13 November 2018 Sustainable cities: interfacing informal and formal curricular opportunities with the community Education Excellence Seminars 2013 Hannah Tweddell, Ash Tierney, Chris Willmore Esd-team@bristol.ac.uk, Google: ESD at Bristol

What are the drivers for student community research partnerships? 13 November 2018 What are the drivers for student community research partnerships? Q What would a wordle of your institution’s community engagement show? What would you Student unions engagement wordle show? What are the opportunities?

Building Student Community Research Partnerships 13 November 2018 Building Student Community Research Partnerships Aim:“To create a culture where students are enabled and supported to research in partnership with communities” Predicated on bringing theory and practice together in systematic long term relationships to make a difference and be different Underpinned by research by Max Wakefield UBU Vice President Community and Maggie Leggett Centre for Public Engagement UOB

What can we aim to achieve? 13 November 2018  That graduates understand and have experience of: every action has consequences: think long term; responsibility to others; collaboration ; can envisage a future world and their role in creating it; that different disciplines bring different things to the table; can have interdisciplinary conversations; the richness of integrated theory and practice: Making a difference and being different walk the walk AND talk the talk

13 November 2018 Aim: “To ensure all students have an opportunity to develop an understanding of sustainability and have an integrated experience of theory and practice in   their formal, informal and subliminal curriculum.” UOB ESD Strategy Bringing theory and practice together in research rich opportunities Action+reflection = education

Action + reflection = education 13 November 2018 Action without reflection is activism. Activism is not necessarily the role of a University Reflection without action is theory. The place at the centre of the circles is the place where all aspects come together: formal and informal curriculum, research and the physical community we are in. Action + reflection = education

INFORMAL CURRICULUM ESTATES COMMUNITY FORMAL CURRICULUM RESEARCH ESD can take place in the formal and informal curriculum, and is part of a university-wide sustainability agenda. The University of Bristol has developed a 5 ring model of ESD. As well as the formally taught curriculum, learning about sustainability can occur; informally through volunteering, involvement in societies and taking skills based training; through interaction with the Estate from Biodiversity to using recycling facilities and buying fair trade products; finally as a research led institution our students are in a position to learn from cutting edge research in sustainability. These four areas sit within a wider context of community, local, national and international. This ESD strategy aims to include all five of these elements in a holistic manner to provide a broad sustainability student experience. A University can only be truly sustainable if it manages both ESD and operational impacts. COMMUNITY FORMAL CURRICULUM RESEARCH

What students say….. 13 November 2018 SD is viewed as an alternative and abstract thread – tree hugging. It needs to be academically rigorous Disconnect between theory and application e.g. much attention is given to the philosophical aspects but this is not applied to the real world Some faculties focus on a narrow perspective of SD Want more project work to make SD more concrete and embedded Want new paradigms to be offered, e.g. reimagining how economics is studied Informal curriculum opportunities could be incorporated into the curriculum e.g. Green Impact or Engineers Without Borders

Research project focus Formal curriculum toion13 November 2018 Research project focus Community as subject or object of research – done about or done to Problems of action research Research ethics approval Timescales Limitations of field trips/ case studies

Informal curriculum activism 13 November 2018 High levels of student activity 100,000 hours a year via 30 projects; 250 societies Life style setting Guide to sustainable living Freshers and moving out of hall lifestyle http://www.bris.ac.uk/newstudents/undergraduate/studentlife/green.html Structured learning: Water and energy audits Disciplinary Societies E.g. Engineers without Borders Major student led initiatives Food cycle: http://foodcycle.org.uk/location/bristol/ Big Give 20 tonnes a year so far

Making the links; scaffolding to reflective practitioners 13 November 2018 SOCIAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS THINKING LIFESTYLE SOCIAL TIME ACTION THEORY

Case Study Area of priority social need facing cuts in youth provision 13 November 2018 Area of priority social need facing cuts in youth provision Wanting research that is independent of local providers to inform decision making Brokered link to UOB Student wanting to do a project on young people and sexual health for her Masters dissertation Wins Student gets fee plus active community support to get access to study cohort Community get independent and objective study Community led - Community steering group Report being actioned: direct impacts on major investment c £200k a year Compatibility; timeline & ethics But TWO parallel activites

At the centre of the circle 13 November 2018 Bristol Bike Project Previous Uni likd wth BBP Student volunteers Student designs ug project to meet BBP need Student gets paid internship with BBP From the inside helps build relationship with Uni Bristol Bike Project is a voluntary organisation that works with underprivileged communities to help develop skills around maintaining bikes, and to provide them with the bikes once they are road-worthy. Outcomes Community get works done using Uni skills Student reflective and applied learning By adding in the formal project element student able to go into much more detail than would have otherwise been possible, or affordable, for the Bike Project. Project report useful forBBP particularly for funding bids

Farmers Market: theory to practice 13 November 2018 Started in formal curriculum Global environment and Human Health Direct action research so methodology and purpose is about learning through doing something that has an impact OUTCOMES Students have learnt how to identify and deliver opportunities for change on the ground Linked formal curriculum, informal and estates to achieve direct community impact : there would not be a regular farmers market on the precinct without the unit. Formal curriculum task Taken up by Student activism Used by students staff and community Embedded in estatesprovosiond Learning outcomes of designing health impacts achieved

embedded elective opportunity whole programme Embedded provison 13 November 2018 individual student embedded elective opportunity whole programme Whole institution e.g. Alberta

Whole programme student community research Project to provide systematic community research project opportunities in Engineering 3rd year research projects and 4th year design projects Kate Miler Centre for Public Engagement

Led by undergraduate interns Undergraduates interns set up the placements scheme: scoping potential community placements Contacting and liaising with community partners Co-designing feasible projects Recruiting academic supervisors Technical knowledge of engineering problems Knowledge of civil engineering course Potential to inspire their peers

Outcomes (year ) 11 projects scoped with 8 community partners 9 projects obtained academic supervisors 6 projects (but 7 groups of students) taking place Projects underway...

Findings Supervisors: Interns: Community partners: Students: Need to consider what they get out of it Importance of matching research expertise to project Community partners: ‘Ownership’ of projects – meeting their needs Long term relationship potential- project pipeline Constraints – timelines Interns: Change agents Valuable experience, Project brokerage working with wide range of partners Inspired them to do projects Students: Theory/Practice/ Research link Enhancing skills

Challenges Key future questions: Assessment of projects (especially as part of wider curriculum) Linking to Intended Learning Outcomes of programme Need to consider value to all partners involved in project Key future questions: Mapping the drivers for setting up a scheme How best to scope schemes Tackling the barriers Scalability and sustainability

Building Student Community Research Partnerships report 13 November 2018 Building Student Community Research Partnerships report Aim:“To create a culture where students are enabled and supported to research in partnership with communities” Research study and institution wide recommendations by Max Wakefield UBU Vice President Community and Maggie Leggett Centre for Public Engagement UOB Student Green Fund and European Green Capital 2015 impetus

Student perceptions Satisfaction of tangible results 13 November 2018 Satisfaction of tangible results Learning to interact with new groups of people in a sensitive way Opening up life possibilities not previously considered Developing new skills Deeper understanding from contextualisation Working with communities was far less solitary than research can be The projects were really fun. Compatibility of traditional single-disciplinary research and real-world community outcome requirements; new methodologies and logics. More autonomy than an internship but under the University wing Benefits of and need for reciprocity Increased awareness of the need for reflexivity in the real world Builds sustantial relationships with the community: reduces student transcience

It is part of what a University is to contribute to the community. 13 November 2018 Very often expectations were exceeded, in fact far exceeded. There is often a multiplier effect. There have been very few times when nothing has been delivered. Delivery is always at the very least interesting and useful for discussion or provocation. Instances where insights contributed which would not have materialised otherwise. It’s dangerous to expect too much of them, best to take the opportunity to go with the flow... Having said that, any expectations I did have were superseded – my every day expectations were mundane, it has developed into something more, something much bigger. What’s the point in being in Bristol if you’re not going to contribute to it? It is part of what a University is to contribute to the community. It breaks down in many ways the biggest problem of the ivory tower scenario:: students/academics can be totally isolated from societies, losing an understanding of how society works and how the rest of the world understands things. By sensitising the University to it you are also making the University learn better what it is in society – this is the most valuable bit: research partnerships encourage reflexivity both within the university and the community partners.

Headline report conclusions 13 November 2018 Brokerage Developing links between students, academics community Articulating drivers /benefits for all parties Templates to define expectations without bureaucracy Building long term relationships Timeline experience Scaffolding Interdisciplinary experience Peer to Peer Examples of projects Explicit links Reflective practitioners Resource centre The ‘two masters’/ autonomy issue

13 November 2018 GOOGLE: ESD at Bristol for resources and contacts Please keep in touch and share your experience of student community research Link to us: https://www.facebook.com/BristolESD https://twitter.com/BristolESD http://www.youtube.com/user/BristolESD Email esd-team@bristol.ac.uk