape your World was coordinated in partnership with Widening Participation, as part of the Future Quest initiative. It was a collaborative project bringing researchers and school students together to explore topical issues and current research in the Faculties of Engineering and Science using a Philosophy of Science approach, with a focus on climate change, robotics and digital health. It developed the researchers' skills and confidence in engaging, raised students' aspirations and supported teachers to use current research in their teaching.