Collaborative Futures Academy 2023: Ethics and Equity in Engagement

Are you a researcher or practitioner working to connect research and society? Are you looking to challenge your practice, learn from peers and experts from across the world, and push your work to the next level? Then join a passionate, diverse group of engagers from across the world online for the Collaborative Futures Academy 2023!

To create a meaningful and inclusive dialogue between research and society, engagement needs to build on an ethical foundation of care, participation and authenticity. This starts with understanding our personal motivations and capacities as engagers, and it extends to interrogating the practices and power dynamics that shape our field. How can we foster more equitable processes of engagement that bring in those often left out? What are the tools that help us develop our own voice and drive change? The Collaborative Futures Academy invites you to explore these questions and develop a bold, creative and innovative engagement practice with integrity and equity at its heart.

The CFA'23 took take place online 10-25 May 2023, with 2 weekly sessions on Wednesdays and Thursdays, 11am-2pm British Summer Time, plus an optional, informal networking 30 min before and after. We'll be publishing our evaluation shortly and are planning CFA'24 already!

Collaborative Futures Academy 2021: Pause, Reflect, Engage!

How can we push the boundaries of how and who we engage with? How do we break out of our comfort zones, address potential pitfalls and tackle challenging conversations in challenging times? 

22-26 November 2021, international, interdisciplinary, online

Engaging the public with controversial issues is challenging, but important. Listening to and engaging with different views, ideas and concerns can bring real long term benefits to research and its impact on society. Researcher confidence is extremely important in fostering a successful culture of engagement and the Collaborative Futures Academy will provide the skills and confidence needed to connect with communities and to talk about difficult subjects.

This week-long masterclass supported early career researchers to develop skills, explore creative ideas for engagement, learn from experts and connect digitally with colleagues from all over the world. We will focus on building capacity and capability and providing confidential networking spaces for researchers to plan, practice and reflect. Each day will have a distinct theme, led by keynote speakers alongside workshops and discussion groups.

Watch our Academy film

Collaborative Futures Academy was an intensive week-long online training run in collaboration between the University of Cambridge Public Engagement team, Wellcome Connecting Science, and the Berlin School of Public Engagement and Open Science (Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin). 

Sustainable Futures Academy 2019

In an era of increased uncertainty, pandemics, climate change and habitat loss, of unmitigated exploitation of natural resources amid conflict and poverty – how can we think about, plan and implement sustainable futures? These complex problems require interdisciplinary responses.

Researchers, creative professionals and young people from Cambridge and Berlin have worked together to explore creative responses to a sustainable future.

Watch the online showcase event

The Sustainable Futures Academy (SFA) is a joint project between the University of Cambridge, the Berlin School of Public Engagement and Open Science, the Museum für Naturkunde and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin.