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This article contributes to conceptualisations of public engagement as part of academic practice in higher education. It uses Hannah Arendt's idea of action in the public sphere, which is underpinned by the belief that all have the capacity to contribute to the renewal of the world, and that we are equally different. It argues that public engagement should go beyond a one-way flow from the academic to the public and should instead aim to promote engagement towards renewed understandings of all participants. The ideas are exemplified by the practical example of a conference, co-designed and co-organised by the author. It highlights participatory processes of the conference towards generating engagement of a wide variety of participants and considers evidence of the renewal of understandings from such public engagement. The conference is drawn upon to develop a reconceptualisation of public engagement.