Simply select the BIG Discount button at checkout.
Who will benefit from this course?
The course is very suitable for engineers, researchers, academics, explainers and others who need to engage more effectively with the public - whether in front of a live audience or via the media.
How is the course designed?
The 2-day workshop retreat is deliberately limited to 12 delegates. This allows for an interactive style of training, more intensive feedback on exercises, and more focus on individual concerns. The course will run from 11am to 6pm on the 23rd and 9am to 3.30 pm on the 24th.
At the completion of this course you will have:
Who is Malcolm Love?
Formerly a senior producer (programme maker) at the BBC, Malcolm is a visiting lecturer in Public Engagement at the University of the West of England (UWE) in Bristol. He is an independent media producer, radio presenter, and public communication skills coach. He has more than 25 years experience in delivering skill building workshops and masterclasses around the world in over 40 countries. His clients include NASA, CERN, ESA, British Academy, FENS (Representing European Neuroscience) and numerous universities and institutions. Malcolm specialises in public engagement skills and also coaches people in business, politics and the charity sector. He was part of the team that created Famelab International and was responsible for developing the 'Famelab masterclass’.
Malcolm lives in the North of England with his partner Becky and together they manage their company Solid Gold Hat Ltd.
You can read about Malcolm's key areas of training here.
You can read his testimonials here.
What are the costs?
The total cost for the course is £800 pp.
This includes accommodation (single room occupancy), dinner on 23rd, breakfast on 24th, lunch both days, refreshments during training sessions.
The number of places on this course are limited to ensure personal feedback. Your booking confirmation and full details of the course content and directions will be forwarded to you by email.
Do contact us at solidgoldhat@gmail.com to find out more, reserve a place or for any queries. You can also visit the website malcolmlove.org for information and booking.
New Scientist Live London is making a return to the stage in October 2022. We have been putting the same passion and energy as before into creating a new show format. It will return as a hybrid event, combining the best of our live and virtual experiences and allowing us to connect with a global audience. The first day will be exclusively for schools and home learners providing an excellent opportunity to inspire the next generation. New Scientist Live will take place from 7-9th October 2022 at ExCeL London.
New Scientist are delighted to welcome Martin Davies as Head of Event Production. You may know him already from his previous role at the Royal Institution. He will be curating our content programme not just at New Scientist Live but across all our events. We are on the lookout for inspiring speakers and performers, engaging experiences, exhibits and activities. If that’s you (or someone you know), we’d love to hear from you. We particularly welcome applications from early-careers and underrepresented scientists and communicators. If you think you have what it takes to appear at the greatest show on earth, please complete this form by 23.59 on Sunday 23rd January 2022. If you are interested in exhibiting, please contact me jacqui.mccarron@newscientist.com.
Disposable Attitude: Electronics in the Environment
The ECG Distinguished Guest Lecture (DGL) and Symposium is our annual flagship event, and focusses on a specific contemporary environmental chemistry topic. Previous DGLs have included anti-microbial resistance, fuel emissions and nanomaterials. The Distinguished Guest Lecturer is a scientist who is recognised to have made a significant contribution to the field, and is awarded a medal.
Where: The Royal Society of Chemistry, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BA
When: Thursday 10th March 2022
Registration: https://events.rsc.org/rsc/frontend/reg/tSelectBookingMode.csp?pageID=831721&_ga=2.33812582.655127171.1640284725-1022990306.1616499539&eventID=2400&tempPersonID=976520
We are really excited to share with you the Programme for our forthcoming ASDC National Conference for science engagement professionals across the UK, taking place online over 24th & 25th November. The theme is Sustainable Futures focusing on three areas of:
We have brought together a fantastic collection of thought-provoking speakers, inspiring keynotes with specialist meetings and discussions to participate in. Come and enjoy time online together to learn about new approaches and ideas from our sector and beyond. Tickets for non-members are only £50 (plus VAT). Join us to share inspiring ideas and practice as we connect with each other for an innovative, inclusive and sustainable future.
You can find the programme here: Conference Programme - The Association for Science and Discovery Centres (sciencecentres.org.uk)
You can book tickets here: ASDC Conference 2021: Sustainable Futures - Nov 24 | Hopin
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Equality, Diversity and Inclusion micro bursaries
£200 available
Applications are now open and close at 11:59pm on 31 October, 2021.
Thanks to funding from the British Science Association’s Inclusive Science Engagement Network, BIG is offering ten micro bursaries of £200 each to start or enhance Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) practice for our members.
You can suggest anything you want that will help you with your EDI practice. This could be about how you do things as an organisation (eg to change recruitment practices) or be visitor/audience/participant facing work (eg to pilot using Makaton). So the bursaries can cover anything you want to help with this. For example, you may want to use it to visit another site; buy a suite of books for an anti-racist book club for your colleagues; pay for a training course...
Applicants must be BIG members
Applications will be assessed on the following attributes:
Demonstrable commitment to EDI work
Feasibility of proposed work (remember that it’s only £200)
Clear demonstration of how the bursary will lead to longer term change
Following your work you will contribute to a BIG Skills Day to share your learning with other BIG members - this will be held online, likely to be in May 2022. We will collate the learning from the 10 projects and create a short guide for other members.
BIG will assess each anonymised application and attempt to award bursaries to cover a variety of different ideas and organisations. You will be notified either way in the w/c 22 November 2021. We will then ask you for bank details for transferring the bursary to your organisation.
To apply for a Equality, Diversity and Inclusion micro bursary, please complete this form by clicking on 'register' to the left of this text.
If it's easier for you to prepare your responses before completing the form, you can download it as a Word document to prepare and then cut-and-paste your responses.
Deadline:Sunday 31 October,11.59 pm- sorry, late applications will not be considered.
Any questions? Contact Ashley Kent the BIG Event Coordinator.
Overview
Maths communicators are invited to apply for small grants to produce resource packs for maths communication activities. These will contain materials and instructions which will be published and promoted by the IMA for anyone to use in delivering maths communication activities.
Each grant will provide £400 to cover the development of a single activity pack, and three grants are available in this iteration of the scheme.
Details
The packs of materials will target a small-scale activity (e.g. an event at a local public library, a university outreach event or an after-school enrichment session) which is either:
* an interactive workshop;
* a drop-in stall with interactive activities.
While the pack should be designed with a particular audience in mind, materials should be adaptable to multiple audiences, including extensions and adaptations for different age/attainment groups.
Materials produced should include:
* information about the audience the activity is primarily aimed at, including how to adapt the material for different audiences;
* notes for the activity leader(s) about how to run the activity, including rough timings if this is for a workshop;
* slides (for workshop) with IMA branding (details will be supplied);
* printable handouts with IMA branding;
* further reading notes that go beyond the content, including links to other relevant resources;
* list of required equipment.
Content should feature:
* 'real world' applications of mathematics (making use of Mathematics Matters materials or materials from the Maths Careers website if possible);
* examples of mathematicians from diverse backgrounds (making use of materials from the Maths Careers website if possible).
Communicators producing materials would be able to use the activity in their own maths communication work in future, but the IMA would retain the right to distribute and/or modify the materials in future if necessary for their own publication.
Applicants for the grant can be individuals or organisations, but the IMA must be the sole funder of the development work for the materials. Recipients are responsible for ensuring that materials do not include any copyrighted images or material and that any free-to-use licensed materials used are credited correctly.
Process
Applicants should prepare a proposal with a list of suggested themes for resource packs - this should include a title and brief outline of an activity, along with the intended audience and a summary of topics covered. This should be limited to 300 words per suggested resource pack, and you are encouraged to submit multiple topics in case of overlap with other submissions. You should also include a brief biography outlining your experience in maths communication.
The funding panel will then select which applicants and topics will be funded, and contact successful applicants. Recipients will be selected to ensure a range of subjects and activity types.
The materials can then be developed and submitted, and applicants will receive feedback from Peter Rowlett, Katie Steckles and other members of the IMA Communications Committee. Feedback will include suggested improvements to the content and delivery/format, and ensure consistency across the different projects. Applicants will then have time to act on the feedback and develop their final versions of the materials.
Completed materials will be shared as free resources on the IMA’s website, with credit to the maths communicator who developed them.
Timeline
Deadline for applications: 17th September
Successful applicants notified: w/c 4th October
First submission of materials for feedback: by 15th November
Feedback to applicants: 29th November
Second submission of materials: by 17th December
Materials online: early 2022
How to apply
Please complete the online application form: https://my.ima.org.uk/services.php?section=grants&grantid=31 You must log in to apply for the grant, but anyone can create a free account just requiring an email address.
Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute and University of Dundee have screened thousands of drug and chemical molecules and identified a range of potential antivirals that could be developed into new treatments for COVID-19 or in preparation for future coronavirus outbreaks.
While COVID-19 vaccines are being rolled out, there are still few drug options that can be used to treat patients with the virus, to reduce symptoms and speed up recovery time. These treatments are especially important for groups where the vaccines are less effective, such as some patients with blood cancers.
In a series of seven papers, published today (2 July) in the Biochemical Journal, the scientists identified 15 molecules which inhibit the growth of SARS-CoV-2 by blocking different enzymes involved in its replication.
The researchers developed and ran tests for around 5,000 molecules provided by the Crick’s High Throughput Screening team to see if any of these effectively blocked the functioning of any of seven SARS-CoV-2 enzymes. The tests were based on fluorescent changes with a special imaging tool detecting if enzymes had been affected.
They then validated and tested the potential inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2 in the lab, to determine if they effectively slowed viral growth. The team found at least one inhibitor for all seven enzymes.
Three of the molecules identified are existing drugs, used to treat other diseases. Lomeguatrib is used in melanoma and has few side-effects, suramin is a treatment for African sleeping sickness and river blindness and trifluperidol is used in cases of mania and schizophrenia. As there is existing safety data on these drugs, it may be possible to more quickly develop these into SARS-CoV-2 antivirals.
John Diffley, lead author of the papers and associate research director and head of the Chromosome Replication Laboratory at the Crick, said: “We’ve developed a chemical toolbox of information about potential new COVID-19 drugs. We hope this attracts attention from scientists with the drug development and clinical expertise needed to test these further, and ultimately see if any could become safe and effective treatments for COVID-19 patients.”
The 15 molecules were also tested in combination with remdesivir, an antiviral being used to treat patients with COVID-19. Four of these, all which target the SARS-CoV-2 enzyme Nsp14 mRNA Cap methyltransferase, were found to improve the effectiveness of this antiviral in lab tests.
The scientists now plan to run tests to see if any pairing of the 15 molecules they identified decrease the virus’ growth more than if they are used alone. Targeting enzymes involved in virus replication could also help prepare for future viral pandemics.
“Proteins on the outside of viruses evolve rapidly but within different classes of viruses are well conserved proteins that change very little with time,” adds John.
“If we can develop drugs that inhibit these proteins, in the situation of a future pandemic, they could provide a valuable first line of defence, before vaccines become available.”
» Scientists and technologists with skill and experience that is applicable to food systems (cell agriculture, tissue engineering, synthetic biology, fermentation, biochemistry, food science, food engineering, agricultural engineering, plant biology, chemical engineering, bioreactor engineering, processing plant design, operations research/industrial engineering, data science, AI/ML, etc)
» Entrepreneurs with experience in business, commercialisation, logistics, supply chain and/or operations.
We're accepting applications on an ongoing basis. However, if you want to be part of our first cohort starting Autumn 2021, apply by July 15th, 2021.
For application details and a video about this opportunity by our CEO, visit us at https://www.counterfactual.co
Location: Remote / London
THIS Institute has published a new guide that explores how arts-based approaches can be effectively used to help engage people with research. THIS Institute led public engagement activities to pilot arts-based approaches to engaging NHS staff, patients and carers with our research.
The guide for community groups, artists and researchers highlights case studies and practical tips for increasing the success of an arts-based research engagement project, including how you run an activity matters, good relationships and collaboration built on trust are essential, understand and use the skills and experience of everyone involved in the project and make sure you plan ahead in order to have the impact you’re looking for.
Find out more: https://www.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/research-articles/arts-based-engagement/
The work and contribution of eleven eminent bioscientists and exceptional early career researchers has been acknowledged in the annual Biochemical Society Awards. Each recipient has been recognised for excellence in their field of the biosciences, ranging from bioenergetics and 3D whole organ microscopy to prokaryotic cells and cancer research.
Professor Colin Bingle, Professor of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Sheffield, and Chair of the Biochemical Society’s Awards Committee, says: “We are living in extraordinary times and the COVID-19 pandemic has helped to shine a light on the value of high-quality research and collaboration in the life sciences. Amongst this year’s nominees, there were some excellent, outstanding scientists which made the judging process very difficult. Every year, I am impressed by the contribution of these innovators and it is inspiring to see our winners are all on an upward trajectory in their chosen field. My heartfelt congratulations to our 2022 winners!”
Dr Maria Marti Solano, one of our Early Career Research award recipients, adds: “I am delighted to receive this award. I would like to thank my nominators, especially Dr M. Madan Babu, who is not only a really inspiring scientist but also an excellent mentor. Due to its multi-disciplinary nature, my research would not have been possible without the outstanding experimental and computational collaborators I’ve been lucky to work with in the past years, so I’d like to take this chance to thank them all for their continued support.”
The full list of recipients of the Biochemical Society’s 2022 Awards are:
The AstraZeneca Award
Dr Sjors Scheres, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
The Centenary Award
Professor Jeremy Thorner, University of California Berkeley
The Colworth Medal
Dr Tanmay Bharat, University of Oxford
Early Career Research Award
Dr Hendrik Messal, The Netherlands Cancer Institute
Dr Maria Marti Solano, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
The GlaxoSmithKline Award
Dr Ivan Ahel, University of Oxford
Industry and Academic Collaboration Award
Professor Matthias Trost, Newcastle University
International Award
Dr James Murphy, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
The Keilin Memorial Lecture Award
Professor Leonid Sazanov, Institute of Science and Technology Austria
The Morton Lecture Award
Professor Valerie O’Donnell, Cardiff University
Teaching Excellence Award
Dr Dave Lewis, University of Leeds
You can read more about the recipients here >
Each year the Biochemical Society presents a series of prestigious awards that recognize excellence and achievement in both specific and general fields of science. Six of these awards are presented annually and the remaining are awarded either biennially or triennially. Candidates are nominated by their peers and the winners are agreed by a judging panel of respected scientists, from across a range of different scientific backgrounds.
These winners will receive their prize and deliver an award or medal lecture in 2022. All of the awards and medal lectureships carry prize money and, as part of the prize, winners will also be invited to submit an article to one of the Society’s publications.
Nominations for the Biochemical Society’s 2023 Awards open in August 2021 and can be made by and for members and non-members alike.
Contact BIG: admin@big.uk.com
