Engagement Day is an opportunity for staff from across the College to share knowledge and experiences related to societal engagement. Featuring insightful workshops, panels, and talks, Engagement Day 2023 took place on 29 November and had a focus on engagement with young people.

Engagement Day 2023

We were delighted to welcome approx. 100 members of the Imperial community and partners, where through a range of talks and workshops, we investigated the ways of meaningfully and equitably involving young diverse voices in our work. 

Programme

• Engagement Day 2023 programme
• Engagement Day 2023 programme with biographies

In conversation with… our youth partners 

Hear from some of the amazing young people taking part in our engagement programmes in and around Exhibition Road. Engagement Day will open with them sharing their experiences, passions, motivations and barriers for us to take forward in our conversations throughout the rest of the event and into our work.

Keynote and Q&A with Louise Archer 

Louise is the Karl Mannheim Professor of Sociology of Education at IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society, and Principal Investigator on a number of large national and international projects around science capital, youth equity in STEM and a 13-year longitudinal study tracking the science attitudes and career aspirations of young people.

Deep dive discussions

Deep dive sessions are a chance to focus in on a particular topic in smaller groups. You will hear from others with expertise and be able to share ideas and questions. Select the topic of most interest or relevance to you, and immerse yourself in the detail, enjoying the chance to pause and think.

1. Safeguarding, ethics and engaging responsibly with young people: Discuss how to engage safely with young people and feel more confident to design and deliver your own activities. Talk through our responsibilities in terms of safeguarding, ethics, data and child protection with members of Imperial’s Outreach team. Sign up to this session if you would like to hear more about:

• Understand more about Imperial’s Safeguarding policy and how to apply it
• Define your role and responsibilities within Safeguarding and child protection
• Learn how to recognise and report safeguarding concerns.

2. Art, activism and championing the voices of young people: Explore how to meaningfully involve young people in championing change and raising awareness on issues that matter, enabling youth voices to shape our world. Hear from engagement practitioners working with young people and youth activists in climate and the environment, with lessons for all areas of our work. Hosted by the Grantham Art Prize team. Sign up to this session if you would like to hear more about:

• How to inform and empower young people around climate change
• How to engage with diverse groups of young people across the UK
• How to bring the arts and science together

3. Social media, youth settings and how to reach young people: Discover creative and effective ways to reach young people and encourage them to take part in your programmes, in this discussion with a social media expert and a youth group lead. Whether online or through groups and networks, hear about where to share your messages and opportunities to build strong youth connections. Sign up to this session if you would like to hear more about:

• The social media preferences and behaviours of young people
• Pitching activities to be of most interest to younger audiences
• Collaborating with youth clubs, groups and youth workers

Lightning talks

A session of fast-paced presentations will give an energetic insight into a range of inspiring youth-centred engagement projects from different departments. Each presenter will have 20 slides, each appearing for 20 seconds before moving on automatically.

Closing remarks

Read the brilliant summary poem for Engagement Day 2023 co-created by our youth partners Hala Zein, Isra Sulevani and Dan Simpson.