The Unit held its inaugural Training and Careers Development Event on Friday 29th January. Unit members and departmental colleagues were treated to a range of entertaining presentations from expert speakers, each of which was followed by a lively Q & A session.

Dr Michaela Livingstone-Banks, Public Engagement Facilitator at Oxford Sparks, gave the opening presentation and some timely guidance on how to make public engagement activities most effective. This was followed by a talk from Professor Paul Bolam, in which he recounted his ‘top tips’ for engaging the public with neuroscience and the use of animals in research. Mr Mark Gardiner, Head of Operations at the Mary Lyon Centre at MRC Harwell, then gave a refreshing perspective on how the careers of research support staff can be developed outside of the academic mainstream. Dr Mark Ungless of Imperial College London then narrated his career trajectory, from undergraduate student to senior academic, and gave some welcome careers advice for the aspiring Principal Investigator. Professor Stephanie Cragg, from the University of Oxford, completed the Event by highlighting the pleasures and pitfalls of more traditional Lectureship roles in academia, and gave an insightful account of how to excel in both teaching and research.

Unit Director Peter Brown commented “Our guest speakers did a fantastic job of raising awareness about the challenges and successes of public engagement and careers development. They provided some excellent role models for us all to follow.”