Are you interested in working hand in hand with public and community partners to make the world a better place?
Memorial students, faculty and staff who are interested in building their skills and networks related to public engagement are invited to attend Engage Memorial Symposium 2025: Practice and Place, taking place at Signal Hill Campus from May 28-29.
Peer to peer
While several “big picture” panels will discuss broad themes in public engagement, much of the programming will be hands-on, including workshops, panels and presentations based on the real-life public engagement experiences of people doing publicly engaged work at Memorial.
A university-wide call for proposals, issued in the fall of 2024, yielded a broad range of session ideas that will be integrated into the symposium schedule.
“There is so much public engagement expertise at this university,” said Dr. Andreae Callanan, the Public Engagement Framework co-ordinator with the Office of Public Engagement, the unit leading the planning. “For the symposium, we’re focusing on sharing the lessons and successes of publicly engaged Memorial students, faculty and staff who are already leading the way on this type of work.”
Students, faculty and staff will be able to ask questions, connect, and share concerns and challenges.
While the symposium’s programming is focused on university-community relationships, registration for most sessions will be for Memorial students, faculty, and staff only.
“So much of the great work the university does is outward-facing,” said Dr. Callanan. “We wanted to create an opportunity for Memorial folks to look inwards, to share our stories with one another and to build capacity that we can then take back into our collaborations with the public.”
Public partners will participate as presenters, and all members of the public are invited to attend a keynote address.
At home and beyond
The symposium will also offer events intended to put Memorial’s public engagement work into context provincially, in Canadian higher education and society.
The keynote address will ask an essential question: What do universities owe the public?
Dr. Ted Hewitt, president of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, will offer his thoughts.
Dr. Hewitt will be joined by internationally recognized publicly engaged researchers Dr. Barbara Neis, of Memorial’s Department of Sociology, and Dr. Rashid Sumaila, of the University of British Columbia, for a panel and question and answer session.
The session is open to all, including people from outside the Memorial community. It is free to attend either in person or online.
A plenary session will explore the deep connections between the development of Memorial University and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Hosted by Dr. Vicki Hallett, of the Department of Gender Studies at Memorial, the event will feature Memorial faculty and public partners and consider how the relationship between Memorial and the province has shaped both.
The session will also form the basis for an article in an upcoming public engagement-focused issue of the Journal of Newfoundland and Labrador Studies.
Knowledge mobilization training
The second afternoon of the symposium will be dedicated to knowledge mobilization, otherwise known as KMb.
“Public engagement has gone from a new institutional direction . . . in 2012, to a recognized strength, just over a decade later.”
Research Impact Canada, a pan-Canadian network dedicated to maximizing the impact of research for the public good, will join the event for a full slate of KMb learning opportunities.
Plans include a story sharing lunch, a panel featuring experienced KMb practitioners from inside and outside Memorial and two hands-on workshops: one focused on clear communications and the other exploring methods for measuring and communicating research impact.
Mark Memorial’s centennial
The symposium will also mark several significant milestones in public engagement at Memorial: the launch of the renewed Public Engagement Framework (expected early in 2025) and the 100th anniversary of Memorial’s founding as a positive force within Newfoundland and Labrador and beyond.
It’s an important moment to consider the past and future of Memorial’s public engagement mission and to consider what comes next, says Rebecca Cohoe, manager of the Office of Public Engagement.
“Public engagement has gone from a new institutional direction, with the initial Public Engagement Framework in 2012, to a recognized strength, just over a decade later,” said Cohoe. “A public engagement ecosystem is beginning to emerge, with students, faculty, staff and support units moving together towards greater collaboration and impact. Pan-university events like the symposium will build helpful, hopeful and collegial connections across disciplines and campuses.”
Registration for Engage Memorial Symposium 2025: Practice and Place is now open.
More details about the event and registration are available here.