A recently-funded SRHE Fellow Award looking at the role higher education research plays in higher education policy making shows the key role the media holds in conveying research findings to policy makers and influencing public opinion. Equally it is clear that many higher education researchers, and many academics more broadly, can be unfamiliar and unpractised in writing compelling copy for either the media or the public more widely. This workshop provides precisely this, with advice and hands-on experience of conveying your research findings into concise, jargon free, and quotable pitches, press releases and articles.   

Karen Smith (University of Hertfordshire), Scott Fernie (Loughborough University) and Nick Pilcher (Edinburgh Napier University) will start the day with a brief overview of findings from their SRHE-funded research, which highlight the importance of developing enhanced media skills.

Ant Bagshaw, deputy director of Wonkhe will introduce this online platform that brings together debate, analysis and commentary across a range of higher education policy themes. He will also outline the kinds of articles that Wonkhe publishes and share guidelines on writing for the site.

Philip Cowan, senior lecturer in journalism (University of Hertfordshire), will lead a series of activities to develop skills for translating higher education research into media-friendly outputs.    

The workshop will provide opportunities for questions and experimenting with writing for different audiences; active participation will give ample time for practice. Please bring along a device (laptop, tablet or smart phone), if you have one.

This event is free to attend and is supported by funds from Karen, Nick and Scott’s SRHE Fellow Award. Please register early, as there are limited spaces.