Student-led outreach and public engagement activities at the University of Southampton to celebrate the inaugural International Day of Light

Abstract

The 16 th May 2018 marks the first annual International Day of Light (IDL). The steering committee of the IDL initiative encouraged grassroots activities to increase the awareness and understanding of the applications of light. One such undertaking is the program of events developed by the postgraduate students of the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) at the University of Southampton (UoS). The program focused on engaging with the public and local schools with low levels of progression to higher education. Three events were designed: an outreach masterclass, combining activities and demonstrations from well-established workshops covering light in telecommunications, manufacturing and medicine; an art competition in a local school, for students to express scientific knowledge in a creative way; and a public panel, to explore the uses of light in a multitude of disciplines and open academic research to a broader audience. This paper explains how the events built on the ORC students' long history of outreach and the legacy of the International Year of Light. Each event is outlined in detail, explaining the objectives and the rationale behind the audience selection. The program outcomes are described, including the impact, the methods employed and the utilization of expert partners to increase the program reach (commercial media, local schools and UoS's diversity and inclusion outreach department), and the lessons learned from the program are assessed. These experiences can be used to recycle and adapt this format for other grassroots IDL programs. This project received funding through a SPIE IDL Micro Grant.

A nobel cause: public engagement and outreach

“…For workshops, this does not restrict the activities from being interactive. A good example is the 'Guess the Gas' workshop [11], designed by the Outreach team of the South East Physics Network (SEPnet), which allows students to explore the concepts of spectroscopy by constructing the experimental equipment needed.…”

“…Zooniverse is a research platform covering many disciplines in which "anyone can contribute to real academic research on their own computer at their own convenience" [15]. Alternatively, Public Engagement activities can provide opportunities for the general public to interact with scientists in an informal environment, such as in our 2018 International Day of Light celebration [11] or during the Pint of Science festival talks which includes discussion about research in pubs and cafes [16].…”