On Tuesday 12 March 2019, the University of Reading’s Institute of Education (IoE) organised the Education Research Showcase event at Westminster. The objective of this event is to create a platform where IoE research staff were able to present their research directly to Westminster colleagues whose role is to support policy makers. Moreover, the event allowed members of these two parties to learn how they can support each other.
In addition to IoE research staff, the event was also attended by the IoE Research Division Lead, the Head of IoE, the Impact Development Manager (Prosperity & Resilience Research Theme) and the Research Dean (Prosperity & Resilience Research Theme). The Westminster colleagues included representatives of the Department for Education, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Education, the Education Select Committee, the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, and the House of Common Library.
The event was kindly hosted by Matt Rodda, MP for Reading East.
The event was very well received with some comments highlighted below:
Professor Robert Van de Noort (Vice-Chancellor):
“I would like to commend the Institute of Education for leading by example in using research communications to try to generate research impact at the policy level. Creating an opportunity where (education) academics and Westminster colleagues whose role is to support policy makers can come together in the same room to learn how they can support each other is a great idea that we all can learn from.”
Professor Parveen Yaqoob (Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation):
“The Institute of Education demonstrates outstanding leadership in impactful research, as demonstrated recently in an Education Research Showcase event at Westminster, which brought together representatives from the Department for Education, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Education, the Education Select Committee, the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, and the House of Commons Library. The Institute of Education showcased its research and demonstrated how it communicates that research to influence national educational policies.”
Dr. Alaster Smith (Head of Department for Education’ s Research Knowledge and Insight Unit):
“The meeting had promise as the start of a productive working relationship between academics at the University of Reading’s Institute of Education and the Department for Education. It was good to meet all those involved and hear first-hand about their areas of work, and how they operate. I thought that the Institute’s academics raised good points about engaging with policy makers, and how to have impact and I’d like to continue the conversation with them; we can explore making further contacts with people who can use their research and think of more ways to develop productive engagement.”
Below are some of the photos from the event taken by Dot Scott.
