Midlands Science shares best practice at leading European conference

Midlands Science, an organisation supported by the Medtronic Foundation is presenting a Horizon Talk at this year’s European Science Engagement Association Conference (EUSEA) which takes place in Italy today. The conference is the leading European conference on science outreach and public engagement in science.

The Medtronic Foundation supports Midlands Science for a range of outreach activities and also for a new project which they have developed based on research to date, which identified some key issues that made engaging with science more challenging for some people. This work is focussed on making science outreach and communications more accessible and this means making the communications as usable and as meaningful as possible for as many people as possible.

“We’re proud to partner with Midlands Science to expand access for STEM scholars,” said Heidi Jedlicka Halvarson, program manager, Medtronic Foundation. “Together, we can remove barriers to STEM education, grow representation across the field, and help create opportunities for scholars to have a successful future in STEM.”

Commenting CEO of Midlands Science, Jackie Gorman, said: “I am delighted to have the chance to speak at EUSEA 2023 on this exciting project which is going to allow us to embed accessibility and inclusion into science outreach practice and to share this practice with others. The support of the Medtronic Foundation allows us to do this important capacity building work, which we will believe will contribute in a vital way to outreach becoming more and more accessible and inclusive over time, building real cumulative systems change in how everyone engages with science.”

Over the coming year with a number of experts, Midlands Science will develop and deliver a best practice guide and CPD accredited training in a number of areas which will help make science communications more accessible. These include the use of universal design for learning in science outreach, use of plain English, designing for accessibility, storytelling in science and use of the equity compass, a tool which is particularly helpful for engaging more disadvantaged communities with science.

The opportunity to present the project’s rationale, development and plans to this leading European conference is welcomed by Midlands Science as it’s an opportunity to share practice with others and also to add to the work of campaigns such as Unlock Science and Science is for Everyone.